Puzzles and Pieces ✔

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I wondered how long it would take for Kyle to get used to the move.

He was nervous when he initially started classes and had whined for a few days that he wanted to go back to his old school. I attempted to make him look at the situation with a positive attitude, but it didn't seem to cheer him up. Amira had given me advice to bribe Kyle's classmates with food to be his friend for the upcoming holiday. In the end, I bought heart shaped cookies for a decent price from the nearest store so hopefully his classmates would like it.

It was tough to find the time to sneak to his school in-between work hours, but I managed to convince my manager to cram all my breaks into a long one and Amira reassured me that she would pick up Kyle after school today. Despite the cookies being cheaper than most, it still costed more than I would like. I suppose it didn't matter since I needed to take extra shifts at work anyways.

I entered the hallway of the school, carefully analyzing the fading print on the doorways. I awkwardly held my pre-damaged visitor's badge in on hand while holding up the cookies in the other.

Kyle's classroom was room 117. I just had to find room 117, introduce myself and give a warm welcome, and then leave to get back to work.

There was a layer of grey to the school that seemed to hide the once vibrant decorations, either due to age or lack of cleanliness. There was an odd missing or broken tile on the wall every so often, making me wonder what caused it to end up in that state.

Before I could reach the classroom, I heard sudden yelps and scuffling. Yells echoed through the hallway and out of curiosity, I followed the noise to see what the commotion was about. My feet brought me to the bathroom, and I peered through the door to see Kyle on the ground and two boys standing over him. It took me less than a second to realize what was happening and my jaw locked in rage.

"What are you boys doing?" The sharpness of my voice caused the boys to flinch.

Kyle's cries were the only thing heard as the boys stared at their feet in silence. I rushed over to Kyle and lifted him into my arms.

"It'll be alright. Dad's here," I whispered to him. His arms clung to the back of my neck and I could feel my shirt slowly becoming damp.

"You two boys," I snapped. "Stay here."

The events happened after that turned out to be a long hour. I could barely remember what happened, but I knew I was angry and yelling at multiple people over Kyle's injuries. They weren't drastic thankfully, but he shouldn't have got them in the first place. Kyle was quietly nibbling on a cookie for a good chunk of the process and wouldn't look me in the eye. Kyle received apologies from the two boys as well after being lectured by their respective parents and school officials as well.

The school was nearly reluctant to punish the boys and to instead punish Kyle. That was what caused my outrage and yelling. Caleb had to go through this when he was in school, he didn't deserve to go through it a second time. If the world wanted him to suffer then it had to go through me first.

In the end, I had to call work to tell them that a family emergency came up, leaving me the option to have the rest of the day off. I had left the cookies for his classmates and they gave half-hearted thanks, trying to mask the curiosity about Kyle's situation.

When we came back to our house, Kyle looked at the ground with the intense sadness that no child should have.

"You alright, bud?" I asked him and the kid shrugged his shoulders. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" He shook his head. "You can talk to me when you want to, okay? Dad loves you a lot and is here to help."

His frown deepened and he looked up to me. "Dad, can we move back?"

I could feel my heart clench at the question. "I'm sorry, bud. We don't have the money to move back."

"I miss my friends." His voice cracked and tears rolled down his face. I didn't know what to do other than hug him.

"We can schedule some more playdates for the weekends and after school," I offered.

"But I want to be in school with them." My heart drops.

"I understand but-"

"I don't want to be there anymore!" Kyle stomped his foot against the ground in frustration and I sigh.

"Kyle-"

Before I could get in another word, he already ran into his room, slamming the door shut. I sighed and rubbed the side of my temples. If schools didn't have specific rules on who could attend based on where they lived, Kyle probably wouldn't be as upset with moving to a new home.

Kyle already was being teased in his old school for being different, but this new school was definitely not making it any easier either. This wouldn't be the last time that Kyle would get picked on. I want him to be himself, but I don't want him to be bullied either. It looked like it will take some time before I would be able to find a solution to the problem.

Caleb, how did it turn into this?