Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 74

Ivan was such an intelligent kid. Julie figured parent-teacher meetings would be a breeze. She was expecting praises about his extraordinary intelligence or, at worst, a heads-up about him being a bit naughty at school. But she never saw this coming.

"Are you Ivan's mom?" the teacher asked, looking rather helpless. "I mean, he doesn't seem dumb or anything. Grades aren't everything. Sure, he's never scored more than 10 out of 100, but that's not the issue here. The problem is his attitude. He's always on his phone or sleeping during class. It's not good."

As she spoke, she handed Julie a test paper. "Look at this. He can't even get the simplest questions right. Even 1 plus 1 equals 2!"

Julie awkwardly took the paper, noticing the meager score of 2. Those points must have come from guessing correctly on multiple-choice questions.

She couldn't believe her little boy, who seemed so bright and teachable, had scored poorly.

The paper clearly read "Ivan Hernandez." In all of Whispering Pines, there were only a handful of Hernandezes. The only one she knew was Kieran.

Just last night, Ivan had sworn his name was Ivan Kennedy. Why the sudden change to Ivan Hernandez? Could it be?

"Has his father ever visited the school?" Julie asked, eager for answers.

Upon hearing this, the teacher's gaze hardened. "We understand that parents can be busy, but a child's growth is crucial. His father has never visited, and this is your first time here. That's why we need to discuss Ivan's situation at school."

"Andie! Mr. Farrell is here!" a colleague suddenly called out.

Upon hearing Mr. Farrell's name, Andie quickly got up, looking a bit nervous. "I'm sorry, I have to step out for a moment. Could you wait in Ivan's classroom?"

Seeing Andie's reaction, Julie knew Mr. Farrell must be a big deal. She nodded her agreement and headed off to find Ivan.

She hadn't gotten far from the office when she spotted Ivan waiting for her.

"Mama Julie, the teacher must have said bad things about me, but don't believe her. I'm a good boy," Ivan said before she could even speak.

Julie simply handed him the test paper and asked, "Ivan, is your last name, Hernandez or Kennedy?"

Oh no. Upon seeing the paper, Ivan knew the teacher must have let the cat out of the bag. He should have just let Karl handle the meeting. Remembering what Kerry had told him, Ivan answered without hesitation, "I'm Ivan Kennedy!"

"But this paper says Ivan Hernandez."

"That's not my paper!" Ivan protested. Seeing Julie's skeptical look, he added, "It must be another student in my class. His name is Ivan Hernandez, and he's so dumb. He doesn't even know that 1 plus 1 equals 2."

"So, what does 1 plus 1 equal?" Julie asked, arms crossed.

"Two, of course!" Ivan replied, holding up two fingers. To prove his point, he pointed to other questions and gave the correct answers. "This one is three, this one is six, this one is eight. I got a perfect score on this test!"

Ivan looked very proud of himself. After hearing his correct answers, Julie started to believe him. She tousled his hair, saying, "Ivan, you're so clever. Let's go to your classroom now, okay?"

Go to his classroom? Everyone knew about his embarrassing score. If they went, his secret would be exposed. Kerry had said that if his secret was exposed, she would never talk to him again. He had just found his mom.

With this in mind, Ivan quickly grabbed Julie's wheelchair, saying, "Mama Julie, wait here. I need to use the bathroom!"

"Okay," Julie agreed cheerfully.

Ivan rushed towards the bathroom, dialing his father's number on his phone. But the thought of asking for help from his own dad was too embarrassing, so he changed the number to Karl's.

"Ivan," Karl's voice came through the phone.

"I've sneaked mom into school for the parent-teacher meeting without telling Kerry. But the teacher has met mom and wants to visit my classroom. Karl, I love you. Please get mom to leave. If Kerry finds out, he'll spank me. It's so embarrassing!!"