Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

28 - Injury & Awards

28

Injury and Awards

Monday, January 30

Kevin knew he was vulnerable. He'd been careful not to drink too much after talking with Monica, so he slept okay Sunday night. Today was clear and bright, though still cool. A metaphor for his current marital status? Everything seemed better. I had been afraid to call her, but I faced that fear, and now I feel lighter.

At school, he was glad to see his students, and most of them were happy. Art smiled once in a while. Amazing, considering that he had completed the consequences of throwing the big marble at Brendan. But despite having dodged a parental phone call for teasing Art, Brendan seemed down. He loved attention but didn't seem to want any today. Smith didn't visit, so Kevin made a judgment call regarding group rotations. Since Brendan, for whatever reason, didn't seem to want as much focus today, his rotation would be last.

Brendan's group came over and sat down with Kevin when it was their turn. Brendan sat on Kevin's left, showing his profile, but not turning toward Kevin when it was his turn to read. He wore blue jeans, the standard for fifth graders, but a long-sleeved navy shirt, different from the usual t-shirts he preferred. A couple of kids looked at the far side of Brendan, as if seeing something for the first time, then looked down quickly, as if hoping to not get caught staring. Come to think of it, didn't Brendan enter class with his head turned away?

Kevin waited until Brendan was so engaged in his turn reading that he didn't look up. Kevin moved to his right, slowly, trying to be almost invisible. He made a show of looking at each kid's book, pretending to make sure all were following along silently during the passage that Brendan read. But he got a look at Brendan's other side, and what he saw upset him. Along that half of his neck was an ugly bruise. It was just one, but a couple of inches wide, black and blue. It looked painful. What could have caused that? What should I do?

Kevin decided to play it cool and talk to the counselor at morning recess. He walked back, hoping Brendan wouldn't notice. They finished as the bell rang at ten o'clock, starting the fifteen-minute recess. Kevin stood near the door. As he expected, Brendan chose to be the last to leave class. Kevin stopped him briefly, making sure that they were alone.

"Brendan, sorry, but I noticed that bruise on your neck. Are you okay? Do you need to see the health aide or anything?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Mr. Watson. Just had an accident when I fell yesterday at home and hit my neck on the arm of a chair. It's better. No, I don't need to see the health aide. It looks worse than it is."

"Okay, Brendan. See you after recess. I have to lock up and run an errand."

Brendan looked sad, like he was hoping to stay inside with Mr. Watson during the break. No such luck.

*****

"Hey Julie, got a minute?"

"Sure, Kevin. What's up?" Julie looked up at him, over her reading glasses.

"You know my student, Brendan Rivers?"
"Yeah. Mr. Upchuck. What about him?"

"He has a huge and ugly bruise on his neck. Says he got it falling and hitting furniture, but I don't know about that. He has been hanging his head down all morning, wanted to stay inside this recess, and isn't his usual attention-craving self. I'm worried."

"Well, you have to report it to law enforcement. It's a required action. There will be an investigation, but your identity will remain confidential. We can do it after school today. That will give Brendan time to be seen by other adults, so there will be doubt about who might have made the report. One of two outcomes will occur. Either the family will be found culpable or not. If they are to blame, but their cover story holds, at least they will be on notice and less likely to do so again. If they are innocent, law enforcement should be able to communicate that they were checking just in case, and it wasn't personal. The family will be scared, but perhaps they'll work to prevent such accidents in the future. This is a legally mandated report with no other option allowed. Just act normally the rest of the day in your class, and we'll deal with it together after three o'clock."