Isleen
~~
"Mr. Fenrir?" Liam called.
Abruptly, the man halted in his tracks and turned our way. "Huh?"
"Your shoelaces are loosened."
I didn’t know why I had gotten goosebumps when Liam called Fenrir back. It just felt sudden for him to firmly call back the man but now that I found that it was because of his shoelaces, I decided that I had overreacted.
"Let’s go off to class, Liam," I said and we continued to class.
The classroom buzzed with the usual pre-lesson chatter, but as I entered with Liam, the students all scampered to their seats and were all suddenly quiet. The student’s eyes were wide and curious and they darted between me and Liam, who stood out starkly in his civilian clothes.
I knew that Liam not in his uniform would raise questions. Mrs. Morrigan and Fenrir, however, seemed to have overlooked it.
"Good morning, Ms. Isleen." Chorused the students to welcome me.
I smiled sweetly at them. "Morning, lovelies. I hope your weekends were well spent."
Okay, maybe that question wasn’t necessary.
They all, instead of replying to my question began to murmur.
Finally, "Jenna’s uncle is hurt, Ms. Isleen." A male student informed me.
"Oh, my." Terror took over my face as I turned to Jenna who was unusually quiet today. "Sorry about your uncle," I said but she wouldn’t look at me.
I wondered if that had brought back memories for Liam also. "To your seat," I ordered him and he promptly obeyed.
Just as Liam started to settle into a vacant seat, a girl named Lily, known for her sharp tongue, piped up, "So, is it true? Did your brother really die?"
Her flippant question was nothing but an intrusion into Liam’s grief.
My temper flared.
These kids!
This wasn’t mere childish curiosity; it was insensitive cruelty disguised as a question. Lily might as well be the younger version of Mrs. Morrigan.
Before Liam could even react, I stepped forward, my voice firm but also carried a quiet anger. "Lily," I addressed her directly, "Liam did lose his brother, and your question, frankly, wasn’t very sensitive."
Lily’s face flushed a deep red color, but her defiance remained. "It’s just a question," she mumbled, avoiding my gaze.
"And I understand that," I continued, allowing my voice to soften slightly, "but words have power, and we need to be mindful of the impact they have on others, especially when they’re dealing with pain."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad