Back-to-School Night was on Thursday that week, but Mom couldn’t make it because it was on the same night as Back-to-School Night at her school, which is how it is every year.
Mom’s fine about missing Back-to-School Night because it’s usually crowded, and there’s never really an opportunity to talk with the teacher. The night is more for those parents who want to hear the teacher go over the class expectations, which my mom already knows.
“He’s going to have a long night,” Mom said that morning. “Some of those parents are going to give him quite the earful about test prep.”
Mom’s not fine about missing family conferences. That’s what we call parent conferences at RJE. They’re called family conferences because kids are encouraged to attend, and in Lesley Irving’s world, encouraged to attend means expected to attend. They’re not for another couple months, but Mom’s already made it known just how much she’s looking forward to sitting down one-on-one with Mr. Acevedo.
“One-on-one?” I said, the last time she brought it up. “Me, you, and Mr. Acevedo—that’s three of us. How can that be one-on-one? Does that mean I don’t have to go?”
Her look was her answer. I still had to go.