Day 24

In a DWD first, today's post will be a continuation of an earlier post. (I received a complaint about lack of narrative closure.) I can't say that this continuation provides much closure, but it does move things along...

And now, a continuation of Day 23 (including an update to the last paragraph):

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There he sat, on a blue, plastic chair in the open space behind the secretary's desk. His knees were tucked up against his chest and his arms stretched around his legs, with only his sneakers sticking out from the edge of the chair. His hair lay matted and stuck to his forehead and his face looked smeared, either with sweat or tears. There was a rip in his yellow t-shirt and the left sleeve showed splatters of red. Was that blood? she wondered. Barbara rushed toward Julien to check that he was okay.

Leaning down beside the chair, she analyzed every inch of him as she'd learned to do over the last six years—face, head, neck, arms, hands, fingers, chest, and legs—mentally checking off each body part as it passed her inspection. She found only a small scrape on his left knee and an unknown bruise on his right bicep, but no gashes or cuts.

"Where are you bleeding?" she asked gently. She looked at his face, waiting, but he sat still, staring at the floor beyond his chair.

"Mrs. Gorley?" said the secretary behind her.

"Just a minute," Barbara said without looking back. "Julien, sweetie, where are you bleeding?"

Julien tilted his head toward her. His eyes were moist and the smears on his face appeared freshly wet. He shrugged.

She couldn't read his expression, though she thought she knew them all by now. Was he angry? Afraid? 

"Mrs. Gorley?" the secretary repeated.

Barbara stayed crouched beside Julien, but turned to face the secretary.

"Principal Evers would like to speak to you," the secretary said, and indicated the closed door to her right. "Julien can stay here. I'll keep an eye on him."

Barbara nodded and turned toward Julien.

"We'll get this all figured out," she said and rubbed his arms with her hands, as if trying to warm him after a day out in the cold. "I'll be right back."

Barbara kissed his forehead, tasting a mix of sweat, sunscreen, and the baby sweetness that still emanated from him, and then walked into the principal's office.

Principal Evers stood up as Barbara entered and ushered her into the chair across from his desk before returning to his seat. His office was small but bright, with one small window looking out over the fifth grade garden. He offered a sympathetic, slight smile before he spoke, but Barbara didn't know if she should return it. Her eyes fell on his tie, which was decorated with basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, and baseballs, and she found herself mesmerized by it.

"Julien is a wonderful boy," Principal Evers said. "We've really enjoyed watching him grow and mature this year. But, today was not one of our better days."

Barbara stared at the tie as she listened. Principal Evers spoke in a sing-song voice, emphasizing certain words with pauses or an increase in volume, and she began to feel like a young student herself, now in trouble at the principal's office.

"Do you know that he brought a picture to school today?" he asked.

"Yes," Barbara said.

"Oh, so you saw that?"

"Yes," she said. "I helped him research it."

"You did?" he said, and his face grew more serious. "You didn't find it problematic?"

Barbara counted four basketballs beneath the windsor knot.

"No," she said. "Was it?"

"Quite a bit," he said.

Barbara watched as his forehead wrinkled. He appeared confused or, perhaps, concerned that she hadn't immediately recognized the issue with Julien's picture. She waited, uncertain what else to say about her lack of understanding.

"First of all," he said, "it was a very rude interpretation of Ms. Jenkins. The children were asked to bring in homemade items that celebrated her birthday, but Julien's picture did everything but celebrate her. A big gray hippopotamus is not a celebration of any person, Mrs. Gorley, particularly someone like Ms. Jenkins who has worked so hard to get healthier this year."

Barbara's cheeks burned as she pictured Ms. Jenkins looking at the hippopotamus and thinking it was meant to be a literal interpretation of her.

"Oh, that's not at all how he meant it," she said.

"Secondly," Mr. Evers continued, "Although we try to teach our children to be respectful, it can be challenging. When Julien's classmates saw the picture, they of course understood its meaning, and began to laugh about it. Lonnie Thompson, as I understand it, teased Julien about the rude picture. Julien insisted that he meant something else with it, but at that point the damage had been done. And that, of course, led to the fight."