JEREMIAH




He missed school today. Friday. I would have too if I thought I could have gotten away with it but no one listens to me anymore when I wake up complaining that my stomach hurts so I just trudged off to school. I didn’t think anything of it when his desk sat empty all day. Who could blame him for taking a three day weekend?
At the end of the day his mom came up to the room and asked if we could talk once I’d dropped the other kids off. What did I do now? So I walked the rest of the kids downstairs and dismissed them for the weekend then went back upstairs to the distressed parent. By the time I saw her again it was clear that she’d been crying while I was out. She then sat down and revealed the reason for her son’s absence. Family drama. She told me about the child’s father, her ex-boyfriend, and all the ps and downs they’d had and how the night before he’d threatened to kill her and the boy. It was all over a Shrek II DVD. Their boy is sick with fear and exhausted from spending the day in the local police station. If only I’d been right: a little kid playing hookie to stay home with mom and watch a movie. I like my story better. Oh, and have a nice weekend . . .

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