Page 7 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

SIX

WESLEY

“ H ow about a little brain break?” I suggested after our writing lesson, clapping my hands, if only to wake some of the more lethargic students. “How about drawing something for your family? Your favorite animal?”

I passed around some pieces of paper to those who were less eager to move and take out their sketch pads, then I took out the crayon boxes and placed them on the activity tables as the kids slowly populated them.

They were all very excited to have a little break, and who could blame them?

They were so young, their brains still developing, and being asked to concentrate and learn for hours at a time every day.

What a way to stifle their creativity and their development.

But as with everything in this world, progress was slow, even with something as crucial as education.

One would think it would be a priority for every government, but instead of investing in their future citizens, they cut back more and more every year and expected miracles.

I sighed and shook the thoughts out of my head. If I stayed on that track, I would get really depressed, like teachers often did when we thought about the system too much. I focused on my students, leaning against the front of my desk and watching them interact with one another.

I spotted Bear at the back table, a huge smile on his face, his focus entirely on his drawing, and it warmed my heart.

For a kid who had just lost his mom, he was doing exceptionally well.

Yes, he was still quiet, only speaking when spoken to and keeping to himself, but that was true for a lot of kids at that age.

Hell, I even had students like that in higher grades.

Some people were just more low-key than others, and there was nothing wrong with that.

Although there was an issue I needed to address with Teddy sooner rather than later.

I sighed again, focusing on the ceiling.

Oh, Teddy.

I’d caught sight of him outside, waiting to pick Bear up this past week, looking just as divine as he had when he “rescued” me. I knew it wasn’t anything even close, but in my fickle, imaginative mind, he was the Prince Charming who had saved me from my own clumsiness.

Thankfully, this infatuation had subsided enough to allow me to function. Not that my sister would let me forget him.

I tapped my phone screen and read her latest message.

Ruby:

Have you proposed yet?

I rolled my eyes. She was nothing if not persistent. I was starting to believe she’d scheduled messages every hour on the hour just to mess with me, but I did what I was a pro at. I ignored her and, with a chuckle, grabbed my notepad to remind myself to contact Teddy for a chat.

“No!” someone shouted, and then a cry erupted as the kids gasped in unison.

Shit!

I looked up and approached the activity tables where the kids had all gotten to their feet and were watching two sets of arms tangle with one another in the back.

“Leave him alone!” shouted another kid, and I finally had a clear picture of what was happening.

Bear was fighting with Valentin, one of the twins, and his brother Niko was trying to come between them.

“Get your own,” Bear whined and pushed Niko back.

“Don’t push me!” Niko cried and pushed Bear back.

Bear’s face went red, and he launched himself at Niko.

“Hey, hey, guys. What’s going on here?” I raised my voice and stepped between the two boys before a full fight broke out.

That didn’t stop Bear from raising his hands and punching my arm instead of Niko’s.

“Ouch!” I muttered under my breath and turned to him. “Bear, please, we don’t need to raise our hands or fight, okay?”

“He’s stupid!” Niko shouted beside me, and I glanced at him, putting my finger up.

“Niko! We don’t use that language, okay? Now, tell me why you’re fighting?”

I looked from Niko to Bear, but it was Valentin who spoke up.

“Nothing happened. I took a crayon and he went batshit crazy.”

I blinked, steeling myself.

Had he just said what I thought he had?

“Valentin! That’s not a nice way to talk. Let’s choose our words better next time, all right? Both of you.” I looked at both the twins.

They really looked alike. I was surprised that I’d learned to tell them apart in a matter of days since school started.

“It’s not our fault he’s nuts!” Niko said and stepped closer to his brother.

“Okay, all right. Everyone, be quiet.” I put my hands up and addressed the rest of the class, who were starting to interject.

My wrist stung from the movement, but I ignored it for now.

“Can we stop calling people nuts, crazy, and stupid? They’re not nice words to call anyone .

Now, everyone, please return to your desks. ”

They did as told, but when the twins and Bear tried to do the same, I held them back.

“Sit, please,” I instructed, pulling some chairs around. “Now, tell me what happened. Without any name-calling!”

“I took a crayon from the desk, and he pushed me!” Valentin said.

I turned to Bear.

“Is that true, Bear?”

Bear grimaced and cast a frustrated glance at Valentin.

“It was my crayon.”

“No, it was—” Niko started, but I put my hands up and cut in.

“Please, talk to me, not to each other. Okay?”

Three heads nodded at me, and I smiled.

“Thank you. Now, Bear, you know the crayons belong to everyone, right? We all share them.”

“But I was using it!”

“No you weren’t. You were using the red.”

“I was going to use the blue one next!”

“Boys!” I said again and took a deep breath.

“I see where the confusion might have happened. Am I right to assume you had the blue crayon next to you because you were about to use it?” Bear nodded.

“So the blue wasn’t in the crayon box?” Bear shook his head, and I turned to the twins.

“Now I know it wasn’t right of Bear to push you, Valentin, but I think Bear got upset because you didn’t ask him if you could borrow it.

Do you think you can do that next time?”

Valentin’s head dropped, and he pressed his lips together, nodding.

“Thank you. Bear, do you think next time you’re upset, you can take a deep breath and say aloud ‘I’m upset. Don’t do that?’”

Bear shrugged, but his head also dipped.

“Great. Thank you, both. And, Niko.” I turned to the last boy.

“It’s really admirable that you stood up for your brother, but remember, we don’t respond to violence with more violence, okay?

Next time something like that happens, you can instead put your hand up and call for help.

When we let our emotions guide us, we can make silly little mistakes that escalate, which means making things worse, and when we do those things, we can hurt people.

And we don’t want to hurt people, do we? ”

The kids shrugged, and I pursed my lips.

“Do you like it when someone hurts you?” I asked them. They shook their heads. “So why would you want to hurt someone else the same way?” I let my statement rest with them for a moment before I dismissed them and returned to the front of the classroom so we could tackle an easier subject. Math.

By lunchtime, things were back to normal…except for my wrist, which had fully bruised and ached like a mother.

That kid had quite the pelter.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” Monica asked.

She was another teacher at the school. We’d become friends, mainly because we had started around the same time.

“Oh, that?” I looked at my wrist. “It’s nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”

Monica’s eyebrow poked up from her cat-shaped glasses at a sharp angle.

“With?”

I shook my head and unwrapped my sandwich.

“It was just a student. There was an…incident in class.”

“Wow. That looks bad. Are you going to file an incident report?”

I blew air and rolled my eyes.

“Oh come on. The school year has just started. I don’t want to get any students into trouble from the word go. Besides, it was an accident.”

Monica sighed.

“You know better, I guess, but I’d keep an eye on them. And definitely talk to the parent to find out if there are any issues.”

I nodded and took a bite of my sandwich. I had promised myself to be more vigilant about bullying, and after today’s incident, I had to keep my eyes open at all times.

I needed to nip any animosities right in the bud. After the way I failed Mackenzie last year, I was even more determined to be and do better. Which reminded me…

I grabbed my notepad and made a note to check with Mac’s new teacher how she was doing and how Grace, the bully, was treating Mac and others.

As I made a note, I noticed Teddy’s name above my note.

Well, I had been meaning to talk to him about Bear anyway. I guess I could kill two birds with one stone.

Which meant I was going to come face-to-face with Dream Man again. Boy, Ruby would have a field day with that.

Too bad I was going to keep it to myself.