The woman answered softly.
“Ellie, would you like some water?”
My daughter nodded.
I desperately wanted answers, but Ellie was still trembling, and I realized that questioning her further would only make things harder.
I stayed beside her while she drank half a bottle of water.
Afterward, I asked the assistant principal where Frank had gone.
“Mr. Lawson is meeting with the transportation department.”
“I need to speak with him.”
“That might have to wait.”
“Why? Because he understands what he did?”
“Mrs. Carter, we’re investigating an incident involving an individual who approached the bus.”
“Someone approached the bus. Yes. That was me.”
The assistant principal offered no argument.
She explained that a deputy was coming and recommended that we wait until he arrived.
I was extremely upset.
As Ellie quietly sketched circles on the reverse side of an old worksheet, I took out my phone and opened the district’s online complaint page.
