Kindergarten Baby: A Novel Read Online Free

become. “Good morning to the sun, good morning to the…”
    When the song was over, Emma was the first to ask. “Where were you?”
    “We got to watch Garfield,” Marvin shared.
    “Yeah, but the sub was kinda mean,” Harley said quietly.
    Questions and comments came fast and furious, and she wasn’t surprised. She had never missed a full day of school before, let alone two. And since this was kindergarten, Lindsey was the first teacher most of them had ever known. With her gone, the students had discovered that not all teachers possessed the patience or kindness that came so naturally to Lindsey.
    “She yelled at us,” whined Bobby. “And she made Joseph sit in the corner by himself.” Bobby was a perpetual whiner. Even when things were going well. Today, however, his tone seemed more grating than usual.
    Teaching kindergarten was not for everyone. Being around one or two five-year-olds for a day can be difficult; being in a room with twenty-six of them can be impossible. It can push a normal person right over the edge, and Lindsey could attest to that. Even for her, there were days when she would have liked to send Joseph to the moon. But she never let it show.
    Lindsey explained all about her bad cold then read the story, Teddy Bears Cure A Cold by Suzanna Gretz. Needing a little time to herself, she suggested they all sit and make pictures of their own experiences with sneezing, sore throats, or runny noses. Out came the pencils, crayons, and paper, and away to the tables went the eager young artists. Lindsey went to her desk to blow her own nose and take another dose of Tylenol.
    From her desk she observed Willy demonstrating his ability to blow snot bubbles out of his slightly runny nose. His table partners displayed varying reactions. Emma politely tried to ignore him; Maggie’s face showed disgust at his grossness; Harley giggled; and competitive Joseph tried his best, with no luck, to make something, anything come out of his nose.
     
    Lindsey’s classroom was cheerful and tidy‌—‌or at least it was tidy compared to most kindergarten classrooms. Martha Stewart might not approve, but students, parents, and other teachers did. Lindsey was a master organizer with color coordinated tubs, all labeled appropriately and housing things like writing folders, individual book bags, thematic folders, and music folders.
    “Can I shut off the lights?” Alexa asked about twenty minutes later.
    “Yes please,” Lindsey said with a small smile. “It’s time to clean up.” Turning off the lights was part of a routine she was teaching the children, and it made her happy to see them learning.
    When the lights went out, everyone froze.
    “When the lights go back on,” Lindsey said quietly, “Please put everything away and join me on the rug.”
    A few minutes later, the little group crowded around her, eager to see what she had planned.
    “All right,” Lindsey said, holding up a pile of the students’ ‘illness’ pictures. “Who would like to share?”
    Many hands went up, and Lindsey called on Emma first. She was a great role model and always showed the other students what was expected of them.
    “This is a picture of me lying on the couch,” Emma explained. “I’m watching TV and drinking lots of juice to make me better.”
    “What’s all the white stuff all around you?” asked Armando.
    “That’s all my Kleenexes. I had a very, very, very bad cold.”
    “What’s that thing that looks like a pig?” Willy asked with a sneer. He was expecting to get a laugh out of the other kids, and he did.
    “That’s my dog Sally,” snapped Emma. “Sally always stays with me when I’m sick. She’s the best dog in the whole wide world.”
    Emma’s words brought Lindsey’s thoughts back to her own home, her own very, very, very bad cold, and her own best-in-the-whole-wide-world dog. And, of course, these thoughts segued her thinking to Anthony. She puffed out a breath, feeling as if a ton of shapeless