Page 60 of The Killing Plains

Satchel said nothing.

“I’m not mad.”

“Yes, you are,” he murmured into his sleeve.

“I’m not, I promise.” She reached beneath the desk to rub his back. “Where were they?”

“Your purse.”

“Mypurse? You know that’s not—” Colly stopped herself. “When?”

“This morning. You were in the bathroom.”

“Satchel, why? Look at me.” She tried to pull his arm away from his face, but he resisted, hugging his knees more tightly. Colly caught a glimpse of his bandaged fingers.

“A boy called me a bad name,” he whispered. “Everyone laughed.”

“What bad name?” Colly waited. “Never mind. Remember how to put up your forcefield like Dr. Bracken showed you?”

“That doesn’t work.”

“Neither does burning yourself.”

“It makes me feel better. I don’t know why.”

Colly’s head had begun to ache. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You can’t play with fire, buddy. You just can’t.”

“Why’d my mom give me such a stupid name?”

“You’re named after a great baseball player. And don’t change the subject. Promise you won’t play with fire.”

Satchel looked doubtful. He hunched his shoulders, then nodded.

“Say it.”

“I promise.”

“Good boy.” Colly pulled him onto her lap and kissed his forehead. “Let’s go.”

They found Brenda and Wanice in the second-grade classroom, talking quietly at the teacher’s desk.

“Satchel has something to say.” Colly nudged him forward.

He stared at the floor. “Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“Thank you, Satchel. That’s very brave.” Brenda extended her hand. “You’re probably starving. I’ll walk you to the cafeteria. We can have a chat while we go.”

Satchel looked uncertainly at Colly but allowed himself to be led away.

When they were gone, Colly turned to Wanice. “I don’t know what got into him.”

The teacher smiled sympathetically. “Brenda mentioned there was an incident last night that could’ve triggered something?”

“He saw some blood. But I never thought—” Colly’s head throbbed. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket with an incoming text, but she ignored it. “I understand if you’re not comfortable keeping him in class.”

“He’s a sweet little boy. I’d love to have him if Brenda okays it. She’s the expert.”

Brenda returned alone after a few minutes. “I think he’ll be all right now. I should’ve anticipated how traumatic last night might’ve been.”

---