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She had dyed red hair piled high on top of her head. She wore thick reading glasses perched on her nose.
“Hey,” he told the receptionist. “I’m Charlie Davis, here for Violet Moore?”
“Oh yeah,” she said. “Ms. Moore told me to expect a Charlie Davis. Are you the father of one of the kids?”
“Nope. I’m a friend of hers.”
“Wow, a friend helping out at a school event?” Cathy smiled. “You never hear of that.”
Charlie didn’t know what to say, and the sly smile on Cathy’s face made him wonder what she was thinking.
“Cathy, are you harassing my volunteer?” Violet’s voice said. He turned and saw Violet dressed in her usual A-line dress and heels. Her dress was covered in different Einstein faces, which was both hilarious and beautiful.
“Volunteer? I thought he was your boyfriend.”
Violet blushed but kept a straight face. Charlie felt his body tighten in reaction to being called Violet’s boyfriend.
“You’re only asking to see if you can get him for yourself.” Violet strode to the counter and wrote Charlie’s name on a volunteer sticker. She then stuck it on his chest with a firm hand. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
“Have fun!” Cathy called after them.
“Don’t worry about her.” Violet rolled her eyes as they walked. “She’s a flirt. You should see her with the single dads.”
“I don’t think I want to,” Charlie said. His chest was on fire from where Violet had touched him. “Where are we going?”
“My classroom. I have a student I watch after school. He’s stayed for the festival, and I want to see if I can get him to help set up.”
When Charlie got to her classroom, he couldn’t help but notice how it was the perfect embodiment of her. It was decorated with different quotes and sentence structures, but with vibrant colors that made the area fun. A little boy sat at a desk working on homework. He perked up when she entered the room.
“Can we go to the festival now Ms. Moore?” He asked.
“Not yet,” Violet replied, smiling. “We’re about to start setting up.”
“Who’s that?” The boy asked, looking at Charlie hesitantly.
“This is my friend. He’s helping me work on the festival tonight.”
“It’s still not ready?” He asked.
“Nope, but it may go faster if we have more hands to help. Why don’t you come help?”
“That depends. Can I get free candy?”
“Depends on how good your work is," Violet answered. Charlie had to bite back a laugh at the kid’s face.
The small boy did get up to help though and seemed to perk up when Violet thanked him. Charlie had wondered why Violet came home so late some days. This must have been why.
Charlie was sent to the cafeteria to help set up the food. It was important, monotonous work, but he didn’t mind it. Every now and then he would look up and see Violet either talking to Jason or another teacher. She was so good at her job. She walked through the halls like she owned them and seemed to be so caring about anything and everything within its walls. Watching her was like watching an artist paint, or a writer write.
Eventually, he got so busy he couldn’t check on her. He talked to a ton of parents and served food. It shouldn’t have been fun but hearing the stories of a lot of the people in his own neighborhood was energizing.
Charlie didn’t feel drained when he was done. He felt a little more alive.
“Alright, Mr. Davis.” Cathy had found him again. “Us teachers are going to clean up. You’re free to go with the rest of the volunteers.”
“I’ll stay and help,” he said, grabbing food.
“Huh, helpful and willing to stay late. Where did Violet find you?”
