Page 7 of Trouble Comes in Threes

So he knew Ashley. That was good. He had to know it was unusual for her to be caught up in drama. “It’s Mrs. Simmons,” I said. I was still legally Rose Gardner, but I let people call me by Joe’s last name when it pertained to the kids. “Or Ms. Gardner. I’m Ashley’s aunt. Her legal guardian.”

His face went slack. “Oh. Right. I’d forgotten.”

Ashley was still clinging to my hand, so I gave her another squeeze and a reassuring smile before I got down to business. “Mr. Caldoni, it has come to my attention that a boy in my niece’s class has been harassing her and that her teacher, Mrs. Pritchard, did nothing to intervene. In fact, when I questioned her about it just a few moments ago, she seemed to condone the behavior by stating that the boy was speaking the truth.”

Mr. Caldoni’s jaw tightened as he turned to my niece and said kindly, “Ashley, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

In a meek voice and with her gaze on her lap, Ashley repeated what she’d told me that morning, along with a few more details that made the whole situation even more unsavory. Oliver and some other children had tormented her for several minutes, and the only reason Mrs. Pritchard had eventually shut them down was because it had interrupted her lesson time. Oliver had resumed his harassment during recess, and Ashley had finally kicked him to make him stop.

When she finished, Mr. Caldoni lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Mrs. Simmons, we take bullying very seriously here.”

Part of me wanted to say I wished he’d taken it seriously when I’d been Ashley’s age, but this was about her, not me. Even so, I’d pull her out before I ever let anyone treat my niece the way I’d be treated at this school.

“I appreciate that, Mr. Caldoni,” I said with a slight nod. “But apparently, Mrs. Pritchard doesn’t have the same philosophy.”

He folded his hands on the desk. “I’m sure this has been blown out of proportion.”

“And I can assure you that it has not,” I said firmly. “Ashley isn’t prone to fanciful exaggerations. She believes in the facts. If she says this happened, then it did.”

“I’ll speak to Mrs. Pritchard after school.”

“And I’m sure she’ll deny it ever happened, or she’ll dismiss it, the way she did a few minutes ago in the hallway, saying that he spoke the truth.” I glanced over at Ashley and gave her another smile. “Ash, can you wait out in the other room for a moment? I need to speak to Mr. Caldoni alone.”

“Okay,” she said so quietly I barely heard her.

I waited until she walked out and the door clicked before facing him again. “Ashley’s mother had a terrible illness that separated her from her mother for months before she came home and died. Then her father was arrested and incarcerated.” I pointed to the door. “That little girl has been to hell and back and survived. I would like to consider West Side Elementary a safe place for her, but that was stolen from her yesterday, and she no longer feels safe here. Especially since her teacher has made it clear, she doesn’t have her back.”

He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Mrs. Simmons, I know that Mrs. Pritchard can come across as harsh.”

“Harsh is taking away recess when you don’t have enough time to finish your in-class work. Allowing Ashley’s classmates to harass her over something that she has absolutely no control over is Draconian.”

He offered me a weak smile. “I will speak to Mrs. Pritchard.”

“And, as I said, she’ll deny the entire thing. You need to speak to some of the other children in the class to get the real story.”

He stared at me for a moment. “Very well. I will.”

My back stiffened. “When you confirm that my niece is telling an accurate account of what happened yesterday, what do you plan to do about it?”

“I can’t discuss disciplining other students or faculty with you.”

“I don’t necessarily need to know the details,” I said, “but I do need to know that this will be addressed, and a reoccurrence will not be tolerated.”

“Of course. Of course,” he said, patting his hands toward me. “I plan to get to the bottom of things.”

“How can I leave my niece here, knowing you plan to send her back to the very place that hurt her yesterday before you address the issue?”

His face softened. “I understand your concern, Mrs. Simmons, and I am truly sorry Ashley was hurt yesterday. I do plan to address this, so it hopefully won’t happen again, but until we have an actionable plan, either I or Ms. Klaas, the assistant principal, will sit in Mrs. Pritchard’s classroom.” He paused and lowered his voice. “You are not the first parent to notify me about what happened yesterday afternoon. In fact—” He gave me a soft smile, “—I’d planned to call you in a bit and discuss it with you.”

I sat back in my seat. “Oh.”

“I take the safety of our students personally,” he said. “Both physically and emotionally.” He held my gaze. “Attitudes about bullying have changed since you were a student here. I can assure you that I am full of regret for the way students were treated in the past.”

I stared at him in shock. First, I was surprised he remembered I’d been a student here, especially since he’d called me Mrs. Beauregard. Second, I wondered if he was speaking in general or addressing me specifically.

“I’m glad to hear it,” I finally choked out. “I will not stand by and let my niece’s spirit be crushed when a teacher could have tried to stop it.”

“That being said, children are often cruel,” he said, sorrow in his eyes. “We can do everything in our power to stop it, but incidents happen.”

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