“Hi, Sierra,” I sighed, already knowing she was calling about Sam.
“I’m afraid Sam is sitting here in the office.She’s had a bit of an … um …episode.”
The school, unfortunately, was not overly understanding or accommodating for children with any mental health issues or neurotypical diagnoses.This wasn’t the first time Sierra, or Principal Pickford, called about Sam shutting down when things became too overwhelming, or she started to experience anxiety; “an episode.”Sam’s teacher, Ms.Fitzpatrick, was a bit better.However, her hands were rather tied since Otto Pickford, the principal from Hell, kept her on a tight leash.It seemed like most of the parents on the island were crossing their fingers that the crusty old fart with the burst capillaries on his nose would either retire, or have a stroke in his sleep and just not wake up.I wasn’t entirely sure his wife would even miss him.
“Can I speak with her?”I asked, already knowing the answer.
“I’m afraid Principal Pickford would just prefer you to come get her.She’s already been very disruptive in her class today.”
“Put my child on the phone, please, Sierra,” I said a little sterner, as my body temperature went up.My voice shook, since I normally wasn’t one for confrontation.But for my child, I’d confront the Devil himself.
I thought for a moment Sierra was going to comply, based on the way the phone rattled and the static over the line, but then a throat cleared and I rolled my eyes.“Danica, this is Otto Pickford.Please come pick up Samantha.Her outbursts and unmanageable behavior are becoming a bigger and bigger problem.She will be waiting outside for you.”Then the line went dead.
Rage and worry filled every available crevice in my body as I pushed down on the accelerator and took a left at the next fork rather than a right.
We needed to figure out a way to get rid of this man once and for all.The way he roamed that school with his hiked-up brown pants, yellow short-sleeved button-up with a gravy stain, and gross discolored mustache was enough to give the kids nightmares.But it wasn’t just his personal appearance that was frightening; it was his ego.His air of superiority.Like he was some kind of god, and all the children—and their parents—should revere him.
I pulled onto the school road and slowed my roll.A sad, short figure with blonde hair stood at the top of the drop-off roundabout in front of the school’s entrance.My heart ached for my child.
Sam wasn’t a bad kid by any stretch of the imagination.And I wasn’t one of those parents who thought their crotch spawn could do no wrong.I knew I had flaws, and I knew my child had flaws.But she was agoodkid.She’s polite, she’s kind, she’s not bossy or rude.She didn’t talk back.She’s just shy, and suffered from low self-esteem and anxiety.And while I wouldn’t even consider those flaws, they are setbacks, and can make her life more difficult.
I pulled up right in front of her, parked the RAV but left it running.With sadness in her eyes, she approached the back passenger door and opened it.“I’m sorry, Mom,” she said, her bottom lip wobbling.
“Stay here,” I said, climbing out and marching to the front door of the school, yanking it open, and not even bothering to address Sierra and her open codfish mouth, or Otto and his wide, soulless eyes.I made my way down the hall toward Sam’s closed classroom door and, with shaky breath and an even shakier hand, I gently rapped on the window.
The lights were off as Ms.Fitzpatrick was using the overhead projector for something, but she glanced up, saw me, and smiled.Understanding dawned in her eyes.
She murmured something to the class and joined me in the hallway a moment later, just in time for Otto to join us, his face a mottled array of different shades of red.
“Danica St.Claire, you do not just march intomyschool and not let the secretary or myself know your purpose,” he said, hoisting up his pants and belt over his protruding belly, only for it to instantly fall again when he let go.
I ignored him and smiled at Cheryl Fitzpatrick.“What happened today?”I asked as softly and gently as I could, even though inside I wanted to punch Otto, while at the same time also run outside and comfort my kid.
“She had anotherepisode,” Otto said, just as Cheryl went to open her mouth.“She’s a troublemaker, that child of yours.Nothing but trouble.”
I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and released it in a quivering staccato a moment later as I tried my best to rein in my desire to stomp on Otto’s foot hard enough to break every bone.Or at the very least, a few toes.
“I’d like to hear it from Sam’s teacher, please,” I said through gritted teeth.“Since she was there and witnessed it.”
Otto huffed.
“We had to partner up, and unfortunately, Sam got partnered with Clyde.”
Crap.
Clyde was a real piece of work.He was relentless in his torment of not just Sam, but a few other kids as well.However, he wasn’t an idiot and doled out his torture in creative and sneaky ways.No wedgies or ponytail pulls.This kid went for the jugular.He was like a leech that grew bigger and stronger the more he emotionally and psychologically taunted his peers.The kid—in my totallynon-expert opinion—was a sociopath and needed to be put on a government watchlist.An expert at figuring out a person’s weakness and exploiting it, he was well known for making several kids in his class cry by only muttering a few words.
And Sam’s weakness was her shyness and low self-esteem.Or at least, that was what he chose to prey on her about.He would comment on how it took her longer to figure out math equations, and that she wasn’t a fast runner, or was a terrible kicker when they played soccer.He teased her when she was forced to read aloud—something she hated.Stuttering and lisping under his breath to throw her off.And while my kid had neither a stutter nor a lisp, she became increasingly self-conscious when he did this, believing there was something wrong with her speech.
Clyde seemed to make it his life’s mission just to ruin her day.She came home in tears quite often because he said something nasty to her that hit a nerve, and my little love, who already didn’t think very highly of herself, didn’t have the strength not to believe him.
“Why did she get partnered with Clyde?”I asked.
Cheryl sighed.“She was in the bathroom, and Clyde was getting a bandage from the nurse when we selected partners.So it was a default thing since they were the only two left without a partner.”The remorse in her eyes eased my frustration a little.“I should have broken up another pair and reassigned them.I’m sorry.”
“Nonsense.Kids need to learn to work together,” Otto said.“There’s no special treatment at this school.And certainly not for disruptors like Samantha.”
Gritting my teeth, I did my best to lift the corners of my mouth a little while continuing to face Cheryl.“What happened exactly?”
