Walking into my class I put my book bag in my cubby and sit on the carpet with the rest of the class as our normal school day starts. I look on the board and my teacher wrote in big colorful letters “Happy Fathers Day.” As my other classmates sit on the carpet my teacher starts talking to us about what everyone got their dads for father’s day. My class starts yelling and naming everything that they were getting for their dads and what they were doing to celebrate, but I was quiet. Unlike everyone else in my class, I didn’t know my dad. I was already ten years old but never saw him. I wondered why he was never around but Mom always told me it didn’t matter because I have a loving family that takes care of me. I guess she was right but I still wanted to know where my own dad was.
My teacher told everyone to be quiet and started calling our names to tell what we were doing for our dads so everyone could share. I didn’t want to get called on because I don’t know what to say. I see my teacher look at me and point. I asked if she was pointing to me and she replied, “Yes silly.” When she stopped speaking I stopped speaking. I did not know what to say and my friends were all looking at me. I opened my mouth and just said “I didn’t get him anything.” My teacher asked “Well why didn’t you get him anything?”
“Because he never got anything for me”.
My class started laughing and my teacher called me up to her and asked why I was acting out today. I tried to explain that I wasn’t acting out and that I was serious. It seemed like she didn’t believe me only because the class was laughing at me when I wasn’t trying to be funny. She sat me back down in timeout as she continued to ask the rest of the class what they were getting. Turned to the wall, I started crying because I really wished that I could have told them what I was getting for my dad but I couldn’t. After all the class was done telling what they had gotten, we were told to go to our desk and start on our busy work like we did everyday but my teacher told me to come outside with her.
She took me down the hall and we finally stopped at a door that read “Guidance Counselor.” I knew I was in trouble because whenever someone went to the guidance counselor they always had to call their parents. I didn’t want to call my mom at all but I knew they would make me. Sitting down in a chair by the counselor’s desk, my teacher told the counselor I was making jokes in class and causing a big uproar. I looked at her funny because I didn’t mean to do any of that. The counselor placed the phone by my side and told me to call my mom. I called home and she answered asking why I called when I’m supposed to be in class. I started telling her what happened but my teacher took the phone from me and started telling her own story.
I sat in the chair and started crying because I didn’t want to get in trouble and I just wanted to go back to class. I didn’t really try and listen to my teacher talking to my mom because I felt that I was already in trouble. I lifted my head and wiped my tears just in time to see my teacher hanging up the phone. She looked at me and smiled. I was confused why she was smiling at me when I was in trouble. Then she said “I’m sorry.” I asked “Why?”
“Why didn’t you tell me your dad wasn’t in your life?” She asked.
“Because I don’t know why he’s not in my life, and I don’t like to talk about it a lot.”
She then sent me back to class and as I walked in my friends asked if I was in trouble and I said I didn’t think so. I went to my desk and opened my workbook to the page we were supposed to work on. The page directions told us to write about someone or something we liked a lot. I started writing about my Mom…I don’t like my Mom a lot… I love my Mom because she loves me and takes care of me. I don’t know why I haven’t ever seen my dad but I don’t care because Mom gives me all I need. As the day went on and the school bell rang, that meant that it was time to go home. When I walked out the class going to the car rider’s section I saw my mom at the end of the hall talking to the counselor and ran to her. She gave me a big hug and told me how much she loved me. I let go of her to and grabbed my work I wrote earlier out my book bag.
She read it and started crying. I hugged her and told her to stop crying. I looked up and told her… “Happy Fathers Day”.