Free Returning Pride by Jill Sanders

little lock the front door game , she was back at the school enjoying one of her favorite groups of kids. Several of them were happily drawing the flower arrangement she had brought along with her. It was almost lunch time when Megan stuck her head in her door.
     
    Happy to see her friend, she rushed to grab the little girl struggling to get out of her arms. Sara was one of the happiest, chubbiest babies Allison had ever had the pleasure of handling. The girl was giggling and drooling and had her faithful bunny hanging from her chubby hands. She wore a light pink dress with ribbons down the front. Her blonde curly hair had matching ribbons. The small white sandals were almost falling off her tiny feet. Matthew was shyly standing behind his mother’s side. He was dressed in khaki pants with a blue shirt and a small tie. His dark hair had a slight curl to it and she could see the Jordan cleft in his little chin, so much so that he looked like a smaller version of his daddy and uncle.
     
    “Here’s my favorite kids.” She held onto the squirming girl. “What a great surprise!”
     
    “We were just down here registering Matthew for preschool next year and thought we would stop by to see if you wanted to have some lunch with us.”
     
    “What a wonderful idea. We just have ten more minutes to go before the bell.” She turned to the room and said, “Class, this is Miss Megan and her children Matthew and Sara. Please welcome them.”
     
    Her class behaved wonderfully and sent out a greeting.
     
    “I can set these two up with some crayons. I’ve got paint jackets that they can wear so they don’t mess up their pretty clothes.”
     
    Less than two minutes later, Megan, Matthew and Sara sat at one of her classroom tables with the other kids drawing.
     
    She thought that they had actually enjoyed their time. After the bell rang, it took her less than a minute to clear the tables and leave for lunch.
     
    It was over lunch that Megan said something that bothered her.
     
    “I don’t mean to be a snoop, but I can’t not say anything. You know my past, where I came from. What I came from.” Megan looked to both of her kids who were happily eating next to her. “I’m concerned about one of your students. I only sat with him for a few minutes, but well, I know the signs.”
     
    “What are you talking about?” Allison was starting to be very worried. She knew Megan’s past, the abuse she had suffered from her ex-husband. Did she think one of her students was being abused?
     
    “Some of the things little Tommy Williams was drawing concerned me.” She looked over to her own son, who looked like his tired head would drop in his bowl of macaroni and cheese. “Allison, he was drawing dead animals. At that young of an age, boys should be drawing cars, trains, or trucks, not animals with their heads ripped off,” she whispered.
     
    “What? He was drawing that? I know Kevin. His father is into hunting; he probably takes the boy with him. I’ll have a talk with Tommy about what we should and shouldn’t draw in class.”
     
    “Well, it’s more than that.” Megan hesitated.
    “Megan, you can tell me anything. You know that.”
     
    “ I think he is being abused,” she blurted out.
    When Allison just looked at her friend, she continued.
     
    “ There were marks on his arms, and some of the things he was saying about his sister concerned me. Well, I don’t know what the school can do, but I think you should have someone look into it. At least keep a close eye on him and follow your own instincts.” Megan leaned over and pulled a sleepy Sara into her lap.
     
    “You know I never did like Kevin Williams. He was the star football and baseball player. The only sport he wasn’t the star in was basketball. Your brother-in-law Iian took that roll. But Kevin always acted like he was better than everyone else. He made fun of others, pushing the smaller kids around, and he cheated on his girlfriends. He actually