The Perfect Child(52)

She laid her hands on the desk. “Normally, I would’ve called you in for a conference as soon as we noticed Janie struggling, but since you were expecting another child, I figured her problems were just part of that transition and would pass. Only children almost always have problems when another member is being added to the family.”

Janie was reverting back to behavior we hadn’t seen in months. She went into uncontrollable screaming fits almost every day. She refused to eat and threw food at us, yelling for something different and claiming she’d throw up if she had to eat it. She’d started having accidents again, but this time she had them at home and school. She’d always hoarded food in her room underneath her bed, but now she’d started adding all kinds of weird objects that didn’t make any logical sense—Christopher’s shoes, the remote control, paper towels from the kitchen—and lied when we confronted her about it. Dr. Chandler said we should ignore it like we’d done before, but it wasn’t working this time.

“I wanted to meet today so I could let you know that Elodie’s mother is expecting a call from you about what’s going on between Elodie and Janie at school. I wanted us to have a chance to talk about that conversation before it happened.”

“What’s going on with her and Elodie?” Christopher asked. His face was lined with concern. Janie referred to Elodie as her best friend. We’d never heard about any problems.

“Elodie started asking to stay inside during recess, which was my first red flag. I couldn’t let her do that, since all children have to be outside during recess, but I watched her closely and noticed she cried a lot while we were on the playground. Whenever I asked her about it, she said that Janie was being mean.”

“What was Janie doing to her?” I asked.

“Elodie wouldn’t say what she was doing—only that she was mean. I took Janie aside and asked her about it, too, but she said she didn’t know why Elodie was so upset. It wasn’t anything that was unusual; kids fight and get their feelings hurt all the time. But then Elodie started refusing to play with Janie. It seemed like more than your typical spat. Elodie was genuinely afraid of Janie.” She looked back and forth between us before continuing, making sure we were digesting what she’d said. “Elodie’s mother called me this morning and told me Janie has been hurting Elodie at school. She’s been coming home with bruises. Her mother didn’t think anything of it at first, but it kept happening, and she grew more concerned. Last night, she noticed Elodie’s entire arm was covered in bruises. She finally got her to talk, and Elodie said that Janie pinches her when no one is looking.”

A chill ran down my neck. Janie had gotten in trouble at her previous preschools, but she’d never hurt anyone on purpose. It took Christopher a while to speak.

“Are you sure it’s her?” he asked.

“Positive. I asked Janie about it yesterday, and she admitted it.”

“She admitted it? What’d she say when you asked her about it?” I asked. She hadn’t said anything to me about it when I’d picked her up from school. She’d acted totally normal.

“She said she wanted to make Elodie cry. When I asked her why she wanted to make her cry, she said that she likes to see what people look like when they cry.” Mrs. Tinney’s face was grim. I’d never seen her look so serious.

“Did she say anything else?” Christopher asked.

“No. That was it. I explained to her that it was not okay to make other people cry for any reason.” She sat back in her chair and folded her hands on her lap. “As you can imagine, her mother is very angry. She wants Janie expelled from the school. I don’t want to expel Janie. I really don’t. I tend to think she’s going through a rough time with the new baby—”

“She is. We’ve had all sorts of problems at home too,” Christopher interrupted.

Mrs. Tinney nodded. “That’s what I assumed. However, because Janie has been violent to another student, if the other parent is uncomfortable with her being here, then we will have to ask her to leave.”

“Is that why you called us here? Are you kicking her out?” I asked. My head whirled. What would I do if they kicked her out? Could I get her into another school before the baby got here? What were the other ones on the list?

“Would you be comfortable telling Elodie’s mother about Janie’s history?” She leaned forward. “The only reason I’m asking is because I don’t want to lose Janie. She’s a great girl and an absolute joy to have in class. She’s just struggling right now, and I want to help her rather than punish her. It might help Elodie’s mother be more compassionate if you shared her history.”

“So if she doesn’t insist on expelling Janie, then you’re saying she can stay?” Christopher asked.

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do if you think it will help,” Christopher said.

I wanted Janie to stay at the school as much as Christopher, even more, but something about telling Elodie’s mom about Janie’s past didn’t feel right to me. I listened as Christopher and Dr. Chandler prattled on about ideas for the conversation, but I grew more uncomfortable the longer they went on.

Our walk home after our session was slow since my feet were so swollen, but it felt good to be outside. Before too much longer, it’d be too cold to be outside. I’d tried to keep it in during the session, but I couldn’t any longer. “Telling Elodie’s mother feels like we’re using Janie’s past as an excuse for her behavior.”