Off To School
Neither Nate nor Sophie really know how to be parents. Sophie never had children, and Sam never made it home from the hospital. So when they get Parker, they do what they think is right. They enroll her in public school.
It is definitely not the right thing to do.
Parker lasts two weeks before Nate pulls her out, tired of the phone calls and meetings and talk of testing her for 'learning disablities'. Her teacher suggests medication and that's the final straw. He knows he's being stubborn, but Sophie lets him pull her out and they take a month of looking at different private schools until they decide on homeschooling. Nate isn't able to do it, but Sophie only really works at her theater on the weekends or very rarely at night so it works well.
Sophie uses a lot of curriculum from online and from books in the library. Their girl excells at math and anything logic based or mechanical, though poetry and such go right over her head. Sophie tries her best to socialize the girl, but shopping trips and coffee outtings only go so far.
Then they get Hardison, and everything changes again.
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They do research before sending Hardison to school. Nana had kept school records and report cards and all the things needed to enroll a child. They send him to a good public school a short ways away.
Again, that is the wrong choice. Less wrong than sending Parker, but still.
Hardison stays at the school for almost a month before a teacher brings up accelerated courses, and the gym coach expresses concerns for the young boy. Apparently Hardison was being bullied, and when Sophie heard she spent a good amount of time crying before whiplashing to anger at teachers and the bullies. After some more in depth searching they put Hardison in a private school where he does much better. He's above average in most areas, slightly below in anything that requires real physical skill, but where he shines is in computers and programming. It makes Sophie proud of him, and worries Nate despite Sophie and Hardison both promising it'd be fine.
(It's not quite fine, but neither parent will learn that until later)
Much like Parker, Hardison isn't the best socially though he is much more aware of how he should act. Getting him to relax and do things naturally is hard, but it's Parker who surprisingly coaxes him out of his shell. Hardison takes all her quirks in stride, and Nate couldn't be more proud of them.
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When Eliot comes along, it's the middle of a school year and he's already enrolled in a public high school across town. Nobody mentions anything and while he is withdrawn Nate doesn't think Eliot is being bullied. Eliot talks about school like any teen would. How he plays football at lunch, has a girl he likes, and hates classes. Everything goes fine for about two months. Then the report cards come in. One in the mail that Eliot hands Nate one day, and another in his email inbox from Eliot's homeroom teacher who's worried about him. For good reason, but that's not the first thing Nate notices.
The report cards don't match.
The one Eliot handed him was average across the board. Cs and Bs, with a good attendance record and no notes. It's also made up by Hardison, Nate later learns, because Eliot asked him to and gave the kid a pack of gummy frogs. Not that Hardison would need the extra incentive to help his foster brother out. The real report card is failing. Literally failing three classes, almost failing another two, with terrible attendance and records of fights plus a few notes from the grade consoler. Eliot is, put simply, struggling with school and didn't want Nate to find out.
It takes a long conversation that Nate was pretty sure would end with a fight or Eliot walking out, but none of that happens and Nate is actually relieved when he sends Eliot upstairs without either of them yelling. Apparently, Eliot missed a lot of school with his last foster parents to deal with his own injuries or those of younger kids, and his schooling fell to the wayside. The teen is behind in math, history, and below his grade level for reading. Not that Nate is too worried. Eliot seemed to like school when he was there for the most part, though Sophie does insist on a private tutor until Eliot can catch up.
It's only a few short months later that Nate gets another email, though the report card and comments are much better and the way Eliot is slowly relaxing into their home speaks volumes to how the teen is adjusting.
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"So you've got your kids each in a different school system?"
Nate doesn't look at Sterling, but he knows the man is giving him that weird raised eyebrow half smirk look. "Yup," he says, popping the P just because he knows Sterling hates it. "Different types of schooling for each one."
His friend raises the other eyebrow, now more of a surprised expression than the disbelieving one. "Wouldn't it be easier just to put them all in the same school?"
Nate thinks about it. Thinks about Parker, being forced into schedules with teachers and students alike whispering behind her back. Thinks of Hardison and how he could have run circles around most of his teachers in a regular system. Thinks of Eliot being crushed by the high work load and stern rules of a private school. Nate thinks about his children, each in their own niche and growing into wonderful people and shakes his head. "No Sterling, it wouldn't be easier." And Nate finishes his coffee before leaving Sterling in the small pub, planning to walk the short distance to his house. His home. His family.