Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 121

On Friday morning, Lawrence Langford arrived twenty minutes late.

Cars already packed the space outside the school gates. Parents walked their children toward the auditorium. Some carried crafting supplies, others held cameras, and there was even a father wearing a matching athletic jacket with his kid, bending down to straighten a crooked name tag.

Lawrence sat in his car, his brow furrowing slightly as he watched the bustling scene.

He hated these kinds of events.

They were too loud, too chaotic, and entirely inefficient.

But he had promised Wren Whitaker.

To be precise, he had been forced into it when she told him, "If you can't make it, let me know in advance."

From the front seat, Xavier turned around. "Mr. Langford, I've already pushed back the ten-thirty video call, but at eleven-forty, there's the project meeting with Jude Sinclair..."

"I know."

Lawrence pushed the door open and stepped out.

He had only taken two steps when another car pulled up behind his.

Willow Whitaker stepped out, wearing a light beige coat and carrying a clear storage box. Inside lay neat stacks of colored paper, a glue gun, paint, and a fully assembled miniature space station model.

Lawrence paused. "What are you doing here?"

Willow smiled, looking a bit shy. "Eleanor mentioned Leo had a family activity today, and she was worried you'd have your hands full. I realized I hadn't seen Leo in a while, so I thought I'd drop by."

She sounded perfectly natural.

So natural that it felt as though she didn't need any formal justification to be there.

Lawrence glanced at the box in her hand. "What's all that?"

"Backup supplies," Willow murmured softly. "Didn't Leo's model break last time? I was afraid he'd be upset if he didn't have anything to show today."

It was a considerate sentiment.

Lawrence didn't reject the offer.

Truthfully, he had no idea what to prepare for a family school event. When Leo Langford brought that model with the broken solar panels to him the night before, he had rummaged through the old crafting materials Wren left behind and only found a roll of clear tape.

In the end, the boy had cut the cardboard himself and carefully taped it back together.

It didn't look great.

It was even a bit lopsided.

At the time, Lawrence had said, "It's faster to just buy a new one."

Leo clutched the lopsided model, whispering back, "But Mom and I made this together."

That single sentence had suffocated the air in the study.

Now that Willow had brought a new one, it at least looked presentable.

"Leo, yours is amazing!"

But Leo didn't move.

He looked down at the crooked, glue-stained model in his arms, then at the shiny new one in Willow's hands.

Willow softened her voice even more. "It's okay, you can use this one for the display today. You can take your old one home to keep safe."

Leo tightened his grip on his own model.

"I want to use this one."

Willow's hand froze in midair.

Her smile didn't falter, but a subtle stiffness flickered in her eyes.

Lawrence frowned. "Leo, don't be stubborn."

The boy's shoulders flinched.

Despite the loud chatter in the auditorium, that single reprimand was enough to make his face flush.

He mumbled, "I'm not being stubborn."

"The new one is intact," Lawrence said, eyeing the shabbily repaired model. "It won't be embarrassing when you present it."