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Authors: Alyson Miers
Tags: Coming of Age
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people 'squirrel-brain'?"
Charlinder didn't want to talk to Taylor's siblings just yet. It would surely open up a can of worms leading to yet another discussion he would rather avoid. "I'll see how they are tomorrow," he said. "If they're still out of sorts, I'll talk to the families."
"There you go," said Roy.
Charlinder went to Spinners' Square after lunch to find Miriam working and chatting away with Phoebe and Yolande and keeping a spinning wheel set aside for him, as promised. Yolande occupied a stool between Phoebe and Miriam, carding wool for them while Stuart played with a ball of yarn in the grass. He walked up to the Square in the middle of a sudden burst of laughter from all three women.
"What did I miss?" he asked as he sat down at the wheel.
"There you are," said Miriam when she saw him. "I was just telling the girls about the little schoolroom incident today."
"What about it?" Charlinder asked, immediately suspicious.
"We can't get over 'squirrel-brain'!" Phoebe laughed. Stuart suddenly looked up at Charlinder and burst into high peals of laughter, too.
Chapter Six
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The rest of the afternoon passed so enjoyably that Charlinder soon asked himself if he had overreacted. He forgot the tension of the school day. He liked his life just where it was, and he preferred not to think about how it would be several years down the road, when all his friends would be mothers of children in his class. Stuart, for example, was a very sweet child but there was no telling how he would be as a pupil. The idea that within the next couple of years, the rest of his friends would also have babies, was a change he preferred not to imagine. The idea of “babies” was one thing, but he preferred to come up to Spinners’ Square and join the women as “my friend Char,” and without the additional layer of “my kid’s teacher.” He liked what they had just then. It didn’t need to change.
Even when Ruth arrived late in the day with a knitting project of what appeared to be a small sock, Charlinder assumed she didn't intend to do anything except enjoy some conversation while doing her textile work.
"Hello, Ruthie," said Miriam, in the tone she used to tell people they were expected to declare their intentions right away.
"Hi, everyone,” Ruth responded as she sat down in the grass. "Hi, Stuey!" she cooed at Stuart, who held up the ball of yarn he was using as a toy.
That was enough for the time being. Ruth went on knitting, the rest of them continued with their tasks, and no one said very much, but it wasn't a tense quiet. It was the kind of quiet that happens when no one needs to say anything, and they were comfortable that way, until the sun started glowing orange and sinking towards the horizon.
"Char, who was the other little boy fighting in school today?" asked Ruth suddenly.
"What do you mean by 'the other little boy'?" He suspected she already knew of Taylor's nephew, but wanted her to spell it out.
"I heard from Taylor that his nephew, Michael, was in a fight with another little boy at school today. Who was the other boy?"
"That was Khalil," said Miriam. “I’m tight with his grandmother.”
"What were they fighting about?" asked Ruth.
"Taylor didn't tell you?"
"No, he just said Khalil said something that made Michael really mad, and they ended up fighting."
Charlinder did not like where this was headed. "Khalil said Michael and Taylor were both squirrel-brains," he said, dodging the issue and making Phoebe and Yolande giggle.
"But what would make him say that?" Ruth pressed on.
"I don't know," he fudged. "Kids that age do a lot of things for no apparent reason. The little buggers just don't think."
"But this is the first fight you've seen in two years of teaching school," said Ruth. "Surely it didn't just happen for no reason."
Miriam let out an exasperated growl. "Char, you might want to leave now," she said through
Charlinder didn't want to talk to Taylor's siblings just yet. It would surely open up a can of worms leading to yet another discussion he would rather avoid. "I'll see how they are tomorrow," he said. "If they're still out of sorts, I'll talk to the families."
"There you go," said Roy.
Charlinder went to Spinners' Square after lunch to find Miriam working and chatting away with Phoebe and Yolande and keeping a spinning wheel set aside for him, as promised. Yolande occupied a stool between Phoebe and Miriam, carding wool for them while Stuart played with a ball of yarn in the grass. He walked up to the Square in the middle of a sudden burst of laughter from all three women.
"What did I miss?" he asked as he sat down at the wheel.
"There you are," said Miriam when she saw him. "I was just telling the girls about the little schoolroom incident today."
"What about it?" Charlinder asked, immediately suspicious.
"We can't get over 'squirrel-brain'!" Phoebe laughed. Stuart suddenly looked up at Charlinder and burst into high peals of laughter, too.
Chapter Six
Listen
The rest of the afternoon passed so enjoyably that Charlinder soon asked himself if he had overreacted. He forgot the tension of the school day. He liked his life just where it was, and he preferred not to think about how it would be several years down the road, when all his friends would be mothers of children in his class. Stuart, for example, was a very sweet child but there was no telling how he would be as a pupil. The idea that within the next couple of years, the rest of his friends would also have babies, was a change he preferred not to imagine. The idea of “babies” was one thing, but he preferred to come up to Spinners’ Square and join the women as “my friend Char,” and without the additional layer of “my kid’s teacher.” He liked what they had just then. It didn’t need to change.
Even when Ruth arrived late in the day with a knitting project of what appeared to be a small sock, Charlinder assumed she didn't intend to do anything except enjoy some conversation while doing her textile work.
"Hello, Ruthie," said Miriam, in the tone she used to tell people they were expected to declare their intentions right away.
"Hi, everyone,” Ruth responded as she sat down in the grass. "Hi, Stuey!" she cooed at Stuart, who held up the ball of yarn he was using as a toy.
That was enough for the time being. Ruth went on knitting, the rest of them continued with their tasks, and no one said very much, but it wasn't a tense quiet. It was the kind of quiet that happens when no one needs to say anything, and they were comfortable that way, until the sun started glowing orange and sinking towards the horizon.
"Char, who was the other little boy fighting in school today?" asked Ruth suddenly.
"What do you mean by 'the other little boy'?" He suspected she already knew of Taylor's nephew, but wanted her to spell it out.
"I heard from Taylor that his nephew, Michael, was in a fight with another little boy at school today. Who was the other boy?"
"That was Khalil," said Miriam. “I’m tight with his grandmother.”
"What were they fighting about?" asked Ruth.
"Taylor didn't tell you?"
"No, he just said Khalil said something that made Michael really mad, and they ended up fighting."
Charlinder did not like where this was headed. "Khalil said Michael and Taylor were both squirrel-brains," he said, dodging the issue and making Phoebe and Yolande giggle.
"But what would make him say that?" Ruth pressed on.
"I don't know," he fudged. "Kids that age do a lot of things for no apparent reason. The little buggers just don't think."
"But this is the first fight you've seen in two years of teaching school," said Ruth. "Surely it didn't just happen for no reason."
Miriam let out an exasperated growl. "Char, you might want to leave now," she said through
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