The Boarding School

Social Dilemma

Katelyn Stone

The classroom was dark except the lamp on her desk, where Katelyn sat grading papers. Thomas's grades had improved while Luke was his roommate, but after the sudden disappearance Katelyn had to scramble to hide, Thomas's grades in every class other than her's fell again. However, she noted to herself, they didn't fall quite as much as they could've.

The dark haired girl shivered. Why was the classroom so cold? She stood. At the same time there was a crash farther back in the classroom. Startled, Katelyn quickly stood behind her desk, carefully reaching within her drawer for scissors. Any official tool of self-defense was illegal in the school, including pepper spray. It was said to encourage violence.

She peered into the dark corner and realized it was a child. A little boy! The boy darted towards the door, but Katelyn got there first, shutting it and standing in front of it. "Daniel!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing up and outside? You know the curfew."

"D#$% the curfew!" he exclaimed.

"Watch your language, young man!" Katelyn reprimanded, "What were you doing outside?" Large cracking and the sound of sirens interrupted. Keeping an eye on the student, she went to the window. A few miles down the road, she saw flames and the flashes of emergency vehicles. Her heart sank, "Does that have anything to do with you?"

The twelve year old's eyes flashed, "It sure does!"

"What did you do?"

"We - I wired up one of the security vehicles watching the roads for troops."

"Why?" she stepped away from the door and reached out, taking with arm with gentleness coupled with firmness and leading him to a desk.

"Because - because!" he stuttered in a desperate, low, furious voice, "They've taken everything from me." He plopped down into a chair and Katelyn took the seat next to him. "My parents! My sisters! My brothers! And they put me here! They all deserve to burn! All of them!" He jumped up, as though to try to run away, but Katelyn stopped him and sat him down again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No!"

"Well, I think you  need to talk about it. And you know what I am really, really good at?" He shook his head. "Keeping secrets. So right now, you can tell me anything you want, anything you feel, and I will listen and I won't tell."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." He sighed, tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. Katelyn smiled comfortingly and took his hand, "What about your family? Did you have a mom?" He nodded. "A dad?" Another nod. "What about siblings? Tell me about them."

Daniel wiped his eyes and told Katelyn the all too familiar story of a loving family raising their children the way they believed they ought to be raised with the values they believed in being ripped apart when someone decided their values discriminated and offended them. She'd heard it a thousand times before, but for some reason, her heart wept as she fought back tears.

She wrapped her arms around the little boy as he began to sob. After he'd quieted, she asked him gently where he had gotten the explosives. He shrugged, sniffling, "Some kid brought it to the group."

"What group?"

Daniel shook his head, "I swore I wouldn't tell anybody!"

"Alright, you don't have to tell me names, just tell me about them."

"We just cause trouble is all to help the rebels get through," he shrugged, "Some of the older ones have already joined troops. I'm gonna do that!" He paused, "Luke was a freedom fighter wasn't he? I saw him and he's gone now, same as your friend. One of the boys said his older brother saw him with a troop once."