Yitzy was shocked.

What in the world was going on?

Of course, he was very happy to pack up and leave math class early. It was something he dreamed of doing every day.

The question was, why was he being asked to leave? Was he in some sort of trouble, and the principal was sending him home as a punishment? He didn’t think so. Could something bad have happened to his family? Was someone sick?

As he packed up his knapsack and headed to the classroom door, Yitzy totally ignored the jealous looks his friends were giving him. He was too worried to notice anything. He had an uneasy feeling about this. Something very bad was going on. He just knew it.

When he walked out into the school hallway he was shocked to see his father and mother waiting for him. This was beginning to look more serious by the second. In all his years of school, he never, ever, remembered both of his parents coming to get him in the middle of a school day.

“Hi, Tatty and Mommy,” he stammered. “What’s going on?”

His parents both looked very worried. Yitzy felt like a whole family of butterflies was doing jumping jacks inside his stomach. Why were his parents here? Why did they look so worried?

“Hello, Yitzy,” began his father. “Let’s go for a little walk, and we’ll tell you what’s happening.”

As the three of them walked to the yeshivah’s front door, Yitzy grew more and more frightened. Why weren’t his parents telling him what was happening?

His father took out his cellphone and dialed a number. “Hello, is this Vulka Car Service?” he asked into the phone. “Can I please get a car to pick me up at 187 Broome Street? We’ll be heading downtown to 573 Main Street. You’ll be here in five minutes? Okay, thank you.”

Rabbi Levinson hung up and turned to his son. “Listen, Yitzy,” he began, “I would love to explain to you what is going on, but your mother and I are a bit confused ourselves.”

Yitzy was now even more confused than ever.

“Let me tell you what I do know,” began Rabbi Levinson. “As I left to shul today, I found an envelope that had been left on our front doormat. It was from the Greentree Management Company, the company that is in charge of the building we live in.”

Yitzy tried to act surprised, even though he actually knew about the letter already. He remembered the look on his parents’ faces when they read the letter, and how worried they had been.

“What did the letter say?” he asked.

Rabbi and Mrs. Levinson looked at each other nervously.

“That’s the funny thing,” answered Rabbi Levinson. “The letter said that I needed to come to the office of the Greentree Management Company this morning at nine-thirty, and meet with some lawyers there.”

“Was that the appointment you told me you were going to?” asked Yitzy.

“Yes,” answered Rabbi Levinson. “The letter made it sound like this appointment was very important. That is why I took time off from yeshivah to go there.”

Suddenly, a black car pulled up in front of them.

“Are you going to Main Street?” asked a man with a heavy Russian accent.

“Yes,” answered Rabbi Levinson. Rabbi and Mrs. Levinson and Yitzy all slid into the back seat of the car.

When all the doors were closed, the driver zoomed off in the direction of the city’s downtown area.

Yitzy was dying of curiosity. “So, what happened when you came to the meeting?” he asked.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 751)