No, but it is entertaining.

"Daddy!" Julia squeaks happily. "And Mummy too! This is so great! Hello Mrs. Wolcott."

"Hi Mom," Millie says, more restrained than her friend, her eyes flickering to you and to Julia's father. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Carrolton. What are you all doing here?"

"Can't a mother come see her daughter?" Marcia Wolcott asks with a laugh. "The Carrolltons were coming up and they suggested I tag along. Are you all settled in dear?"

"Yes Mom, everything's fine. I've only been here a few days," Millie answers with a faint note of exasperation. "Julia and I got everything sorted out. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Don't be like that sweetie," her mother chides gently. "I know what a capable young woman you've become. But Mommy is always a Mommy. You'll find that out for yourself one day."

"We've been chatting with Mr. Watts," Helen Carrolton interjects. "We think he's a wonderful addition to the faculty. Do either of you have classes with him?"

"Yes Mummy," Julia grins. "A fitness and health class. Millie's in it too."

"And the other men, do you have classes with them? We haven't met them yet."

"I have a history class with Mr. Sharp and a Computer Class with Dean Hawkfeather," Julia answers with a smile.

"Are they as handsome as Coach Watts?" Marcia Wolcott teases. "And what about you dear, do you have classes with the other men."

"Yes Mom, with all of them. And yes they're all handsome. For older men that is." Her eyes flicker at you for a moment, a glitter of amusement in them. You see her glance touch Tony Carrollton as well before she looks back to her mother.

"Well, I know I'd have been smitten if Coach Watts had been teaching when I was your age," Helen Carrollton says with a chuckle. "I was a very bad girl in those days, Marcia too. We were terrible. We were in the Dean's office on more than one occasion, weren't we?"

"I'm afraid so," Marcia says with a blush. "I understand the new Dean has reinstated paddling for some offenses. How is that working out so far?" She turns to the headmistress with an enquiring look.

"It's too early to tell for certain," Ms. Naylor answers, choosing her words carefully. "But Dean Hawkfeather has certainly impressed the students that he's serious. I suspect the threat is as effective as the reality."

"A little corporal punishment never hurt anyone," Tony Carrollton says with a firm nod. "Did me a world of good when I was younger. And you too from the sounds of things my dear." He gives his wife a hug around the shoulders and a kiss on the cheek, making her smile happily. "I see no reason that girls like Julia and Millie couldn't benefit from it. As long as they deserve it of course."

You see another look pass between Millie and Julia's father before both of them turn away, and you wonder if there is more to their relationship than appears. For a moment there had seemed to be an unspoken message between the two, but from the look of others at the table, you were the only one that noticed.

The girls chat a few moments longer, then exchange hugs with the three adults and say goodbye to the faculty members before making their way back to a student table. You notice Millie glance back as she sits, her eyes catching yours for a moment before turning to look at Tony Carrollton who is exchanging a laugh with Lorri McKay.