The Fight Without Witnesses

This has been a hard year for Baby at school. I'm hoping he learns a lot of lessons this year, which haven't seem to sunk in yet, and doesn't turn into a juvenile delinquent and spend time at "Juvey." I thought things were going better.

Then I got a message from his teacher to call her please. I didn't get the message until the next day. When I picked Baby up from school I asked if he needed to tell me anything about class yesterday.

"No, why?"

"Did something happen at school with that kid K? Or did you get sent back from class again? Did you go to Skills?" Skills is for Bad Apples who can't behave in class and he has spent more time in Skills the last two years than I care to admit.

Finally after grillling him he finally told me a story. But the way Baby tells a story is not the way most people do. He jumps around, he inserts useless info as if it has importance, he brings people into the story that have no relevance, he back tracks and jumps ahead without any warning. It's almost as if he doesn't want to tell the Real Story.

After about five repetitions of the same story, all different because they all included different parts, I finally was able to piece together what happened after school the day before.

Apparently the kid he's been fighting with all year, we'll call him K, was out front after school. Baby said he was out back on the playground with his friends. Someone came up, punched K, and ran off before anybody could see the perpetrator. Because of the ongoing feud between the two K went in and told his teacher that Baby punched him.

The next day at school Baby's teacher pulled him aside and talked to him. Baby swore up and down that he was in back playing and since K didn't get a look at the Inflicter of Pain, Baby was cleared of any charges. Once again we have escaped Suspension.

Two days later we were out with the family and Baby's best friend, Z. I asked Z, "So K tried to accuse Baby of punching him after school the other day? Good thing you guys were all playing out back!"

Z looked at me a little confused. I looked at Baby and told him he better teach his Alibis to be more convincing. Baby just kept smiling and saying "Oh, we were in back playing on the playground"

Z looked at Olaf and I and said, "I don't like to lie, at all." Olaf and I were stunned. Z poured out the whole story about how Baby HAD punched K because K had punched another friend and talked his way out of it even though there were witnesses and had escaped getting in trouble. Baby decided to mete out his own punishment after school.

As they walked off to get something Olaf turned to me and said, "You couldn't just let us live in blissful ignorance?!?"

I have never been so ready for Summer Vacation as I am this year.