Disciplinary Action/Disciplinary Office/First Week/Diya/Light/Comfort
"I really would like to get as much information as I can today since you're here," you told her. "It might be hard to find excuses to get you in here to talk to me, I don't really know how we're going to manage that part yet. So, if you could tell me as much as you can today that will help a lot."
"Hmm... umm... will... you'll really punish them?" she asked.
"I will," you told her, "I already said I would."
"Why?" she didn't even move her face from looking at the ground.
"Well... that's my job," you told her, "I'm not supposed to punish the kid being bullied like you, I'm supposed to punish the bullies."
"But why!?" she asked again, lifting up her wrists to her eyes that had started tearing up heavily again, "I... I... I'm... I'm just a whore's daughter," she said.
"Diya, I don't care about any of that," You said to her, leaning forward with a serious and forceful tone, "I don't care. My sister doesn't care either. My sister is Mrs. Moor, do you know about her?"
"Uh-huh," Diya managed to moan through her tears.
"She gave your sister a job," you told her what she probably already knows, "she doesn't care about who your mother is, and I'm the same way. Actually, I don't like this town either. They're all a bunch of damn hypocrites. I think it's horrible that they just let you be bullied. It doesn't matter who your mother is, you're a student just like any of them and you deserve to be treated the same. All of the teachers may not like you or stick up for you, but fortunately, my opinion is the only one that matters here. None of the other teachers have to say anything. If I say that someone gets punished, they get punished, so you just have to tell me about it. You don't have to tell any of the other teachers about it."
It seemed your words managed to get through to her, because about the time you finished with your heartfelt speech Diya had stopped leaning on the wall and was now staggering toward you. Just like last time, she grabbed onto you with a big hug, and this time she was really crying. Your heart broke as you hugged this child back. This was the crying of someone who had been holding a lot of weight on their shoulders, and all it took was one simple normal act of kindness to make them realize how shitty their life had been up until then, and the entire weight came crumbling down on top of them. Even though her burden got lighter, she was no longer able to hold the weight and her hard exterior cracked revealing the frightened and tormented child underneath.
You pulled Diya's legs up into your lap. You cradled her in your arms as she continued to sob and cry. It wasn't until the bell rang, signaling that the school day had ended, that either of you made a move from this position. With a sniffle, and you with a very damp shoulder, she looked up at you looking very vulnerable. "I think we had probably better find you your pajamas." You say to her, getting another sniffle and a nod in response. You hand her a kleenex as she slides off your lap.