Finn found himself waking that morning with a bit of a knot in his stomach. He sighed as he slipped from the bed to get ready for work, the sun hardly even up at this point, though he'd never been the type to complain much about starting early in the morning. He washed his face and wet his hair, hoping that perhaps he could get the unruly red strands to actually sit in some semblance of order for work today... But even after brushing it neatly the moment the strands began to dry he knew that they would begin flicking up at odd angles. Sure, he could cut it shorter, but he'd never much thought the military cut looked good on him, so he simply tolerated the consistent bed head.<br/><br/>As he got dressed he pulled on some dark wash jeans in the hopes of hiding any stains that might occur while working with the children, and a turquoise and black plaid button-up over a white t-shirt. He checked that the sleeves were in place, the cuffs sitting just against the bottom of his palm. With himself dressed he made a simple bagel for breakfast and grabbed a mug of tea, finishing both slowly. While he did though his mind wandered to the previous few days.<br/><br/>It would have been a lie to say he had suspected something earlier, but looking back on it he supposed it made sense. The little boy in class was generally fairly happy like most of the kids, but having heard him mention to another schoolmate that he wished his parents still did things together... It had honestly been something that most teachers probably would have overlooked. Kids said things after all, and when parents got busy for even a week or two a child could see that as being for months... But there was something about it that had still worried him and so he had pulled the little boy aside briefly.<br/><br/>When he had actually asked what Brock had meant he was surprised to watch the normally cheery boy go a bit quiet, to seem uncertain, but he had assured him that he simply wanted to try to help, and so Brock had explained to him that his parents weren't getting along. He told him about his father sleeping on the couch, about how the man worked a lot, about how his mother seemed sad more and more often... How they didn't do things together as a family. There of course was nothing to make Finn think the boy was being abused or neglected, and perhaps for most teachers things would have ended there. It was a family's problem, and by the sounds of it there was possibly a divorce looming on the horizon, but Finn didn't think that just leaving it at that was the right decision either.<br/><br/>He had thanked the little boy for talking to him, and had also tried his best to explain that sometimes adults got into arguments too that took a lot of time to work out. That had seemed to help a little, but he still had gone to the headteacher of the room and explained the situation to her. She had likewise told him not to get too involved, but he had pushed... and so she had given him the green light to contact the parents. But of course, that meant him meeting them alone and he felt the unease begin pooling nearly right away, but he didn't think leaving things alone would be healthy for the child, especially if the parents hadn't yet noticed.<br/><br/>And so this morning he was sitting there mulling it all over. He'd set a date and explained to Brock that he simply thought it might help for his parents to talk to another adult about it. He did his best to frame it in a manner the child would understand, likening it to the many little arguments that children in class often had and how sometimes having a teacher help work it out was better than trying on their own... But still, the little boy had seemed rather upset that he had to tell his parents that they had to come in. Finn worried that he'd gotten the child in trouble at home, but there wasn't a better solution, was there?<br/><br/>He finished his breakfast and put his mug in the sink before grabbing his water bottle and shoulder bag and heading out of the house. He lived in a simple, small apartment not far from the school which allowed him to walk to work, saving for a car was hard when he was fresh out of college and had to start paying back his loans, so walking regardless of the weather was his best choice. Today though was pleasant, but as he walked he thought again about all the things that get missed by those at the school. He was fairly sure he'd never met the young boy's father, it always seemed to be the mother who came to pick him up or sign any slips sent home. Sure, there were many families where the father simply worked... But had there been a way to notice this sooner?<br/><br/>He tried his best not to allow his feelings to show during that day, greeting all the children happily as they arrived at school and enjoyed playing outside before the first bell. He noted that Brock seemed a bit tired, a bit quieter than normal, but by lunchtime it seemed he had perked up with his friends around and so Finn had decided not to bring up the later meeting with him and distract him any further for the day. And it was in this manner that the last bell rang, and as he looked to the time and saw that the boy's parents would be arriving soon he told the little boy to go outside and play with the other children still waiting on their parents to pick them up so that he wouldn't have to be there for the actual meeting. He thought that was best as he honestly had no idea what to expect. He'd heard about parents who would yell and cuss at teachers for trying to get involved him family matters, and he felt there was a higher chance they would just brush him off, but it was worth a try.<br/><br/>So as three o'clock finally came and he was sitting alone in the classroom cleaning up the materials that were used for the day, until he heard someone enter the classroom. He looked up and saw a man in what seemed to be a business suit, blinking at him just a moment as his mind went blank... Right, it was often really difficult to talk to people like this with no one around but... But he had to get over it eventually. "Good afternoon, Mr. Cassidy? I'm Finn Taylor, one of Brock's teachers this year." He said with a polite and soft smile. He noted the male seemed to be alone and felt his chest tighten slightly... Perhaps it was true the couple really didn't do anything together these days, even this... "Was your wife unable to come?" He asked as he finished what he was doing and made a motion for the man to take a seat in one of the folding chairs he'd brought out for them so they needn't sit at the children's' desks.<br/><br/>He was quiet for a long moment as he thought about how to start, though finally, he figured that there was little point in dragging the man here just to be quiet. "I'm sorry for having called you in today. First, I want you to know your son is doing really well in school, and he's made a lot fo new friends this year. He gets along with all the other kids in class very well." He began, wanting the man to know that this wasn't something about the boy being in trouble or falling behind, though as he continued his eyes were softer, and his smile was a bit uncertain. "The reason I wanted to speak with you and our wife today though was that he seemed to get upset the other day when the other students were talking about family trips. When I asked him about it he mentioned that he thought you and your wife are not getting along well anymore, and I think he is quite worried about it. Many children don't understand why adults argue, and many adults don't take the time to properly explain things to their children and try to hide it from them." He watched the man's expression carefully, hoping not to step on any landmines.<br/><br/>"It's also common for children to think their parents are fighting because of them, even if nothing like that is ever said. Of course, I don't wish to pry into your business at home, but I do think it would be beneficial if you and your wife talked to him about things. He's a bright kid, I think he would be able to understand that adults have their arguments as well, just like the kids at school do." He offered another smile, hoping that he hadn't crossed a line, and also that what he'd said was actually useful. He didn't know what was happening at home, he didn't know what they were having troubles with, or if they had noticed yet how it was affecting their son, but while he didn't think that children needed a perfect home life to grow up properly, he also didn't think that children needed to be left out when it came to important family matters. In his experience, children understood far more than adults believed, and sometimes he felt that trying to keep everything from them and wear the mask of normalcy was only more painful.