Clark the Shark

"You're safe.  He won't hit you again.  Please take a deep breath.  Drop the chair."  I whispered to the kid I was clutching from behind, the way you would pull a dog by the legs that was fighting another dog so that you don't get bit in the face.  

I used to work in a district that allowed us to dress informally.  Where I work now it is emphasized that we "dress for success".  Given our test scores, I'm not sure if the clothes are doing their job.  I felt pretty successful while hauling this massive rolling trash can filled with discarded milk and uneaten breakfasts over the uneven pavement to the dumpster in my nice skirt, silky blouse and expensive shoes.  As COVID has decimated the custodial staff at our school, we are doing things we don't ordinarily have to do.  Baby Gustavo and his dad walked by, entering the school.  We waved at each other while I tried to haul the overflowing bag out of the trash can and chocolate milk splashed on my skirt and shoes at the beginning of a long day.  

I went to my fourth grade class.  The regular teacher was in self-quarantine after a positive test in the classroom and a special education teacher had been forced to sub.   I barely had any kids there anyway, because they were either sick at home or awaiting test results.  Mya, one of my exited students, needed more time on some test and I was more than happy to take her.  Then, the fight broke out between the kid that used to communicate using only squeaks and some other asshole.  I broke up the fight and got the kids in separate corners and waited for the administrators to come while I showed the other teacher how to electronically sign her most recent evaluation.

"Oh hey, I need contact information on her."  my principal said in a friendly manner as Mya and I walked out of the room.  She was there to take the fighting kids away.
"She's not even in the program anymore, but let me see what I've got...." I answered.
"Because she...."  my principal continued.
"Is she supposed to be in quarantine?"
"Yeah, but the county never sent me the letters."
"Look, it's Burmese, I'll text you her dad's number.  If you give me the English letter I can put it through Google Translate. Let me know."

And then, I took Mya with me into a non-ventilated space so that she could finish her test in peace.  I was stunned that we were doing it this way.  If a family doesn't understand or abide by a quarantine, we just let a kid that was directly exposed keep coming to school?

They have been making me test every ESOL kid in the kingdom, no matter the situation. 

Ku preoccupied me the most.  The whole point of small group testing is to minimize distractions.  He is completely distracting.  He runs through the trailer, ripping things off of the walls.  He likes magnets, and opening drawers, doors and cabinets.  And, he screams.  He sprays cleaning stuff and hand sanitizer all over the room.  In the age of COVID, it is exhausting to clean up after he touches everything.  The first day of testing, I got lucky.  I picked up my fifth graders, warned them that we had a kindergartner coming, and picked up Ku.  He tore into the trailer, opening cabinets and pulling out whatever he felt like playing with.  

"I know you guys have younger brothers and sisters, so maybe you will be familiar with this kind of thing...."  I said hesitantly, knowing I was lying.  

"My little sister is normal, not like that."  Alberto mentioned, before putting his head phones on.  

I was surprised when I saw Kaw gently walk up to him and I heard him whispering in Karen to Ku.  Ku began to calm.  I stared at Kaw with admiration as he revealed another skill, another thing that he can do that others cannot.  

"I still have your copy of Blubber."  Mya said, after finishing the test.  

"Eat your candy, lady.  If you can find it, bring it back, but if you can't, it's no big deal.  Look at all these new books I have, pick one out!"

"But I haven't brought Blubber back."

"I don't care.  That was March, 2020.  Pick out a new one."

She stared at the map on my wall.  

I put my finger on Malaysia.  I knew she was Burmese, but she arrived from Malaysia and never associated herself with Myanmar.  I traced my finger from Malaysia to Myanmar.

"They are still trapped in Myanmar.  They are in the north.  The army hasn't caught them yet."

"Your family?"

I had never heard her say Myanmar before.

"Can you talk to them, text them?"

"Yes.  Sometimes.  My parents don't tell me anything.  I break into their Facebooks.  Why is that lady in jail?  Why did they do that?"  

"She didn't do anything wrong.  The army has taken control before and they decided to do it again.  That is how they are.  Do you want to see what she looks like?"

"Yes."

We looked at the picture of Aung San Suu Kyi on my laptop.  I detest her for her support of the Burmese Army against the Rohingya, but this was not the time to address that. 

"She survived almost twenty years in jail, she can do it again."  I told her.

"How old is she?"

"Almost eighty.  She is older than she looks."

"I thought she was forty."

I felt stupid for saying she could survive another twenty years of house arrest.  

Mario and Baby Gustavo were in the trailer, testing away.  Ku was playing noisily with a maze-like game that he had assembled in seconds.  I saw Gustavo's eyes broaden.

"I can't believe he can do that."  he commented.  

"Pee."  Ku announced.

"Oh no, you have to pee?  Can you wait just a second?"  I had to figure out what to do.  Ku cannot walk to the building by himself.  I also shouldn't interrupt students' tests to walk other kids to the bathroom or leave them alone while I walk them myself. 

Ku sat back down and continued playing.  Then, he stood up and started taking all of the pencils out of their cup.  I walked over and saw his dick out while he readied himself to pee in the cup.

"No no no no no!"  I shrieked.

He ran across the room and tried to pee in the recycling bin.  

"Gustavo, I'm really sorry, can you take him inside to the bathroom?"

Gustavo jumped up and took Ku by the hand and walked quickly out of the trailer and toward the building.  I saw Ku trying to pull away, pointing toward the woods.  

Mere minutes later, they emerged from the building.  Gustavo had his hands in the air and was shaking his head.

"He won't go in the bathroom!"  he called.  

As they entered the trailer, Ku pulled his dick out again and started to pee off of the ramp.  A group of maintenance workers stood a few feet away, staring at me.  I grabbed is arm and started trucking him toward the building.

As soon as we got to the cafeteria door, our way into the building, Ku whipped his dick out and peed all over it.  I gave up.  He created an additional massive puddle right in front of the door as a line of fifth graders went by.  Pee splashed on my fancy shoes.  We walked slowly back to the trailer.  Gustavo and Mario were still sitting there, typing away at their tests.  I squirted hand sanitizer and Lysol everywhere.  

I squeezed hand sanitizer onto Kaw's hands as he passed through the breakfast line. Though he was wearing a mask, I could see that his face was spreading into a mischievous smile.  

"Now, I'm going to....GO TOUCH LOTS OF PEOPLE."  he said, darting away in the line.  

"I'm sorry to interrupt your class.  Can I get a document that Ku's parents signed out of his book bag?"

"Sure," Ms. Perkins responded while she lined up her class for P.E.

"You're staying here."  she growled at a lone student, still seated at a desk.

"I've got it!"  Ku squealed, jumping up and down with delight, then sprinting toward his book bag.  I got the form and walked behind him as he tried to catch up with the line exiting the building for P.E.  

As we walked past, the child at the desk punched Ku savagely in the stomach.  

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!!"  I screamed.  

Ku screamed and cried and ran out of the building.

Ms. Perkins slammed the exterior door and I exited her classroom.  As I closed the other door, I watched her get two inches from the violent child's face.

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY STUDENTS!"  she shouted.  I could hear her through the closed door.  

I walked down the hallway, looking down at my milk and piss covered shoes.  I shook my head around, trying to brush off the urge to cry.  

Title:  Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale