My kids are in summer school. Not because of need, but because I refuse to let them sit around the house all day playing video games and watching the cartoon network.
Anyhoo, yesterday at 1pm I get a call from the school. It’s the principal, can I come to the school, “there’s been an incident”. So I jump in the car an go on down, where I present myself to the office.
On entering I see my youngest son Chris. He’s dust covered but smiling, and there blood on his shirt. He says “look Dad, my tooth came out”. He shows me a paper towel, and sure enough it’s a tooth. I can also see the gap in his smile where the tooth used to be. (BTW, it was loose prior to the incident)
By now I also realize that my other two sons Jock and Stuffinb II are also in the office. Behind me in storms a tazmanian devil of a woman. She’s yelling about her sons, and the SOBs who attacked them. A knot the size of an orange has grown in my stomach, Uh oh, I’m thinking.
Out comes Mrs Blake from her office. She has two boys in tow, about Stuffinb IIs age, apparently twins. Also apparent is the fact that they too have been in a fight. The orange has blossomed into a basketball. Mrs Blake makes intros the Tazmanian Devil is definately the other kids’ mother. She suggest we go to the conference room.
The conference room is arranged with 4 tables forming a square. We take seats. My boys and I on one side, the other family on the other side, a teacher (Chris’) and Mrs Blake and one of the security guys at the head. Mrs. Blake opens up by reading the schools ZT policy. Relavant detail: A child attacking another child is grounds for expulsion. The TD, is making noises under her breath and giving my kids a feral look.
Mr’s C (the teacher) is asked to explain what she saw. What emerged made me proud.
As related by Mrs C:
Chris was hanging upside down on the monkey bars, when one of the twins (daren, or darryl)came up and yanked him down and threw him to the ground. Chris gets up and shoves the boy. The other twin kicked him in the but from behind. Chris hits him, and that one hit him in the mouth/face.
Meanwhile his brothers who were apparently a short distance away saw what was happening and joined the fray. Security gaurds broke up the fight.
The TZ goes into spit and spin mode. “No way, look at what they did to my kids. They’d never do anythng like that. Those kids started it, etc…” She has kind of a point I notice. Her kids are dirty smudged and scraped, tear here and there in their clothes. Other than as I described Chris you wouldn’t know Jock And Stuff had been fighting.
But wait! There’s video. See they’ve been filming and taking stills for education material and textbooks on Campus. Sure enough indisputable evidence is shown on the TV in the conference room. As my boys weren’t the aggressors (ZT doesn’t apply to siblings coming to the defense if siblings) we are dismissed. On the way out Mrs. Blake chided me to warn the boys to go to a teacher before resorting to fighting.
Yeah sure.