In The Shadow Of A Billionaire's Past

It’s the first day of the new school year and I find myself sitting across from my six-year-old son, Oliver at the polished mahogany table in the breakfast nook of our kitchen. It’s a rare event for me to share a sit-down breakfast with my son. My life as a self-made billionaire is hectic as is so I choose to savor this rare occasion.

My son’s eyes are bright with excitement and I watch as he eagerly spoons cereal into his eyes, his feet swinging beneath the chair. I suffer a brief crisis of guilt at the fact that all I can give him on his first day of school is cereal. I gave the kitchen staff the day off so I could spend this time with my son but all I know how to make, unfortunately, is cereal. He doesn’t seem to mind though and I’m grateful for that.

“So,” I start, sipping on my cup of black coffee. “Are you excited for the new school year?”

Oliver’s eyes gleam with excitement. “Yeah, I am. New friends and a new teacher too, I’m excited.”

This is a rare opportunity to be a part of my son’s education. My routine is so demanding, work taking precedence over all else that I haven’t been as involved as I should have been.

I lean closer, choosing to seize this rare opportunity to bond with him. “What’s so exciting about a new teacher?” I ask him.

“We get Ms. Ava this year. She’s the best, Colin told me. She has long shiny black hair and she’s so pretty and nice. She knows everything about everything, Colin says she always answers all his questions even the ones his parents won’t. Like where babies come from.”

Colin is the son of one of my business partners and neighbor. He attends Oliver’s new school, Willowbrook elementary where he is in the second grade. He must have spent quite some time telling Oliver all he could expect from the first-grade class. I’ve never heard Oliver speak about a teacher this way, he’s usually not so excited about the idea of being taught. I wonder briefly about this mysterious Ms. Ava who has my son so pumped up about school.

“What else did Colin tell you?”

“He said on the first day of school, she lets us play with colors and paint, no teaching.”

Ah, so that’s why he’s so excited. This doesn’t seem to be your regular boring old teacher; I have to admit I admire her tactics to attract the kid’s attention so early.

“You already really like Ms. Ava,” I remark, my interest in this new teacher genuinely piqued. I’ve made a career out of assessing people and I’m very interested in knowing how much of a good influence this teacher would make on my boy.

I chuckle silently to myself. Look at me, one day with my son and I’m playing the part of the concerned parent to a T. I suppose if there’s ever a time to be more involved in my son’s life, the start of his first day of elementary school is as good a place as any to start.

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