Scribblings

Bringing in the Police

It's been a week since Terrible Tony hassled Heidi and sprayed cologne in her face. I'd spoken to Heidi's AP, Mr. White, on Tuesday and he'd told me he would hand over the information to Ms. White, the AP for the 11th grade. She would be able to get the last names of the two boys. Now, I did wonder why they just didn't go out to the bus and find the two guys but I said nothing then. There was a snow day yesterday. Today, a police detective from the town called me.

She was going to file the report but noticed that she didn't have the names of the two boys. She couldn't proceed without having the names. I didn't know this, but she told me that by law, the administrators in the school weren't supposed to give me the boys' names. That information would just go to the police ... until the court date. I had her name and number and so I decided to call the school again.

The kids have been having midterms this week and so they've been having half days as well. It was just after noon when I called Mr. White. School was about to dismiss and so I tried to leave a message with the secretary. She heard the word "police" and decided she'd better get someone to talk to me. I guess she must have located Mr. White because she came back on the phone and told me that the AP and the school cop were going to go to the bus and have Heidi identify the boys.

NO! I almost hollered. I absolutely did not want them meeting Heidi at the bus and identifying the boys right there. Yeesh! I wanted my kid to come home alive, for crying out loud!

The way they did it: apparently they had a list of names for the kids on the bus. They pulled off Tony and Dominick. Heidi was already in the bus, seated, and suspected what was going on but didn't know for sure until Mr. White made eye contact with her and nodded slightly toward the boys. And Heidi nodded back.

The officer didn't have all the information and although he talked sternly to the boys, they eventually got back onto the bus. He called me after the bus left and was still under the impression that it was nothing, a prank. But I told him that Tony sprayed Heidi in the face and the officer's demeanor changed. He wasn't aware of that. So I filled him in on everything, including the earlier incident with Paul.

Paul is a really nice kid in the neighborhood. He is in the same grade as Billy. Last November, this Tony got into some kind of verbal exchange with Paul. He got off at the kids' stop (he was supposed to get off several stops later) and threatened Paul. TB went out and there were other neighbors out as well, all telling Tony to get out of the neighborhood. The officer hadn't known about that either. He said he'd pull Tony into his office first thing tomorrow. He asked, "What do you want?"

I understood him to mean, how far did I want this to go? I said, "I want this kid scared. I want him scared enough not to bother any other kid again."

The officer said he'd gauge Tony's reaction. If Tony is NOT scared, then I want to press charges of assault and battery.

Well, then the bus pulled up. TB and I went to the door to make sure the kids would be okay. Tony didn't get off, thank heavens, but a kid I thought must be Dominick (and I found out I was right) grabbed Paul by the shoulder. The two of them began to have heated words. Then I saw Billy talking to this Dominick and next thing I know, Billy's thrown his coat and books down. Dominick left quickly.

It turns out that the bullies thought Paul was the one who'd set the cop on them! Ha! So they are in for a surprise tomorrow ... and they better not mess with our kids!

Blogger Seeds:

Who is your favorite author? Why?

I have had so many favorite authors at one time or another. I love to read! Through all the years that I?ve been reading, though, one author has been my favorite most often: Stephen King. I don?t think I?m drawn in by horror. I think I enjoy his books because he knows people?s fears and hang-ups so well. Not all of his books are horror. Some are psychological thrillers or fantasy adventures. I always felt that he was in the room, telling the story. His ?voice? is like that of a friend or neighbor, talking in the kitchen. The thing is, this neighbor is telling me stuff that would get my hair standing on end. He is a very prolific writer and I don?t think I?ll tire of him. The very first book I read was ?Salem?s Lot and although I have a few I haven?t read yet I know I will enjoy them too!