Surprise Meeting!
"Blaise, could you stay for a moment?" Ms. McAllen asked, which you found a little unusual, but being one of your favorite teachers, and her subject one you pretty much excelled at, you didn't have many reasons to suspect anything. However, Jen and Lillian stopped packing their stuff when they heard that, and Jen discreetly walked over until she was standing next to you, a gesture only the bountiful Art teacher noticed.

"Girls, relax. It's nothing to worry about... It's not like I'm gonna eat him or something..." Lulu joked, making both girls blush, as the group around you noticed that both she and Lillian were once again displaying their protectiveness of you.
"Boys aren't on my menu. Too much meat. Gotta watch my figure, you know?" Lulu joked more and struck a pose that showed off her curves, but then laughed, and so did the rest of the class, who resumed packing their stuff and leaving.

Lillian walked back to finish packing her stuff and dragged a reluctant Jen who didn't quite want to leave, but ultimately she had to give in, and also went to finish packing her stuff and leaving for the next class. Unlike Lillian, who found their teacher's antics hilarious, she didn't like how touchy-feely she was with Blaise, something Lillian made fun of her for. Just as they walked out of the classroom, they saw an adult man walk in, and both girls were stunned upon seeing him.

"Was... was that Blaise's dad?" Jen whispered to Lillian as they walked a bit farther away to be out of earshot.

"Yup. His silhouette and the hair are almost unmistakable" Lillian nodded.

"But what is he doing here?" Jen's heart was already beating harder, she hadn't had any chances to personally meet him, and couldn't help but feel anxious.

"I think he was called for a Parent-Teacher meeting... with Lulu, apparently..." Lillian said with a thoughtful look.

"But Blaise has never been in trouble at school, let alone in her class!"

"I don't think it's because of any of that. Probably it's some formality the school ordered" Lillian shrugged, knowing a little bit on how the school worked thanks to the fact that her mom was a teacher herself. She then saw the look in Jen's eyes.
"We're totally going to eavesdrop on them, aren't we?" She sighed.

"S-Shut up and let's listen" Jen said as she walked closer to the classroom. Not only she wanted to know why your father had been called out of concern for you, but she also wanted to get a good chance to meet him and hopefully score some more points with your family, as your mom accepted her, but in an odd way, she could feel she didn't like her as much as she'd wish. And she suspected your mom suspected of her feelings for you.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, you were beyond surprised to see your dad walk in.
"Hello there" He greeted you with a smile.

"General Kenobi" You greeted back, and the two of you enjoyed a hearty laugh.

"Good morning Mr. Santos. I'm glad you could make it" Ms. McAllen greeted him, sounding the most serious and professional you ever heard her since you knew her. She walked towards him and held her hand out, which your dad shook.

'Of course, she has to act like a real teacher for once' You thought, relieved that she wasn't going to be the usual Lulu you and your classmates all knew (and admittedly, loved despite her playfulness).

"My... I can see where Blaise got his good looks from..." She said, back to the flirty tone you were used to. Your dad blushed a little and cleared his throat.

"Uh... Thank you..." He scratched his head as he nervously laughed for a moment
"You know, it's funny you say that, almost everyone says he looks more like his mom" He said, pulling you into a one armed hug, wrapping his arm around the back of your neck.

"Certainly he does. I've had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Santos, outside of classes though, off work..." Lulu said
"But there is a clear resemblance to you too, you know? A very manly presence... your overall build and even a little in the face, but, like you said, maybe the look is softened in him, but on you, you sure look like quite the hardy, strong working man" She spoke as smoothly as ever, but this was the first time you saw her 'in action' with an adult. Your dad laughed again, and you saw that he blushed once again.

'Yep. Lulu being Lulu' You thought, finding it a bit funny when you weren't the one on the receiving end of her flirty teasing.

"It's been a long time since I last did that. My current job mostly has me exercise my fingers and my brain at most... but it pays well" He said, and Lulu gave him a flirty smile in return.

"Well... getting on topic. I had to ask you to come here because it's a requirement, more of a formality, that the teachers have at least one in-school meeting with their students' parents, and my encounters with Mrs. Santos sadly don't count for that" She explained and gestured at you two to take a seat, which you wordlessly did.

"That's alright. I understand" He replied after having recovered some of his composure.
"So... how's he doing?" He asked.

"Very well actually. He's currently our top student on my class." Lulu smiled.

"O-Oh. That's nice" He said, pleasantly surprised by those news.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you or your wife do any kind of artistic work?"

"Haha, well, I wouldn't say so... but, well, not as work... my wife actually loved to draw, to take pictures or to write. I enjoyed doing some writing when I had the time, but my drawings suck compared to hers. I think Blaise got most of his mom's talent" Your dad replied.
"But, we've always supported whatever he's wanted to do, you know? How it's important to let your kids develop their interests and stuff... if he wanted to draw we'd get him what he needed for that. If he wanted to make sculptures, we'd get him plastiline or play-dough... And if he wanted to read about, say, dinosaurs, or the human body, we'd get him the books too, so, I think that probably paid off" He laughed again, and this time it was you who blushed, as you weren't too used to being complimented like that in front of non-family.

"Excellent" Lulu actually gave a kind smile, and you could tell she felt proud of you for real.
"So, as I said before, this is more of a formality than anything else... I can tell you Blaise's grades are excellent..." She said, showing him a paper that showed your grades thus far.
"And obviously, there are no academic complaints about him... but then again, they also make us analyze other aspects of our students' while in class..."

"Such as...?" He asked, feeling as confused as you were as to what she could mean.

"I'll admit I'm not a trained psychologist, and I don't believe this is my call to make, but again, school rules have us teachers note our students' social behavior..."

"I believe my wife and I have raised him well enough to behave properly around others..." He said, with a hint of concern in his words.

"Oh, no! It's not what it sounded like... there's nothing wrong with Blaise on social matters, but, it's come to the administration's attention that pretty much all of his teachers have reported, well... limited social interaction..." Lulu hesitated as she spoke, not feeling too comfortable herself with the topic.

"Would you care to explain what that means in elementary-level English, please?" He jokingly asked
"Sometimes I'm afraid I don't understand things too well, as this is my second language, though I've lived here for a long time..."

"Oh, don't worry about that, you speak it very well, Mr. Santos!" She swiftly complimented him, and flashed him a teasing look before she returned to a more serious demeanor.
"What we meant is that, well, the school tries to promote larger social interactions amongst all of the students, and several teachers have noted that Blaise doesn't interact very much with others, besides his two friends..."

You knew Lulu wasn't trying to attack you or anything, but those words still felt like arrows hitting you in the chest, right in the pride you had about being a good student. It was true you were fairly reserved and pretty much only hung up with Jen and Lillian, but never thought that'd be a cause of concern to the school.

"Oh, Blaise. I know. I'm sorry, they made me relay these reports" She kindly apologized
"In his defense, I can attest myself that there's nothing wrong or antisocial with him..." She said to your dad, who looked more concerned than before, though as he processed it in his mind, he understood and slowly calmed down.
"I would say he's a little on the shy side... and I guess it doesn't help that there's such a large gender disparity at this school, many girls, and not so many boys around here... in fact, he's the only boy in my class, so, I can understand... and I think you can agree with me on that, if we were teenagers and surrounded by the opposite gender, we'd probably find ourselves pretty uncomfortable, right?" She said.

You were relieved to see your dad nod in genuine agreement to that.
"For sure. The school can't blame him for that. It was actually similar to how highschool was for me, a looong time ago"

"Oh, you must be joking, Mr. Santos. If I didn't know beforehand you're Blaise's father, I would've been inclined to think you're an older brother of his, or maybe a young uncle" She said, making him blush again.
"So, don't worry too much about that, the school simply orders us to let you know of the situation, and what the teachers have noted. The fact that his two friends are female is a bit unusual, but if you ask me, I find that more of a positive thing"

"I definitely agree with that. And while I only know one of them, I'm sure they're not a bad influence" He added. Chuckling mentally, he could relate, and wondered if his own teachers had this kind of discussion with his parents and he never knew.
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May 12, 2023
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