Before Laura can make a break for it, Mark looks back and sees her. He reverses directions.
“C’mon, Alex,” he says, taking her hand and dragging her into the school. Laura’s heart sinks as Mark leads her down the halls, through crowds of children bigger than her, and into a kindergarten classroom. Once in the classroom, Mark pulls Laura over to a short table. He sits in a chair that has been labeled “Mark”. Laura reluctantly sits in the chair next to him, labeled “Alexis”.
Kindergarteners gradually filter in. Laura feels dread build with each passing moment. She doesn’t want to be in kindergarten. But she doesn’t have a choice right now.
Finally, the bell rings. The teacher goes to the front of the classroom and claps her hands.
“Hello, everyone!” she chirps.
“Hi, Miss Applesmith!” the class chants back. Miss Applesmith beams.
“As you kids know, today we’re going on a field trip!” she says happily. The class cheers. “But before we can leave, we need to take attendance.” Miss Applesmith begins to read the attendance sheet.
“Here,” Laura squeaks out when her niece’s name is called. Miss Applesmith smiles at her and goes back to taking attendance. Once she’s done, all the kindergarteners are lined up to be led outside to the waiting school bus.
Laura ponders her options. If she goes on the field trip, she might be able to escape while they’re somewhere else. But if she stays behind, the amount of supervision she has might be lower.