Canaries Among Us by Kayla Taylor

Author:Kayla Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press

Later that night, I receive calls from two moms. Both are near tears telling me their children witnessed the incident but didn’t know what to do. Both women say their kids are crying. It was traumatic for them to observe the episode. I can’t imagine how an anxiety attack, if that’s what Hannah experienced, looked to eight-year-olds. One parent tells me the girls used spikey holly leaves to prick Hannah, to make her feel like she really was being bitten. I wonder how the girls could have known about this new phobia, but then I realize Hannah must have expressed her fear of ticks at some point and they seized upon it, just as they did with spiders. The intentionality is hard to process.

When Jim returns home from work, I relay the details. He fumes, “Those bastards.” His word choice suggests he isn’t addressing the girls. He’s furious at the adults who allowed this to happen. I feel the same way. I suppose I could be angry at the girls, but they are broken cogs in a defective machine. Where are the damn engineers to fix this wreckage?

Jim helps me draft an email documenting Hannah’s account and the description the two mothers relayed. We demand apologies and consequences. We copy Hannah’s teachers, Richard, Paula, and the school psychologist. And then we wait.

Given our social ties and mutual friends, I’m not surprised when the assistant head of school responds first:

Sorry to hear this. Busy packing the family for our trip to Florida. I hope everything goes well. I’ll see you in the New Year! Paula

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