what was lying in the fields. His tiny mother trying to hide his eyes. But she could do nothing about the smell, or the heated buzzing of the gathering flies.
Desperately wrapping the stump, and then, and then, the other sound he remembered—or was it the sound he was hearing now? Moans.
6
D R. S HERINGHAM TOOK THE STAND. He sat like a principal, crossing his legs and perching his folded hands on his upper knee. He reached down to adjust his pant cuffs over his black socks. He reached up to adjust his yellow-and-blue tie. Then he waited for Mr. Quincy.
"Dr. Sheringham, you are the principal of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Preparatory High School in Blythbury-by-the-Sea."
"Yes, I am," said Dr. Sheringham.
"You are familiar with both Franklin Smith and Chay Chouan?"
"The administration and faculty of Longfellow Preparatory make it a point to be familiar with all of our students."
"Dr. Sheringham, please tell the court the circumstances of Chay Chouan's enrollment."
"Chay Chouan and his parents met with me. They explained that they were hoping for an education superior to what they were finding in their local public school. I described our curriculum to them, as well as the many college and university connections that Longfellow could offer. They seemed very pleased. Chay Chouan matriculated the following fall term as a sophomore."
"Were there any difficulties when he came to your school?"
"At that time of his matriculation, he was two years older than most sophomore students, due to his background. There were the expected academic difficulties coming out of a public school education. We anticipated some language issues, but none of his teachers felt that these were significant enough to warrant special help."
"How about social difficulties, Dr. Sheringham? Chay Chouan is from a very different background than most of your students."
"He is, and we anticipated some problems there as well. There were some reports of incidents"—Mrs. Chouan leaned over the railing to Chay's lawyer—"but nothing more than the high spirits of boys welcoming a new student into their school. They quickly quieted down, and Chay became part of the Longfellow community."
"There was a more serious problem last January, however."
Dr. Sheringham nodded. "There was. Last January there was an altercation in the North Gym locker room in which Chay Chouan and another boy had to be separated."
"The other boy was Franklin Smith."
"Yes."
"What was that altercation about?"
"Students at Longfellow do not tattle on each other."
"Did you investigate further?"
"There was no need. The boys shook hands in my office. I considered the affair closed."
"Do you consider the affair closed now?"
"Objection," said Chay Chouan's lawyer. "Calls for opinion."
"Sustained," said the judge.
"Do you believe that the two boys parted as friends?"
"It would be naive to think that," said Dr. Sheringham. "But they certainly understood what was expected of them in terms of their behavior at Longfellow."
"Thank you," said the prosecutor to Dr. Sheringham. "Your witness."
Mr. Giaconda walked across to Dr. Sheringham.
"Dr. Sheringham, you are very proud of your school and its students."
"I am."
"Do you not find it remarkable that Chay Chouan, after spending most of his childhood in a refugee camp in a war-torn country and after traveling for thousands of miles to escape such camps, was able to enter a school as prestigious as yours and do well in his classes?"
"I find all the students at Longfellow to be remarkable."
"But don't you find it even more remarkable when one who has had none of the advantages of the others still succeeds there?"
"Not particularly, no. Many of our students overcome handicaps to improve themselves and to succeed at Longfellow."
"So, many of your students have had their sisters shot in front of them?"
"No, but ..."
"Or their brothers taken by force?"
"No."
"Or been forced to flee their homes with nothing and arrive in a foreign
Desperately wrapping the stump, and then, and then, the other sound he remembered—or was it the sound he was hearing now? Moans.
6
D R. S HERINGHAM TOOK THE STAND. He sat like a principal, crossing his legs and perching his folded hands on his upper knee. He reached down to adjust his pant cuffs over his black socks. He reached up to adjust his yellow-and-blue tie. Then he waited for Mr. Quincy.
"Dr. Sheringham, you are the principal of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Preparatory High School in Blythbury-by-the-Sea."
"Yes, I am," said Dr. Sheringham.
"You are familiar with both Franklin Smith and Chay Chouan?"
"The administration and faculty of Longfellow Preparatory make it a point to be familiar with all of our students."
"Dr. Sheringham, please tell the court the circumstances of Chay Chouan's enrollment."
"Chay Chouan and his parents met with me. They explained that they were hoping for an education superior to what they were finding in their local public school. I described our curriculum to them, as well as the many college and university connections that Longfellow could offer. They seemed very pleased. Chay Chouan matriculated the following fall term as a sophomore."
"Were there any difficulties when he came to your school?"
"At that time of his matriculation, he was two years older than most sophomore students, due to his background. There were the expected academic difficulties coming out of a public school education. We anticipated some language issues, but none of his teachers felt that these were significant enough to warrant special help."
"How about social difficulties, Dr. Sheringham? Chay Chouan is from a very different background than most of your students."
"He is, and we anticipated some problems there as well. There were some reports of incidents"—Mrs. Chouan leaned over the railing to Chay's lawyer—"but nothing more than the high spirits of boys welcoming a new student into their school. They quickly quieted down, and Chay became part of the Longfellow community."
"There was a more serious problem last January, however."
Dr. Sheringham nodded. "There was. Last January there was an altercation in the North Gym locker room in which Chay Chouan and another boy had to be separated."
"The other boy was Franklin Smith."
"Yes."
"What was that altercation about?"
"Students at Longfellow do not tattle on each other."
"Did you investigate further?"
"There was no need. The boys shook hands in my office. I considered the affair closed."
"Do you consider the affair closed now?"
"Objection," said Chay Chouan's lawyer. "Calls for opinion."
"Sustained," said the judge.
"Do you believe that the two boys parted as friends?"
"It would be naive to think that," said Dr. Sheringham. "But they certainly understood what was expected of them in terms of their behavior at Longfellow."
"Thank you," said the prosecutor to Dr. Sheringham. "Your witness."
Mr. Giaconda walked across to Dr. Sheringham.
"Dr. Sheringham, you are very proud of your school and its students."
"I am."
"Do you not find it remarkable that Chay Chouan, after spending most of his childhood in a refugee camp in a war-torn country and after traveling for thousands of miles to escape such camps, was able to enter a school as prestigious as yours and do well in his classes?"
"I find all the students at Longfellow to be remarkable."
"But don't you find it even more remarkable when one who has had none of the advantages of the others still succeeds there?"
"Not particularly, no. Many of our students overcome handicaps to improve themselves and to succeed at Longfellow."
"So, many of your students have had their sisters shot in front of them?"
"No, but ..."
"Or their brothers taken by force?"
"No."
"Or been forced to flee their homes with nothing and arrive in a foreign
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