Still Like a Lion

"The whole fifth grade got their Chromebooks taken away.  They were creating adult profiles during the school day and catfishing multiple adults simultaneously.  Some had more than one profile.  Malikai had a whole couple fighting about him."  

That made for an interesting faculty meeting.  

I found myself snickering a little, knowing I shouldn't.  

I set up the computers for my morning tutorial.  When I opened Eduardo's, I closed it again and left it on the table.  Then, I put it away.  We weren't saving a place for him at the table like people do with dead people.  I checked my email.  What do you know but the day he was scheduled to be deported, the county got his Rosetta Stone sign-in ready for him.  I closed the email.  I put the envelope with his testing accommodations back in my desk.  The one I tried to hand to him the week before and then hesitated, because I hadn't written a Spanish explanation for what it was for his mom.  When I tried to explain, he just shook his head like it really didn't matter either way.   

It was raining as I assembled my walkers for afternoon dismissal.  

"My mom is going to meet me."  Eduardo's sister said.

"Because...my brother's not here."

"I understand."  I answered.

"Don't worry, I'll get you home."

She started sprinting as soon as we left the front door of the school.  I was dragging the rest of my walking crew with me, trying to keep up with her.  At the foot of the hill, I saw what I thought might be a boy.  There stood Eduardo, almost looking like Eddie Munster, wearing court clothes, a shirt buttoned up to his chin and hair slicked down, under a giant umbrella.  He was smiling from ear to ear.

"So... and...entonces????"  I half-screamed.

"They are letting me stay.  THEY ARE LETTING ME STAY!"  he repeated.  And then his mom jumped out from behind a tree, and the three of them sprinted up the hill.  

I walked with the rest of my crew up the hill, almost dizzy and smiling so much myself that my face felt stretched.  My last three walker kids started screaming because they saw a dog.  I walked toward the corner, drenched with rain, while I human-shielded the kids from the dog.  

"Ms. Wagner!"  I heard, called from a car.

I turned to see Albinus with his arm stretched out of the window.  He and his mom were smiling and laughing at me.  I waived back and turned toward the dog, rain covering my glasses and running down my face.  It was groomed to look like a lion.  I have never seen a dog that looked like that before.

And I smiled and I smiled and I screamed towards the raining heavens.