Golden Gooses

10

     All the children went back to their horseshoe tables. Evan was in the "time-out corner", concealed slightly by some bookshelves, while Mrs. Montgomery sorted things out and called parents. The kids were whispering among themselves and glancing at Evan every so often. He fiddled with his fingers as he sniffled and wiped dry tears off his face. I really wanna apologize... He thought regretfully. He got out of his chair and walked to a gap in the bookshelves, peeking through to see if Mrs. Montgomery was paying attention. When he saw she was preoccupied with the phone, he crept out of the time-out corner and walked over to Joshua and Avery. "Joshua, I'm sor—" Before Evan could get out an apology, Joshua shrieked and bolted out of his seat, cowering behind Avery. "Get away monster!" He shouted. Everyone was staring now, including Mrs. Montgomery. "Yeah, go away!" Avery chimed in, shielding Joshua. "I—" Evan stammered, taken aback by their response. "I'm sorry, hold on just a moment." Mrs. Montgomery paused the phone call and stormed over to Evan. She snatched him up, gripping his arm. "You have caused enough trouble today, mister!" She scolded, trying to stay semi-composed. She exhaled deeply and held Evan by the hand as she dragged him over to her desk. "You're going to sit here where I can keep my eye on you until the end of the day." She explained. Evan somberly shook his head, wiping away tears.

     Mrs. Montgomery leaned back in her chair, sighing and hanging up the phone. "Well Evan, I can't reach your parents, so you're not going home early." "Really?" He asked excitedly, sniffling his tears away. "Yes, but don't get excited. You'll still be in time-out until school's over." "Okay..." he replied, dejected. "Avery, Joshua," Mrs. Montgomery started. "Grab your things from your cubbies. Your grandma is here to pick you up." Joshua nodded, limping out of his seat as Avery assisted him. She shot a final glare at Evan before they left the classroom. Mrs. Montgomery contemplated what happened. Is he an anomaly? No, they were all accounted for. Plus, he doesn't seem like a freak. A regular kid is all. It started raining before that, right? Maybe the kid was just a victim of circumstance, and a lightning bolt came down. That honestly makes more sense than him being magic. She looked at Evan beside her. Him, of all people? No way in hell. She scoffed under her breath, waving away the thought. But, a bit of her felt uneasy as she replayed the moment in her head.