"I didn't recognize him."
The Sheriff turned towards the speaker, already feeling like he was out of step with reality. That frantic rush of adrenalin, of worrying that the dead teenager would be Stiles or even Scott, the fear he felt at getting the report of a dead teenage boy near the school that had fueled his frantic dash from the station to the body was gone; leaving him feeling hollow and on edge.
Now he had to deal with Coach Finstock. Something that almost always confused the Hell out of him, and left him wondering which one of them was actually insane. "What?" was about the only reply he could even think to make, without being incredibly rude.
"Kyle. I taught him on and off for almost four years, and I didn't recognize him. I'm horrible with names and faces... and, Jesus, you should hear some of the things that come out of my mouth. I don't know how it happens, but suddenly I'm speaking and words just spill out and..." He stopped talking then and looked at the Sheriff, as if to say 'see what I mean?'
He was suddenly struck by the similarities between Finstock and his own son. It almost felt like comforting Stiles when he replied. "That sort of thing happens a lot, even to people we see everyday. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be a violent death. Sometimes the brain just blocks it out because you don't want to see or to believe it. One time, there was this woman, who found her husband dead of a heart attack, and she just kept telling us there was some strange man dead in her bedroom. She just couldn't process it. It doesn't make you a bad person, or a bad teacher."
"It doesn't exactly make me a good one either."
"I've never really heard Stiles complain. It could be worse... you could be like Harris."
The coach shuddered just a bit, and then stood a little straighter. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You can answer a few questions, and then get these kids back to the school." They both stopped a second to look around at the sobbing girl and glare at the vultures who stood around staring like it was an interesting show. "So did you notice anything unusual before finding the body..."