Mirabelle’s POV:
As I drove the kids home, my grip tightened around the steering wheel as I glanced in the rearview mirror at where Tyler, Mika, and Skyler sat, dirt and sand still clinging to their clothes.
“What were you thinking?” I scolded, my voice rising. “Do you know how embarrassing it is to have to yell at the teachers for not watching you properly?”
Tyler fidgeted in his seat, avoiding my gaze. “We were just playing, Mommy.” He said, his voice small.
“Playing? That didn’t look like play to me!” I shot back. “You can’t just hit other kids because they call you names. You need to learn to walk away!”
Mika, sniffling beside him, piped up, “But they started it! They were being mean!”
“Even so,” I replied, trying to keep my voice calm. “You can’t respond with violence. I can’t believe I have to remind you of this.”
The car fell silent, except for the soft sounds of sniffles from my daughter. I took a deep breath, as I dialed Noah’s number, feeling uncomfortable about this.
He needed to hear this too.
“Hey, babe.” He answered, his voice cheerful.
“Noah, you need to come home. The kids did something crazy at school, and I’m so mad right now.” I said.
“What happened?” He asked, concerned.
“They were fighting with other kids, and I had to scold the teachers for not keeping an eye on them. I swear, if you don’t get home soon, I’m going to spank them!” I replied.
Taking a deep breath. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Make it quick!” I hung up and turned to the kids again. “You better hope your father gets here before I decide to handle this myself. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mommy.” They chorused, looking down at their laps.
When we finally pulled into the driveway, I turned to them. “Get inside and wait for me in the living room. I need to talk to Jamie first.”
As they scrambled out of the car, I felt my anger rising. Jamie was already inside, and when I found her in the kitchen, I wasted no time. “Jamie, I need you to wash the kids up. They’re covered in dirt, and I can’t have them looking like this.”
“Of course, Ma’am.” She replied, nodding.
A few minutes later, Noah walked through the door, looking slightly stressed out. “What’s going on?” He asked, his eyes darting from me to the kids, who were standing quietly.
“They got into a fight at school.” I began. “And I had to yell at the teachers.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”
“They were rolling around in the sand, fighting with other children. I’m not sure who started it though!” I paced back and forth.
“Let’s talk to them first,” Noah suggested.
Once the kids were cleaned up, we gathered in the living room. “Alright, what happened?” I asked, crossing my arms.
No one spoke, and I could feel my irritation grow. “Skyler, you’re usually the sensible one. So tell me, what had happened.”
Skyler looked up. “I don’t know what happened, really. A classmate told me he saw a bunch of kids fighting with Tyler and Mika, so I stepped in to help.”
“Help? By getting into a fight yourself?” I raised my voice.
“Mommy, I-” Skyler started, but I cut him off.
“Mika?” I turned to her, hoping for some clarity.
Mika sniffed back tears. “I saw some kids fighting Tyler, so I stepped in too.”
“Why didn’t either of you think to tell the teacher?” Noah interjected. “You don’t need to fight your battles yourselves. There are adults there to help you.”
I felt a wave of frustration. “How can both of you get into a fight without knowing what happened? It doesn’t make sense!”
Turning to Tyler, I demanded. “What happened? Why did you start fighting?”
He hesitated, his small hands twisting in his lap. “Well, they called me a baby, so I got upset.”
Noah stepped in, clearly noticing my rising anger. “Tyler, you should never get into a fight. That’s bad behavior for a child, and your reason isn’t convincing enough for your mother and me to ignore this. You should always think before you act.”
“I didn’t want them to think I was a baby!” Tyler protested.
Noah shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You need to walk away from things like that. Fighting won’t solve anything.” He added, “I had planned for a family movie night tonight, but now that you’ve done this, the movie night is canceled.”
“No!” The kids cried in unison, their faces falling.
Noah and I exchanged a look, he turned to me as he left the sitting room. “I have to get back to work but try not to worry too much about them. They’re still kids.”
“I know,” I admitted.
Before he left, he turned back to me. “By the way, my grandfather is coming over in a few days. Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I replied, forcing a smile.
He leaned in to peck my cheek. “I’ll see you later, babe.” He said, heading for the door.
With Noah gone, I turned back to the kids, who were now sitting silently on the couch, their heads bowed in shame. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson today?” I asked and they nodded.