The Perfect Solution-A Suspense of Choices (4 page)

"Hi. Yep the teacher is new." He answered.

Brhin, who had climbed off his cot to fix its sheet, continued to do so without looking around. He knew Melody's mother by the odor of her perfume and didn’t feel the need to look up. Melody was his three year old girlfriend.

"I like your haircut, Brhin." Melody's mother bent her knees to be at his eye level and fingered his curls.

"T'ank you," He had a habit of occasionally dropping letters when speaking. "My mommy took me to the barber. I din't cry, but when they cut hers, she did." He giggled and turned around. "I think she was just play'n though. Did you know that Melody is in the bat'room?"

"Yes, I know. I came to get her things."

"Oh. Did you know that Melody likes my hair, too?"

"I am sure that she does." She smiled at the dimpled grin that he gave her.

"She's my girlfriend, ya know."

"I know." She fingered his hair again. "How is your mother doing? Is she still sick? Do you want me to bring you home? I can go and call her."

"Yep, she's still sick, but my Auntie Phae is coming to get me. I'm gonna go play with her dog. He's little and fluffy and he likes to chase me through her house. His name is Road kill. My uncle named him that. He says it's because they found him on the street."

"That's a good name, then." Melody’s mom laughed. "It sounds like you're going to have fun." She began to move away. "Well, I have to go. Tell your mother I said 'hi'."

"I will."

Finished with his cot and following the custom of the class, Brhin turned and without asking permission, walked out of the room and strolled leisurely towards the restroom. He liked going in there without the teacher and the rest of the class. It was quiet and smelled really good. His momma said it was because of the plug-ins, the air fresheners and the toilet paper holders with the deodorizers built in. Most of all Brhin liked the pictures of the boys that were drawn on the walls. They looked so real and showed the correct behavior expected to be followed by each little boy that entered the room. She said if everyone followed the examples of the murals' depiction of correct conduct that was painted in specific areas of the restroom, order would reign. But what unsupervised child ever did the unspoken 'right thing'?

Today, it was noisy in the multi-colored room. Two little boys were enjoying themselves as they crawled under and out of the blue doors of the three stalls. Laughing and shouting at the occupants. A small group of five-year-old boys were cheering each other on as they took turns doing chin-ups on the metal bars attached to the urinals while two others were having a water fight at the sinks. Looking at the mess, Brhin turned and almost ran out of the room. He wanted no parts of the confusion. He had learned one thing since starting at The P. S. Center and that was, when one was in trouble all were in trouble and he had no wish to find out what went on behind the closed closet door in the theater room. He had seen too many frightened children dragged into that closet and they always came out with wet eyes and tight, trembling lips. Brhin shuddered expressively.

As he slowly retraced his steps to the classroom, Brhin dragged the fingers of his right hand over the happy animal murals painted on the wall and prayed that he wouldn't wet himself before his auntie arrived.

"Get in your room." One of the teachers stood in his path, hands on her hips. "What are you doing out here?"

Frightened by the woman's unexpected appearance, Brhin stopped short with his hand on the wall. As was a rule of The P. S. Center, Brhin put his hands behind him and clasped them tightly. Nervously wondering what would happen after being caught with his hands on the wall.

"Nuthin."

"Then get in there and keep your hands off of the wall. Do you want to be out here washing them?"

Not waiting for an answer, the teacher gave him a small tap on the behind and continued on her way, stopping to stick her head into the door of the restroom and yell instructions for the other children to return to their proper classes.

Continuing to his own class, Brhin stopped at the sound of the building's door being opened; he turned and looked over his shoulder. A woman wearing a Dallas Cowboys jacket was standing with her back against the glass of the doors. She was not his auntie, besides; the way the woman was staring down the hallway at him made him feel strange. Dismissing her from his mind, he hurried on into his classroom. Taking a seat behind his nameplate at one of the round tables, he patiently waited for the teacher to bring in the snack.

Brhin traced the red elephant shaped nameplate with his finger and looked around the room. Ms. Franklin was trying to push a stack of cots into a closet and banged the back of her hand on its doorframe. Cursing involuntarily as she dropped the cots and shook her hand to relieve the pain, Stephanie Franklin looked around guiltily. Lowering her head in shame when she observed Brhin watching her, Stephanie moved away from the cots and asked him if he were ready for his snack. Taking note of his affirmative nod, she looked around in confusion. How was she supposed to get the required snack when no other adult was around?

Frustrated by activities of the entire day, Stephanie shook her head. Shrugging her shoulders and knowing that she would have to leave twenty-odd children unsupervised, Stephanie walked out of the room. There was nothing else she could do.

Brhin was still tracing the elephant when he heard footsteps approaching the classroom's door. He hoped it would be his auntie. Smiling expectantly, he looked towards the door. Neither of the two women entering the room resembled his auntie, so he resumed his tracing. Startled by one of the women stooping to his eye level, Brhin paused in his tracing.

"That's a cute elephant," she said.

Not recognizing the voice, he continued tracing the pattern on the table and didn’t answer.

"Is that your name?"

Brhin nervously tried to cover the entire elephant with the palm of his right hand, but had to resort to using both. Still he didn’t answer.

"You are such a cute little boy."

"Go 'way, lady."

Brhin muttered under his breath. He hated it when people he didn't know spoke to him. It felt strange and scared him. It always bothered him when grownups would bend down and talk in his face like he was a baby. Some people thought of him as shy, but he really just didn't like talking to strangers, especially when his mother wasn't around.

"May I help you?" Ms. Franklin walked into the room carrying the snack tray. She put the tray loaded with opened cartons of milk, graham crackers, and fruit cups onto the table in front of Brhin, and turned to face the woman.

Swallowing the startled gasp that tried to escape from her throat at the sight of the large mole under the woman's eye, Stephanie looked down at Brhin. His lips were pulled in tight and he was tracing the shape of the elephant bearing his name with shaky little movements and a trickle of something crossed Ms. Franklin's mind. Before she could analyze the source of the feeling, the woman grabbed her attention by loudly clearing her throat before responding.

"That looks delicious," said the woman. She stood and smiled at the teacher. "He should really like that."

Ms. Franklin smiled in agreement. "May I help you? Did you come to get someone?" She asked.

"Yes, I came to get Brhin."

Brhin's head snapped up and he examined the woman's face. He didn't think he knew her and he knew he wouldn't forget seeing a woman with a mountain under her eye.

"I've already signed him out and spoke to the lady in the office." She added.

"No you dinit come to get me." Brhin stated plainly. "I don't know you. My auntie is coming to get me."

"You just forgot, Honey." She rubbed his head gently.

"No I dinit."

Brhin swiped her hand from his head angrily and sat further back in his chair. He felt really afraid, a little angry and something was telling him not to go with the lady. Remembering the lesson he had just learned at Sunday school, he looked the woman in the face.

"The Holy Spirit is telling me not to go with you." He defiantly crossed his arms, successfully showing that he would stand his grounds.

“We don't want to talk about that kind of thing here, Brhin," The lady answered.

"My momma told me to do what the Holy Spirit tells me. If it feels wrong, don't do it. That's what she told me. I don't know you."

"And I'm trying to do what your mommy wants me to do." She knelt by his side. "Did you forget about McDonald's? We're supposed to go there this afternoon so you can play."

"We're not.” Brhin shook his head violently in disagreement. “My momma said it's too cold outside and anyway we only go there on cartoon day. I want my auntie." He turned to the teacher. "My momma said she is sending my auntie to get me. My Aunt Phae will say the password and I’ll go with her."

"I'm sorry, this is upsetting you Brhin," The woman attempted to rub his head again and he jerked back further. "But this was all arranged after you were brought to school. Your auntie is busy and your mom forgot to give me the password." The woman smiled sweetly at Brhin before turning to the teacher. "I guess it's because she is so ill. She's been ill and trying to fight it all week, probably the flu."

"No, I won't go." Brhin shouted and slapped his palm on the table. His little body filled with fear and anger sat stiffly in the chair.

Every argument Brhin gave to the contrary, the woman explained away. The teacher tried to stay focused on the conversation while keeping a wary eye on the activities going on around the room, but soon gave up. The children were pulling out containers and tossing out the contents of puzzle pieces, small toys and blocks. Irritably, she thought about how it would take the rest of the afternoon to clean the room and in exasperation, Stephanie removed Brhin from his chair and placed him in the woman's arms.

"Listen Brhin its time to go home. I have to take care of the other children. It’ll be all right. Soon you’ll be home with your mother and all will be well."

Placing a tight grip around Brhin's angry, struggling body the woman informed the teacher about his jacket.

"Black leather, zips down the front with an attached hood."

"I'll get it." Volunteered Ms. Franklin, anything so she could get back to work before anyone else came in. The children had now turned the room into a disaster area and she had no doubts at all that it would take forever to get it into order.

Crossing the room to the coat closet Stephanie reached in and removed the jacket from the hook bearing Brhin's name. A folded piece of paper fluttered unnoticed from his pocket and onto the floor of the closet. Before being carried out of the room Brhin tearfully begged the teacher to call his mother. The misery in his little eyes tugged at Ms. Franklin's heart and she took a step towards him. Nearing the woman's right shoulder, Stephanie watched the tears roll down Brhin's cheeks and a rush of doubt crawled up her spine.

"Ma'am? Maybe I..." she reached to remove him from the lady's grasp.

The woman interrupted her by abruptly sidestepping and walking towards the door, saying 'I can't stop now, I have to take him' as she walked out of the room. Increasing her pace, she rushed down the hallway and practically ran out of the double-glass doors.

A myriad of questions began swirling around Stephanie's brain. What have I done? What was I thinking? Did I do the right thing? Why had Brhin been so upset? He should have been happy to be going home. Maybe he just didn't like the woman. Children could be like that. She reasoned. And then again, I wonder if I should go and tell Mrs. Julioux about the incident.

Looking around the room, she was astonished at the total chaos. Toys were now everywhere. Almost every child seemed determined to entertain himself with whatever item he or she could find. Unmade cots were still scattered around the room. And a few adventurous older boys were attempting to jump across cots placed near a wall. Three toddler girls were having a screaming, yanking match over a single multi-colored tennis shoe that obviously belonged to neither of them. Two little girls were running back and forth, racing to put snacks by each name tag on the second of the three large round tables, while the smallest table in the room was being pushed around by four overzealous young males trying to arrange the room into the order it had been before nap time.

There is no way I can leave this room, Stephanie decided. I already feel as if I've made one of the biggest mistakes in my life by sending that child away. What in God's name was I thinking? After all the classes that I have taken, I should have known better than to place that child in that woman's arms. I should have made an effort to call his mother. How could I let my frustrations rule my good senses? And if I walk out of this room, something terrible might happen.

"Excuse me," Stephanie placed her hand on the shoulder of a parent that was about to leave the room. "Would you take a note to the office for me? I can't leave the children."

"Sure, that's not a problem. Don't they have an intercom in this room? All you have to do is push the button and call up front."

"I know, but Mrs. Julioux turned it off this morning."

"Didn't want to come down and give you any help, huh? That's how she is. That’s what all of the teachers complain about. It’s the same thing every day. She would rather sit in the office and pretend that she's important. I'm Ms. Jada by the way, Becky's mother." She jostled the toddler in her arms and Stephanie realized that the child happened to be the toddler that had been screaming bloody murder earlier. “Yes, I'll bring the note to her," Jada agreed. She looked around the room and smiled. "The children are a little rowdier, than usual. They are probably acting like this because you're new. Will you be taking the other teacher's place? I hope you can handle them better than she did. She mostly let them go for what they knew. Pretty much like today. It is starting to affect the behavior of my daughter at home. At least at home I can tap her on her butt and she'll check herself. You're not allowed to do that here are you."