His Heart

Chapter twenty-seven: Charlie

Had I really said that? You could come over. Were we even ready for that? I ran my hand through my hair and walked towards the school. I could ask Maddie to pick Leo up but it wasn't fair to ask her to do it last minute.

My boy dragged his feet when leaving the school and I worried.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

He stayed silent and I went to speak to his teacher.

"How has Leo been today?" I asked. "He seems a bit...despondent."

"Hello Mr Sanchez." Miss Willow said. "There was a bit of conflict between Leo and one of the other boys in class today."

I looked at my boy.

"Ok."

"It appears there's been some bullying going on. But we're keeping an eye on the situation and the older child's parents have been notified." She said.

"Leo's being bullied?" I asked.

"Like I said, we're monitoring the situation and keeping the boys apart. Leo knows he needs to tell us if the bullying continues but if he tells you anything, you can inform the school." She explained.

I looked down at my son who held my hand tight.

"What kind of bullying?" I asked. "How long has this been going on?"

She sighed.

"Why don't we come into the classroom so we can talk?"

I followed her into the room and my son climbed into my lap.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Leo told us that this older child has been picking on him during class. Things like taking his pencils and pushing and pinching. There's been a bit of name calling. We've explained to all the children that it's not nice to tease and are watching the other child carefully, and are keeping him away from Leo as much as possible until the situation is solved." She explained.

I nodded.

"Leo, you know you can tell us or Papá if anything is wrong, don't you?" She addressed my son. "We're going to fix the problem together, aren't we?"

Leo nodded and clung to me. I kissed him on the forehead.

"Thank you, Miss Willow." I said, standing up and taking Leo's hand.

"I'd advise you to talk to Leo about this more, sometimes children disclose more in a comfortable environment." She said, shaking my free hand.

I led my son out of the room and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"It's ok." I said. "I'm going to help you."

We were quiet on the way home and I wondered what Jasmine would do. She was a peacekeeper. She would invite the other child's parents around and discuss the situation until everyone left smiling, the best of friends.

But how I wanted to handle it was a bit different.

~*~

"How long has this been going on, Leo?" I asked, when he was sat at the table with a drink and snack.

"A while." He said, munching on a biscuit.

"Do they do all the things Miss Willow said?"

He nodded.

"Do they do anything else? Like when the teacher isn't looking?"

"Sometimes they rip up my drawings." He said.