Outside the Window
A young girl stared longingly out of the classroom window as she watched all of the other kids her age weave seamlessly in and out of games and conversations. Boys were scattered across the parking lot engaged in what she determined to be a cross between basketball and soccer, yelling at each other and occasionally scratching their knees on the concrete. A cluster of girls gossiped, snickering and covering their mouths from their seats on the curb watching the boys play. One girl was off on her own. Every day she was off on her own. Yesterday she was content to silently skip rope in circles, and today she ran across the grass clumsily grasping at what the girl observing from the window assumed to be butterflies.
The pale girl averted her attention from the window and focused her eyes upon the behavior board at the front of the empty classroom. The display was littered with birds and butterflies, each labeled with a name of one of Mrs. Turnley's third-grade students. The girl walked over to the board and softly ran her fingers over the butterfly labeled "Jade". It was the only bird or butterfly that wasn't flying freely in the sky, but instead was tucked away in its cocoon.
When Mrs. Turnley had first explained the nesting disciplinary system in which a student's paper depiction would be returned to its nest in the case of bad behavior, Jade raised her hand earnestly to explain a detail that her teacher had seemed to overlook. "You see Mrs. Turnley, I believe that you cannot compare a butterfly returning to his cocoon to a bird returning to his nest because a nest is a bird's home whereas a cocoon is only a place of change for a butterfly. A butterfly never returns to his cocoon. Saying that some of us get to go home to a wonderful, loving place but some of us have to go to a place that doesn't exist anymore or somewhere where we are alone isn't fair. I mean it seems more real than any of the fairness fairytale mumbo jumbo that teachers tell us but why have a fair system just to throw it out the window in third grade?" Jade knew adults didn't like when eight-year-olds talked this way, but she couldn't help it.
Jade was the first student stuck in her cocoon, which meant no recess that day. However, after the third time Jade had to abstain from recess, Mrs. Turnley called Jade's parents in for a conference. Both of them.
It was a miracle seeing them together in one room. As soon as they stepped through the double doors of the old building, Jade ran to each of them squealing "mommy" and "daddy" respectively. "Not now Jadelyn," her mother griped whilst her father muttered about how much money and time she was wasting by making him leave work to come work out her behavioral issues. She didn't care about the situation, she just cared that she got to see them.
Since the divorce, she rarely saw her mom because she refused to even step into Jade's father's house. If Jade stayed up late enough or woke up early enough, she could see her dad for the few steps he took between the front door and his bedroom. She managed on her own- walking to and from school, buying lunches with an account her father transferred funds into, and tucking herself in- but she missed her parents. All of the other kids always had a mom or dad picking them up or reading in the library or bringing up lunch on their birthdays. Not Jade. In order to see her parents, she had to make it mandatory.
It was well into October and Mrs. Turnley changed the nesting policy from three days to ten days for a phone call since Jade had been reaching the three-day mark too often for all of the involved adults' likings. Jade eyeballed the tallies on Mrs. Turnley's notepad on her desk. Next to Jade's name were eight tallies, meaning that Jade would get to see at least one of her parents in two days. She reminded herself to wear her favorite hair ribbon that day and her matching skirt.
A whistle interrupted her thoughts, signaling the end of recess. The kids stormed into the classroom, reeking of sweat and still chattering away about Pokemon, Disney shows, and everything else that should be on a third grader's mind.
The girl who had been chasing butterflies approached Jade, who was sitting alone at her desk which the teacher had strategically placed in the front corner of the classroom. "Hi," the butterfly girl giggled, "why is your butterfly always in her cocoon, is it because she hasn't had her metamorphothingy yet?" At first, Jade was offended, but she realized that the girl had only curious intentions rather than hurtful. "I don't know, I guess my butterfly likes the pain of change. I personally don't understand, but I guess my butterfly does what she wants." Jade responded. "Well if your butterfly ever breaks out of her cocoon, you can play with me at recess!" the girl excitedly squeaked out, "My name is Cat, Cat Valentine like the holly day!" Cat extended her hand and awaited her response.
For a second Jade thought about what would happen if she didn't end up in her nest tomorrow. She would be a step further away from seeing her parents again. Seeing them at school was always her opportunity to exhibit how much she had grown or demonstrate her new interests since the last time she was nested ten times. On the other hand, she had to ask herself, "Do they really care? If not, why do I care so much?" She had never tried having a friend before. Maybe it was time for her metamorphosis.
"Jade, Jade West," she confidently spoke as she thrust out her own hand to meet the other girl's.