Whisper Down the Lane, Clay Chapman [best short books to read txt] 📗

she doing in your class?

BELLAMY: Great. She’s one of my best students.

MERRIN: Good for her.

BELLAMY: I mean, it’s finger painting and macaroni art. I’m not teaching them rocket science. I’m trying to get them to tap into their creativity.

BURSTYN: Tap in?

BELLAMY: How do you want me to put it?

BURSTYN: These are your words, not mine. I’m just repeating them.

BELLAMY: No, you’re taking my words and—you’re taking my words and making them sound different. Sound wrong.

MERRIN: Did Miss Levin strike you as being intense or high-strung that night? The night of parent-teacher conferences? Was she acting differently?

BELLAMY: High-strung isn’t the right word. I—I want to take that back. Can I?

BURSTYN: You can do whatever you want, man. It’s your time.

BELLAMY: She just seemed like, she looked like she was under duress. Stressed.

MERRIN: How so?

BELLAMY: Miss Levin suggested someone—a student was—was hurting Sandy.

MERRIN: Which student?

BELLAMY: (…)

MERRIN: Mr. Bellamy? Richard?

BURSTYN: You think she was making it up?

BELLAMY: No. I—I don’t know. Maybe Sandy was afraid? She could’ve been hiding the truth. Whoever the real student was. So she wouldn’t get hurt again.

MERRIN: What was the name of the student?

BELLAMY: I already told you.

BURSTYN: No, you didn’t.

MERRIN: You don’t remember the student’s name?

BELLAMY: No.

MERRIN: Mr. Bellamy, if you’re protecting one of your students—or if you believe not telling us this student’s name will help in some way, I just want you to know, for your own personal sake, that we’ll be able to find out who it is. We can ask other people. We can ask Sandy. Or her mom. Or even other people in the—

BELLAMY: Sean.

BURSTYN: Sean what?

BELLAMY: She didn’t give a last name.

BURSTYN: You don’t know your own student’s last name?

BELLAMY: There’s no Sean in my class. There are plenty of Seans in our school.

MERRIN: It’s possible it could’ve been someone else? Someone outside of class?

BELLAMY: Maybe. Sandy’s mom—Miss Levin said it was someone in our class.

MERRIN: You agree? Disagree?

BELLAMY: There’s no Sean in our class.

BURSTYN: Yeah, but…what do you think? About it being some other student?

BELLAMY: I don’t know.

MERRIN: Why didn’t you bring it up with the principal?

BELLAMY: I did.

BURSTYN: You did?

BELLAMY: We had a conversation about Miss Levin this morning.

BURSTYN: And that’s it? Case closed?

BELLAMY: There wasn’t time to follow up.

BURSTYN: Rich. I know it’s been a pretty shitty day for you. We get that. But here’s the thing…It’s starting to feel like there’s a lot of crap circling around you. You notice that? You got one hell of a storm cloud hanging over your head right now…and it’s fucking raining down on you. Real hard. Why do you think that is?

BELLAMY: I’m here because I want to be. I came in because I wanted to set—

BURSTYN: You did, that’s true—

BELLAMY: —to set the record straight. That’s all I want to do.

MERRIN: That’s what we want, too. We want to hear your side of the story.

BELLAMY: I need to—I want to just make sure that this isn’t—

BURSTYN: Tell us your story, Rich. That’s all we’re after here.

BELLAMY: I could lose my job. Christ, I could lose my job over this.

MERRIN: Why’d she lie? Why would Miss Levin lie about something like this?

BELLAMY: I think there’s—there’s something wrong with her.

BURSTYN: That’s your medical opinion?

BELLAMY: You want me to answer the question or not?

BURSTYN: Go ahead.

BELLAMY: Sandy is—I don’t know. Anxious. Something’s going on with her.

MERRIN: How so? How do you know?

BELLAMY: She keeps to herself. Timid. You can tell with certain students that there’s, there might be something, I don’t know, something going on at home. With their parents. With Sandy, it just seemed like, like her mom was a handful.

BURSTYN: Miss Levin’s a handful?

BELLAMY: You asked. I’m telling you what I—what I—what I’ve witnessed.

MERRIN: How is Sandy in the classroom?

BELLAMY: Fine. Just…on her own a lot of the time. In her shell.

MERRIN: Does she have any friends?

BELLAMY: Yeah. Well—no. No, none that I can think of off the top of my head.

MERRIN: You ever see any bruises? Any marks?

BELLAMY: No. None.

MERRIN: Did you look? You’d notice something like that, right? Bruises?

BELLAMY: I mean, if they were visible…Yes. And if I had seen them, I would’ve reported them directly to the principal. To Mrs. Condrey.

BURSTYN: Sure you would’ve.

BELLAMY: What’s that supposed to mean?

BURSTYN: Nothing.

BELLAMY: No—what did you mean by that?

MERRIN: You’re tired. Maybe we should do this another time? When you’re—

BELLAMY: I know how this looks. But it’s not true. It’s not. I need—need to—

BURSTYN: We get it.

BELLAMY: Then why are you looking at me like that?

BURSTYN: Like what?

BELLAMY: Like I’m—like I’m…

MERRIN: Nothing’s come up in class before? No other complaints? No fights?

BELLAMY: Why don’t you ask Mrs. Condrey?

BURSTYN: We’re asking you.

BELLAMY: No, no complaints.

MERRIN: No problems with any other students? Their parents?

BELLAMY: No.

BURSTYN: You ever done anything to anybody that, I don’t know, they’d be angry over? Ever get in a disagreement with somebody or an altercation?

BELLAMY: No. Absolutely not.

BURSTYN: Nobody’s ever got any reason to get back at you for anything?

BELLAMY: (…)

MERRIN: Nobody would have it out for you, Richard?

BELLAMY: (…)

MERRIN: Richard?

BELLAMY:…No.

BURSTYN: Come again? Lost you there for a second.

BELLAMY: No.

BURSTYN: So. Let’s put it this way. Yeah, you came in. Yeah, you’re here of your own volition. And that’s all good. That makes our job a lot easier.

BELLAMY: I didn’t do anything, I swear…

MERRIN: You sure you’re not misremembering anything? Maybe there’s something you’re forgetting? Something you’re not telling us?

BELLAMY: I didn’t do anything. How many times do I have to say it?

BURSTYN: It’s all right. We’re all friends here. You can tell us.

BELLAMY: Tell you what? What is there to tell? I didn’t do—

BURSTYN: You got to see this as an opportunity, Rich. This is your one and only chance to get out in front of the story, you know? Before it takes on a life of its own.

MERRIN: All we want to hear is the truth.

BELLAMY: I have been telling you the truth!

BURSTYN: Feels like you might be hiding something. Or forgetting something? How about that? People forget things all the time—and then, one day, oh,