Chapter 2 - FORTY-SEVEN SECONDS
Mr. Ortiz shoved the door open.
“That’s enough.”
Ms. Kendrick spun around.
Maisie dropped the scissors for the second time.
“Mr. Ortiz?” the teacher snapped. “What are you doing?”
He walked straight past her.
“Maisie, step away from the scissors.”
The girl didn’t move.
Her entire face was wet.
“Come on,” Mr. Ortiz said gently. “Over here.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Ms. Kendrick moved between them.
“This is a classroom matter.”
Mr. Ortiz looked at her.
“No.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Excuse me?”
“This stopped being a classroom matter when a kid started cutting off her hair while crying.”
“You have no idea what happened.”
“That’s why I was listening.”
Ms. Kendrick noticed the phone in his hand.
Her face changed.
“You were recording me?”
Mr. Ortiz said nothing.
“How long?”
He glanced at the screen.
Forty-seven seconds.
Long enough.
“Turn that off,” she said.
He ended the recording.
“Delete it.”
“No.”
Her voice hardened.
“You cannot secretly record me in my classroom.”
“I’m not deleting anything.”
Maisie looked between them.
“She made me do it.”
Ms. Kendrick whipped around.
“I did not make you do anything.”
“You gave me the scissors!”
“Because there was adhesive tangled in your hair and you refused to go to the nurse.”
“That’s not true!”
“Maisie.”
“No!”
The girl screamed it so loudly that two students passing in the hallway stopped and stared through the open door.
Mr. Ortiz moved closer to her.
“Where did the adhesive come from?”
Maisie pointed toward the back row.
“Madison.”
Madison Vale’s chair was empty.
Ms. Kendrick’s expression tightened.
“She says Madison did it.”
“Because she did!”
“I did not witness that.”
“So you made Maisie cut her hair?”
“I gave her options.”
“What options?”
Ms. Kendrick hesitated.
Mr. Ortiz stared at her.
“What options?”
“Handle the problem herself or report to the office.”
Maisie gave a broken laugh.
“You said if I went to the office, you’d tell Principal Danner I ruined Madison’s project on purpose.”
Mr. Ortiz looked toward the craft table.
A cardboard volcano sat there, surrounded by glue bottles, poster board and scissors.
Ms. Kendrick’s face went pale.
“Maisie, stop.”
The girl backed away.
“Stop what? Telling him?”
“You are upset. You are confused.”
“I’m not confused!”
“Enough.”
That single word landed like a slap.
Mr. Ortiz stepped between them.
“Don’t talk to her like that.”
Ms. Kendrick reached for her desk phone.
“I’m calling Principal Danner.”
“Good.”
She stared at him.
“You think you’re helping her?”
“I know I’m getting her out of this room.”
Five minutes later, Principal Danner arrived with Assistant Principal Webb.
Danner was a tall, silver-haired man who always looked like he had somewhere more important to be.
He surveyed the room.
Hair on the floor.
Crying child.
Scissors.
Custodian holding a phone.
Teacher furious.
His eyes settled on Mr. Ortiz.
“What did you record?”
Mr. Ortiz said, “What happened.”
Danner extended his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
“No.”
“I’m not asking twice.”
Mr. Ortiz looked him directly in the eye.
“Then don’t.”
The hallway went silent.
Danner’s jaw tightened.
And then he said five words Mr. Ortiz would remember for a long time.
May you like
“Delete it, or go home.”
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