Chapter Forty-Four: The Disappeared

Section IV: Winter & Spring 2003 – the third academic quarter
Chapter 44: The Disappeared

Prospect students don’t return from Christmas Break with tales of holiday gatherings, new games, toys, bikes, books, or even new clothes. In fact this morning, despite the cold, (48 degrees at 9:00 am) many of my students are bare armed, lacking jackets or sweaters. A couple shiver hugging threadbare blankets around their shoulders. For many Prospect students, Christmas Break is a time of hunger, cold and unsupervised misbehavior. The end result is that some Prospect students don’t return at all. Rusty and Rosie explain it to me: every time we have a school vacation, we lose kids.

At 9:00 on our first day back after Christmas Break, the first day of the third quarter, the busses arrive, but Trey doesn’t. Apparently Nine-year-old Trey is still in the Juvenile Detention Center. Midge, Trey’s elementary teacher, bites back tears as she realizes Trey spent Christmas in jail. Counselor Rusty promises to pay him a visit after school today.

RitaMae is upset when she learns Nora isn’t on the bus. She calls Nora’s aunt from her cell phone as she stands by the empty school bus. The aunt explains: just before Christmas, Nora’s parents, who were living in a car, upgraded to a welfare motel and insisted Nora join them. Nora’s brother, Noah, is still in a boot camp in Jacksonville, but Nora is thrilled to be back with her parents, older sister and sister’s baby. After all, that was her Christmas wish. Nora’s aunt isn’t sure Nora will make it to school today, she tells RitaMae Nora’s parents are pretty disorganized and when Nora last lived with them she was absent more than she was present. RitaMae is furious. She vents to me: “Nora was doing so well! She had safety and structure with her aunt. She was thriving emotionally, academically and behaviorally. Remember, we were talking about sending her back to public school but now… Why couldn’t her parents see she was in a better place?” Counselor Rosie volunteers to call the welfare motel this morning and tell Nora’s mother she needs to bring her to school.

Football players Tayshaun and Eli are not on the bus. Our Deputy on Duty knows the details of their story: “On December 26th, the day after Christmas, Tayshaun stole a “three wheeler” (all terrain motorized vehicle) and deputies found it in his possession and reported he had stripped it. Eli was an accomplice. Eli was released and his court date is next month. Tayshaun is still locked up. Both boys can expect to be sent to a program.” I want to ask the Deputy dozens of questions, but I know he can’t really answer the one I most need answered. In fact even if Tayshaun and Eli were here they probably would just shrug and stare blankly if I asked them the question directly: “What were you thinking?!”

All the students, especially the girls, seem to already know about the arrests of Eli and Tayshaun. Their names are on everyone’s lips and various theories are proposed to explain why they would do it and who was the ringleader. Selma is crying and asks to speak to Rosie about Eli. Eli was Selma’s boyfriend and after the murder of her brother and getting kicked out of her house, Eli was the one constant in her emotional universe.

Tayshaun, who spent some time with Jillane on a bus during our Fall Festival, was also romantically linked to Estralitta and Nishonda. We‘ve had several girls fighting over Tayshaun. Today Jillane, Estralitta and Nishonda are united in alternately grieving for, and being angry at, Tayshaun. Later in the morning, Eli’s mother calls. It is hard to understand between her tears and Spanish accent but she is calling to thank us for trying to help Eli and to tell us he won’t be back – by the time he completes his program he’ll be in high school.

Midge tells me she received a call from Jaysen’s mother last night. Mom decided this school is not a good place for Jaysen since Midge allows him to get beaten up and never teaches him anything, so she is enrolling him in public school. Midge is more relieved than insulted. Jaysen was difficult and his large size made her worried he’d hurt a smaller child in a tussle.

Jaysen’s mother isn’t the only one who decided to return a child to public school. Business manager Lynne tells me she just took a call from Ruby Lakes Elementary School. DerMarr has been reenrolled! His mother told the principal that DerMarr’s probation officer suggested it. The Ruby Lakes principal told Lynne he is not happy to have DerMarr back, especially since he knows DerMarr didn’t return with my blessing. The principal makes a self-fulfilling prediction that DerMarr won’t last long at Ruby Lakes. I head to Jana’s classroom to share this news with her. I know she’ll be upset. She worked extra hard, really we all did, and along with DerMarr’s aunt we made some real progress with him, but public school at this time seems a stretch. We were excited about presenting DerMarr the “Most Improved Student” award at our next assembly. Receiving such an award would probably be a first for DerMarr and he, his aunt and maybe even his mother would be proud and pleased. Jana tells me she’ll say a prayer DerMarr can cope and survive. I think she is praying for a miracle.

Amidst all the departures, there is one unexpected arrival: Lorayne, the girl with the tongue ring whose relationship with a forty-something man resulted in her placement in a foster home in another county. She is back and living now in a foster home in Herald County. She looks healthy and happy, but Rosie’s rumor network tells her we need to do a search on Lorayne. Lorayne asks Rosie if this will be a strip search. Rosie didn’t intend on it, but bluffs and puts on plastic gloves to show she means business. Lorayne then pulls from her underpants a package of cigarettes and retrieves from her vagina, a lighter. As she hands them to Rosie, my counselor is glad she is wearing gloves.

At the end of the day, after the students and most of the staff leave, two people are waiting outside my office to see me: one is a teacher, Jordan, the other is a woman I’ve never met. Jordan says he just wanted to tell me Daphne stopped by the classroom this afternoon and she did a wonderful job explaining to the students why she is leaving and she made sure they understood it isn’t about them but she wants to learn more. There were hugs and tears but no anger or acting out. For a moment I think it is odd Daphne didn’t seek me out to say goodbye, but then I guess she was embarrassed knowing her last minute “notice” was less than kosher.

Jordan hesitantly asks whether I have found a new teacher to replace Daphne. I tell him I have two potential candidates and I want Jordan and Sam to spend time with both and give me their input. Since they will be working closely with this teacher, I will give great weight to their opinions. One teacher is a former mime, the other a wrestler. The wrestler will spend tomorrow morning at Prospect, the mime will arrive after lunch. Jordan raises his eyebrows and looks carefully to see if I am joking. I’m not. He shrugs and says he appreciates my speed in finding a replacement teacher. I assure him it is not necessary to pick the mime or the wrestler, and if he and Sam don’t feel comfortable with either, I will keep looking. Jordan goes on to say he is really sad about Daphne’s departure. He describes how incredible she was with students and tells me how much she helped him. We agree Daphne will be difficult, impossible, to replace.

After Jordan leaves, I introduce myself to the patiently waiting stranger woman. She tells me she is Tyryona’s cousin and Tyryona will now be living with her. The family friend with whom Tyryona was living had a tough time with Tyryona over Christmas Break. They threw in the towel and were ready to put Tyryona “into the system” when they made one last effort and called some contact numbers and found Tyryona’s cousin. The cousin is a teacher, young and very upbeat and optimistic. I bite my tongue when she says, “I know Tyryona and I will get along fine and she is really no trouble at all.” I am happy Tyryona is with this cousin and not in foster care, but I’d feel better if this woman had more realistic expectations. She says she’ll continue to take Tyryona to her play practices at the art museum saying she knows about Tyryona’s starring role and is supportive of this extra-curricular activity. The cousin leaves my office with a smile and a bounce in her step. I am scared for her and for Tyryona.

We do see Nora again. After two weeks and two days of unsuccessfully trying to get in touch with her, Rusty finally makes a late night stop at the welfare motel and threatens Nora’s parents with truancy court. The next day Nora’s father brings her in late saying she has been ill. Nora is thin, pale, not in uniform (she has on a dirty white, too tight, t-shirt) and is back to wearing Goth makeup. After her father signs her in and leaves, Nora stays in my office a minute. She hugs me, tells me she is happy to be back and she can’t wait to see her teacher. As she turns to leave she adds, “You know he was lying Ms. Smee. I wasn’t really sick.” And with that she dashes off to RitaMae’s class.

It is good to have Nora back and eventually Trey too will return. But as for Eli, Tayshaun, DerMarr, Jaysen and Daphne - goodbye and good luck.