Whisper Down the Lane by Clay Chapman (inspiring books for teens txt) 📕

Then who is this woman?

She looks familiar. She doesn’t go for brand-name catalogue clothing like the other Danvers moms. I notice her gray-blonde hair. There’s something all-natural about her. I spy a girl hiding behind her hip. Sandy. This must be Sandy’s mother. I’d met her at the open house at school. I have a vague memory of her but can’t remember if she’s a Mrs. or a Miss. All I know is that she bombarded me with quickfire questions, grilling me about my lesson plan. Art is never high on any parent’s list of priorities, but Miss Levin was thorough. “Is this your son?”

“Yes.” I manage to stand, the corn husks flexing under my feet. “Stepson.”

I can’t read her reaction. “You should be more careful.”

“You’re right.” I pluck Elijah from the ground. “I should get him back to his—”

“It’s not safe,” she interrupts. “Even here, it’s not safe. In the dark.”

“No, I guess it’s not.” Eli wants to stay with Sandy, his legs locking, refusing to move. I start backing away, dragging Eli by his arm. “Thank you. Thank you for finding him.” I take a moment to acknowledge Sandy, waving at her. “Thanks to you, too. See you in class?”

Sandy nods. It seems like she’s afraid to look at me. Why would she be afraid? Of me?

By the time I wave and say one last thank-you, I spot Mr. Stitch hovering above her. His slumped head seems to take this all in, as if he’s on their side. Even Mr. Stitch doesn’t approve of my parenting skills. I swear I can see that burlap sack for a head shake on his shoulders.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s find your mother.”

INTERVIEW: March 3, 1983

KINDERMAN: Sean, your mother told me that you like to draw. She says you draw pictures all the time. In fact, she told me that your house is full of pictures drawn just by you. Is that true?

CRENSHAW: Uh-huh.

KINDERMAN: She even calls it the Museum of Sean because you’re the only artist on exhibit. Your mom brought in some of her favorite drawings that you’ve done. She wanted to show me how much of an artist you are. I have to agree, Sean, they’re great! You really do have a wonderful imagination. I was wondering…Would you do some coloring with me? I have a brand-new box of crayons that I was going to open and color with by myself…but then I figured, Oh, wait, I’ll share these with Sean! What do you say? Can we color together?

CRENSHAW: Okay.

KINDERMAN: Great! Maybe you can show me how you draw such amazing figures. Whenever I draw, my people look all funny. I think I need your help.

CRENSHAW: Okay.

KINDERMAN: This is so exciting, Sean! I can’t wait. Here’s some paper and here are the crayons. Twenty-four colors. Which is your favorite?

CRENSHAW: Green.

KINDERMAN: Me, too! See? We’ve got a lot in common, you and me. I bet we’re going to draw something really amazing together.

CRENSHAW: What should we draw?

KINDERMAN: Good question. What are some of your favorite things to draw?

CRENSHAW: I like—I like dinosaurs.

KINDERMAN: Dinosaurs are great! What’s your favorite kind of dinosaur?

CRENSHAW: Stegosaurus.

KINDERMAN: Mine, too! What else do you like to draw?

CRENSHAW: Um…Cars.

KINDERMAN: Do you ever draw stuff that’s happened to you? I was thinking…maybe you could draw a picture of your teacher.

CRENSHAW: Why?

KINDERMAN: What? You’re not good enough to draw a picture of somebody you know? Your mom told me you could draw anything…

CRENSHAW: I can do it.

KINDERMAN: Good! That’s great, Sean…Thank you. Now, if somebody asked you to draw a picture of Mr. Woodhouse, what would you draw first?

CRENSHAW: His…head?

KINDERMAN: Okay. How about you show me? What color are his eyes?

CRENSHAW: Um…blue?

KINDERMAN: Are you sure about that? I thought they were…

CRENSHAW: Green?

KINDERMAN: Brown-green! That’s what I thought. Here. What about his hair?

CRENSHAW: Brown.

KINDERMAN: Perfect. What about his body? How would you draw his body?

CRENSHAW: Like…this.

KINDERMAN: Sometimes people have different things on their bodies. Like pictures. Or words. Sometimes even numbers. Like the number 6. Does Mr. Woodhouse have anything like that on his body, that nobody really sees because he’s always got his clothes on?

CRENSHAW: Like he hides it?

KINDERMAN: Exactly. Something not many people see. Maybe he shows it to a few people. But not a lot. Has he ever showed you anything on his body before?

CRENSHAW: (Shrugs.)

KINDERMAN: It could be a picture on his skin—or maybe it’s even a part of his body. Has Mr. Woodhouse ever showed you a part of his body before?

CRENSHAW: A secret part?

KINDERMAN: Yes, exactly. A secret part. Adults call those private parts. Has he ever shown you something like that? Could you draw a picture of his secret parts for me? Do you know where a person’s private parts are on their body?

CRENSHAW: (Draws.)

KINDERMAN: When did he show it to you? In school? During class time?

CRENSHAW: (Shrugs.)

KINDERMAN: It wouldn’t have been during recess, would it? When all the other kids are playing outside? Or was it on a field trip? A special field trip?

CRENSHAW: It was a field trip.

KINDERMAN: I thought so. I’m wondering if we could draw another picture. You can use as many colors as you want, okay? The whole box. Some of your classmates told me about how Mr. Woodhouse took a few students on a field trip.

CRENSHAW: To the zoo.

KINDERMAN: Yes, well, we already knew about the field trip to the zoo…but some of your classmates mentioned another kind of field trip. One that happened at a different time. Do you know anything about what field trip they mean?

CRENSHAW: Yes?

KINDERMAN: Did you go on this field trip? With Jason and Sarah and—

CRENSHAW: Craig was there, too.

KINDERMAN: Craig Richardson?

CRENSHAW: Uh-huh.

KINDERMAN: Interesting. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about what this field trip with Mr. Woodhouse was like…Do you think you could do that, Sean?

CRENSHAW: I don’t know.

KINDERMAN: Know what? It’s okay to talk to me about it. Or, better yet, you can draw a picture! When we asked Jason, he said it was pretty scary and he’d