Read Online Colin Fischer by Zack Stentz, Ashley Edward Miller - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Zack Stentz, Ashley Edward Miller
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in her ear. Mrs. Moore looked back at Dr. Doran. “You mean last year, when someone else was principal.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the auditorium. Dr. Doran appeared to be formulating a careful response when Colin’s father stood up to take the floor.
“Look,” Mr. Fischer said, “I don’t know about last year or any other principals. That’s not the issue here, and it’s not useful to suggest that it is.”
He aimed that last comment squarely at Mrs. Moore. She glared back coldly.
“But talking about how things were up until this incident is like saying the
Titanic
had the best safety record in the Atlantic until she hit the iceberg.” 7
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Even Dr.Doran smiled. Colin saw his mother smiling too—but her smile was different from Dr. Doran’s or anyone else’s. She was not AMUSED , but PROUD .
“Even one isolated incident is too many,” he continued. “It’s a miracle that bullet ended up in the ceiling and not in a child’s body.”
Murmurs of agreement met Colin’s ears as other parents began to take their cue from Rudy’s mother and Mr. Fischer.
“We all know where this kind of thing comes from,” one angry father blurted out. “It’s the values these kids are learning from the TV and video games, ’cause nobody is teaching them at home!”
Someone’s mother chimed in her agreement. “Yeah, I don’t spend two hours a day driving between a job I hate and a house I can’t afford for this! We moved here to get away from the kind of people who do this.”
Behind Colin, a man hurled back, “And what ‘kind of people’ might those be?”
Colin huddled tightly against himself like a turtle. He could feel the tension in the room escalate around him. His heartbeat picked up speed.
Mrs. Fischer looked at her son, careful not to touch him given his current emotional state. “Colin,” she said quietly but crisply as people around her began to bark out opinions in a cacophony of fear, anger, and resentment, “do you need to get out of here?”
Colin shook his head.
No.
He was determined to seethis through, even though it was obvious even to him where it was leading:
shouting
.
It was obvious to Dr. Doran too. “Let’s be clear about something,” she said. Her voice boomed from the speakers, drowning out the crowd with a whine of feedback. “This didn’t happen to one or a few of us. It happened to all of us. As a community. We need to respond as a community.” She had the crowd’s attention again, and she seized it. “Anyone who can’t handle that is welcome to leave. Seriously—go home.”
Colin recognized this as a bold, risky stratagem. In his experience, parents didn’t like to be told they weren’t in charge—especially when they weren’t. However, it seemed to work.
“No takers?” Dr. Doran asked. “Good. Let’s talk about how we’re going to fix this and make sure it never, ever happens again.”
Mrs. Fischer elbowed her husband in the ribs. “She can stay,” she said.
Dr. Doran continued. “First, I’ve asked the police to run random sweeps through campus for the indefinite future. We’re very confident—”
“And when do you plan to catch the little thug who brought the gun?” Mrs. Moore interrupted.
Rudy stared at Dr. Doran. His eyes made Colin think of a doll’s, not just because of his association with the Case of the Talking Doll, but because there was something wrong about them. Something not quite alive.Regardless, Colin hated dolls—the more “realistic” the mold, the less he liked them. 8
Dr. Doran fell quiet again. She wrinkled her nose. It reminded Colin of the woman Samantha from the old TV show
Bewitched
, which he had watched dutifully on cable until he gave up television altogether after learning of the “Tommy Westphall Hypothesis.” The hypothesis held that the vast majority of American television takes place in the mind of an autistic boy featured in the series finale of
St.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the auditorium. Dr. Doran appeared to be formulating a careful response when Colin’s father stood up to take the floor.
“Look,” Mr. Fischer said, “I don’t know about last year or any other principals. That’s not the issue here, and it’s not useful to suggest that it is.”
He aimed that last comment squarely at Mrs. Moore. She glared back coldly.
“But talking about how things were up until this incident is like saying the
Titanic
had the best safety record in the Atlantic until she hit the iceberg.” 7
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Even Dr.Doran smiled. Colin saw his mother smiling too—but her smile was different from Dr. Doran’s or anyone else’s. She was not AMUSED , but PROUD .
“Even one isolated incident is too many,” he continued. “It’s a miracle that bullet ended up in the ceiling and not in a child’s body.”
Murmurs of agreement met Colin’s ears as other parents began to take their cue from Rudy’s mother and Mr. Fischer.
“We all know where this kind of thing comes from,” one angry father blurted out. “It’s the values these kids are learning from the TV and video games, ’cause nobody is teaching them at home!”
Someone’s mother chimed in her agreement. “Yeah, I don’t spend two hours a day driving between a job I hate and a house I can’t afford for this! We moved here to get away from the kind of people who do this.”
Behind Colin, a man hurled back, “And what ‘kind of people’ might those be?”
Colin huddled tightly against himself like a turtle. He could feel the tension in the room escalate around him. His heartbeat picked up speed.
Mrs. Fischer looked at her son, careful not to touch him given his current emotional state. “Colin,” she said quietly but crisply as people around her began to bark out opinions in a cacophony of fear, anger, and resentment, “do you need to get out of here?”
Colin shook his head.
No.
He was determined to seethis through, even though it was obvious even to him where it was leading:
shouting
.
It was obvious to Dr. Doran too. “Let’s be clear about something,” she said. Her voice boomed from the speakers, drowning out the crowd with a whine of feedback. “This didn’t happen to one or a few of us. It happened to all of us. As a community. We need to respond as a community.” She had the crowd’s attention again, and she seized it. “Anyone who can’t handle that is welcome to leave. Seriously—go home.”
Colin recognized this as a bold, risky stratagem. In his experience, parents didn’t like to be told they weren’t in charge—especially when they weren’t. However, it seemed to work.
“No takers?” Dr. Doran asked. “Good. Let’s talk about how we’re going to fix this and make sure it never, ever happens again.”
Mrs. Fischer elbowed her husband in the ribs. “She can stay,” she said.
Dr. Doran continued. “First, I’ve asked the police to run random sweeps through campus for the indefinite future. We’re very confident—”
“And when do you plan to catch the little thug who brought the gun?” Mrs. Moore interrupted.
Rudy stared at Dr. Doran. His eyes made Colin think of a doll’s, not just because of his association with the Case of the Talking Doll, but because there was something wrong about them. Something not quite alive.Regardless, Colin hated dolls—the more “realistic” the mold, the less he liked them. 8
Dr. Doran fell quiet again. She wrinkled her nose. It reminded Colin of the woman Samantha from the old TV show
Bewitched
, which he had watched dutifully on cable until he gave up television altogether after learning of the “Tommy Westphall Hypothesis.” The hypothesis held that the vast majority of American television takes place in the mind of an autistic boy featured in the series finale of
St.
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