Page 4 of Above All Else
According to the school, being unkempt wasn’t a strong enough argument to start an investigation with CPS.
My gaze slid up her arm, the excitement of the room fading into the background.
A cylindrical purple bruise rested just above her shirt sleeve, the bottom sliver hanging below.
Red, furious fire churned in my belly. “Does it have anything to do with your mom passing?”
Caroline pinched her lips with her other hand, folding the bottom lip inward, then squeezing tight.
Why does she shut down on me?
I sighed and gave her a nod. “Well, I’m here if you need me, Caroline. I—“
“Ms. Collins.”
I rose to my feet, her hand leaving mine, and turned toward the door.
Jenny stood in the doorway, a walkie-talkie in her right hand. “We’re waiting for your class.” She held up the radio. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
I swallowed and shot a look at the radio on my desk. “Sorry. I must have turned the volume down.”
“Do you need help?”
I shook my head. “I’ve got it. Just give me a minute.”
Jenny, the new second-grade teacher, spun on her heel after a sideways glance, then traipsed down the hall.
Grabbing the hand-held radio, I moved to the door through the throng of wiggly kids. “Okay, eyes on me.” I touched my nose, and the class settled. “Great job. We’re going to walk down the hall quietly and in a single file line.”
My eyes landed on Caroline, and a heavy sigh slipped through my lips. “Understood?”
“Yes,” the kids whispered as I taught them, hissing like snakes.
“Follow me.” I spun on my heel, my hand dropping to my side as I led them out of the double metal doors.
Stopping on the sidewalk, we remained in a group as the parent’s vehicle pulled around, their sticker in their window matching the sticker on their backpacks.
Jenny and three office assistants helped each child into their verified vehicles.
“Ms. Collins, look what I found.” Evan stood beside Madeline, a shy girl who ate a crayon on the first day and held his hand in the air—a gleam in his eyes.
“What is it?”
He opened his hand, revealing an odd-shaped rock. “It looks like the letter L.”
I gave him a soft smile and took the rock, turning it over from side to side—whistling a breath of relief it wasn’t a wood roach again. “Wow, Evan. What a find.” I patted him on the head andhanded it back to him. “You’ll have to add it to your growing collection.”
He smiled a toothless smile, his two front teeth missing. “You can have it.”
“Thank you, Evan.” I pocketed the small rock, its weight pulling on my dress. “You’re such a sweet boy.”
Forty-five minutes flew by in a flash, and the last of the students disappeared into their respective vehicles, leaving little Miss Caroline at my side, her demeanor unchanged.
My teeth clenched hard. “I’ll stay with you until your dad comes. Do you want to sit in the office with me?”
“He’ll be mad.”
I frowned. “Does he get mad often, Caroline?”