An Altercation
April 2245
"Lennybug, would you come down, please?"
"I'm reading," came Lenora's voice down the stairs.
Brianne sighed. "Now, Lenora. I need to talk to you." She put the PADD she held down on the table and waited, hearing small footsteps and a loud thump before her daughter appeared in the kitchen.
"I fell down the stairs again," Lenora informed her, one palm pressed against her forehead.
"You have to be more careful," Brianne said, but didn't elaborate this time; she had a more important issue to discuss. "Lenora, I just got a message from your teacher. He said you were fighting at school. What happened?" The incident report had been bare-bones, devoid of any details that would explain Lenora's behavior - this hadn't happened before.
Lenora's shoulders stiffened and her eyes cast down at the floor for a moment. "It wasn't my fault."
"Whoever's fault it was doesn't change the fact that you hit another kid. What happened, Lenora Bailey?"
The use of her middle name worked about as well as expected. Lenora lifted her chin and stared her mother in the face, a perfect picture of eight-year-old defiance. "Gary said -"
"Which Gary?" There were two: 'Gary-in-my-class' was Garrett, a blond hellion, and 'Gary-who-cleans' was Garrison the custodian. One, obviously, was more worrisome than the other in terms of what had probably been an insult.
"Gary-in-my-class," the girl said. "He said Lazlo's cute but I'm just a freak, so I called him a big pest and then I socked him." A grin flashed across her face, quick as a shooting star and just as quick to fade. "It was true. He's taller than me and he's a pest, so it's true two times."
"Sweetie, I wasn't questioning how true it was. Gary's a pest, for sure." Brianne pulled out a chair and sat down, all the better to be at eye level with her child, whose eyes already questioned so much. "Back up. How can he have anything to do with your brother? Lazlo's only six."
"I know that." Lenora rolled her eyes. "I dunno, maybe they hang out at recess. I don't have to watch Laz at school."
"No, you don't. That's a possibility, so then what? He said he thinks Lazlo is cuter? That's ridiculous." Of all the kids in the second grade, that spoiled little rat Garrett had to pick on the shy one? Brianne shook her head in disgust.
"Uh-uh, no it isn't." Lenora's head whipped back and forth. "He didn't say he thinks. He said Lazlo's cuter. Then he said I shouldn't be stuck on math, so I'm dumb, too. That was after I socked him." If she didn't stop chewing her lip soon, it would be red for the rest of the day.
"Lenora, listen to me." Brianne put a hand on Lenora's shoulder, her palm almost swallowing up the fine bone. "We don't hit people."
"But Grandpa said." Lenora's voice was bending and whining, wavery like the strings of a guitar. She stuck her bottom lip out. "He said I gotta 'nihilate that jerk when he says stuff."
"You don't listen to him. You listen to me and Dad, okay?" Yeah, so she was probably creating more confusing bits of information for the kids to pick apart - Mom said don't listen to Grandpa! - but it was simpler. For now, anyway, when Lenora's blind belief in words was so strong. "You can't annihilate Gary just because he insults you with a lie. Tell Mr. Stone or Dad or me, but you don't hit."
"But Mom, it wasn't a lie. I'm for-real weird." Dark eyes squeezed shut, lashes sweeping down to darken her cheeks. When they opened, they were bright. "And I do get s-stuck on math."
"Oh, Lenny." It was so difficult not to grab Lenora and squeeze the thoughts out of her, but the little girl's crossed arms and downcast head spoke louder than any declaration of don't touch me. Brianne folded her hands into her lap, the better to avoid temptation. "So what? I still get stuck on math. I bet Gary does, too."
Lenora shrugged. "D-dunno."
"Listen to me." She laid a hand against her daughter's cheek. "You're not weird. You're you, and that's all you need to be. Okay?"
Lenora turned her head away. "Don't. I don't like when you do that."
"Christ, Lenora." Brianne shook her head. How could she relate to a child who wouldn't accept contact with her own relatives? She caught herself - now wasn't the time for irritation, no matter how pervasive - and continued, "Gary Dearborne is a liar, and he's just trying to make you feel bad. You are perfect just the way you are. Do you hear me?"
"Nnyeah." A nod, dark bangs stirring on Lenora's forehead. "Gary Dearborne's a liar," she said, as if testing it out, and a hint of a smile began to grow on her face. "And I'm okay."
"That's right." She'd write to Isaac Stone. If Dennis and Roni couldn't control their son, well, someone had to. But there was no need to involve Lenora in that. "You go read on your PADD, okay? I think you got the message."
"Got it, Mom." Unexpectedly, Lenora leaned forward and lightly kissed Brianne's cheek. "See ya later."
Brianne couldn't help grinning back.
"Lennybug, would you come down, please?"
"I'm reading," came Lenora's voice down the stairs.
Brianne sighed. "Now, Lenora. I need to talk to you." She put the PADD she held down on the table and waited, hearing small footsteps and a loud thump before her daughter appeared in the kitchen.
"I fell down the stairs again," Lenora informed her, one palm pressed against her forehead.
"You have to be more careful," Brianne said, but didn't elaborate this time; she had a more important issue to discuss. "Lenora, I just got a message from your teacher. He said you were fighting at school. What happened?" The incident report had been bare-bones, devoid of any details that would explain Lenora's behavior - this hadn't happened before.
Lenora's shoulders stiffened and her eyes cast down at the floor for a moment. "It wasn't my fault."
"Whoever's fault it was doesn't change the fact that you hit another kid. What happened, Lenora Bailey?"
The use of her middle name worked about as well as expected. Lenora lifted her chin and stared her mother in the face, a perfect picture of eight-year-old defiance. "Gary said -"
"Which Gary?" There were two: 'Gary-in-my-class' was Garrett, a blond hellion, and 'Gary-who-cleans' was Garrison the custodian. One, obviously, was more worrisome than the other in terms of what had probably been an insult.
"Gary-in-my-class," the girl said. "He said Lazlo's cute but I'm just a freak, so I called him a big pest and then I socked him." A grin flashed across her face, quick as a shooting star and just as quick to fade. "It was true. He's taller than me and he's a pest, so it's true two times."
"Sweetie, I wasn't questioning how true it was. Gary's a pest, for sure." Brianne pulled out a chair and sat down, all the better to be at eye level with her child, whose eyes already questioned so much. "Back up. How can he have anything to do with your brother? Lazlo's only six."
"I know that." Lenora rolled her eyes. "I dunno, maybe they hang out at recess. I don't have to watch Laz at school."
"No, you don't. That's a possibility, so then what? He said he thinks Lazlo is cuter? That's ridiculous." Of all the kids in the second grade, that spoiled little rat Garrett had to pick on the shy one? Brianne shook her head in disgust.
"Uh-uh, no it isn't." Lenora's head whipped back and forth. "He didn't say he thinks. He said Lazlo's cuter. Then he said I shouldn't be stuck on math, so I'm dumb, too. That was after I socked him." If she didn't stop chewing her lip soon, it would be red for the rest of the day.
"Lenora, listen to me." Brianne put a hand on Lenora's shoulder, her palm almost swallowing up the fine bone. "We don't hit people."
"But Grandpa said." Lenora's voice was bending and whining, wavery like the strings of a guitar. She stuck her bottom lip out. "He said I gotta 'nihilate that jerk when he says stuff."
"You don't listen to him. You listen to me and Dad, okay?" Yeah, so she was probably creating more confusing bits of information for the kids to pick apart - Mom said don't listen to Grandpa! - but it was simpler. For now, anyway, when Lenora's blind belief in words was so strong. "You can't annihilate Gary just because he insults you with a lie. Tell Mr. Stone or Dad or me, but you don't hit."
"But Mom, it wasn't a lie. I'm for-real weird." Dark eyes squeezed shut, lashes sweeping down to darken her cheeks. When they opened, they were bright. "And I do get s-stuck on math."
"Oh, Lenny." It was so difficult not to grab Lenora and squeeze the thoughts out of her, but the little girl's crossed arms and downcast head spoke louder than any declaration of don't touch me. Brianne folded her hands into her lap, the better to avoid temptation. "So what? I still get stuck on math. I bet Gary does, too."
Lenora shrugged. "D-dunno."
"Listen to me." She laid a hand against her daughter's cheek. "You're not weird. You're you, and that's all you need to be. Okay?"
Lenora turned her head away. "Don't. I don't like when you do that."
"Christ, Lenora." Brianne shook her head. How could she relate to a child who wouldn't accept contact with her own relatives? She caught herself - now wasn't the time for irritation, no matter how pervasive - and continued, "Gary Dearborne is a liar, and he's just trying to make you feel bad. You are perfect just the way you are. Do you hear me?"
"Nnyeah." A nod, dark bangs stirring on Lenora's forehead. "Gary Dearborne's a liar," she said, as if testing it out, and a hint of a smile began to grow on her face. "And I'm okay."
"That's right." She'd write to Isaac Stone. If Dennis and Roni couldn't control their son, well, someone had to. But there was no need to involve Lenora in that. "You go read on your PADD, okay? I think you got the message."
"Got it, Mom." Unexpectedly, Lenora leaned forward and lightly kissed Brianne's cheek. "See ya later."
Brianne couldn't help grinning back.