‘My Son Disappeared Because of Your Mocking!' Mom Bursts into School Staffroom – Story of the Day

Busy single mom, Karen, is skeptical when her son complains about his math teacher's terrible punishments. However, when her son disappears one day, Karen realizes she should've taken her son's complaints more seriously.

"We've got to move it or we'll be late!" Karen abandoned the remains of her cereal on the kitchen table. Her heart sped up as the stress of knowing another busy day lay ahead of her started to kick in.

Peter grabbed his school backpack and led the way to the garage. "I have a math test today," he said. "I just know Mr. Phelps is going to shout at me."

"Why would your teacher shout at you in a test?" Karen frowned as she pulled out of the driveway.

"Because he's a jerk. Phelps shouts at everyone who does badly in math, and he always makes me stay late as punishment for getting bad grades."

"Did you study for the test?" Karen glanced at her son, who was staring down at his hands.

"Kinda. I don't understand a lot of it. I'm probably going to fail...again."

"Just do your best, my angel." Karen gave Peter a quick pat on the knee. "Everything will always work out somehow if you're consistently doing your best to succeed."

Peter flinched as Mr. Phelps slammed his test paper down on his desk.

"Congratulations, you got a D this time instead of a D minus," Mr. Phelps said sarcastically. "For once, you aren't the lowest-scoring student in class."

Peter blushed in embarrassment and hung his head. The rest of the class giggled and whispered.

"Try studying next time, Peter," Mr. Phelps continued.

"And either get a parent to help you or a tutor because, at this rate, you will fail math this year, and I don't want to teach you again next year."

Mr. Phelps moved on to the next student. Peter shoved his test in his school bag without even looking at it. If only he didn't have to do math anymore.

Peter spent the rest of the school day trying to fight back dark thoughts about what he'd do if he did fail math. He didn't want to spend another year in Phelps' class and thought he might run away if that happened.

After school, Peter saw someone who instantly lifted his mood. He ran to the school gate and threw his arms around the man waiting for him there.

"Hey, bud, how was school?" Peter's Dad, Brian, asked.

Peter shook his head. "I'm failing math."

Brian frowned and rubbed Peter's shoulder. "Math can be a tricky subject. Let me get you ice cream, and we'll talk about it until your mom arrives to pick you up."

Peter smiled up at Brian. An ice cream truck was driving by at that moment, and Brian bought cones for both of them. They sat on a bench, and Peter showed Dad his test.

"I'm going to put a stop to your sick predilection for victimizing my child."

"Decimals are tough," Dad said as he scanned the problems on the test, "but it's not too bad once you get a handle on where that decimal point needs to be."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Peter sighed.

"Get away from my son, you lowlife!"

Peter and Brian looked up as Karen bore down on them.

"I was just talking to Peter." Brian raised his hands, but Karen would not be placated.

"You're forbidden from seeing him, Brian." She was red-faced and shaking with fury. "You left us, so you have no right to be anywhere near him."

Brian rose, a stern look on his face.

"I left you, Karen, not my son. And this is precisely why: you turn everything into a disaster. No matter how small the problem, you're guaranteed to freak out about it. Your mother couldn't have chosen a better name for you. All you need now is the haircut."

Karen puffed up and jabbed a finger at her car. "Get in the car, Peter. I'm about to say things that aren't suitable for you to hear."

Peter waved goodbye to Dad. He hated abandoning him to mom's wrath but couldn't bear to witness any more of their argument. They were already drawing a crowd.

"Bad at math and embarrassing parents...this is why I don't have any friends," Peter muttered as he climbed into the car. He lay down in the backseat so nobody would see him.

That evening, Peter went to Mom after dinner to ask for her help with math. She'd just finished loading the dishwasher and let out a long groan.

"Couldn't you have asked me sooner?" Mom snapped. "It's time for you to go to bed, not time for studying."

"Please, Mom! Mr. Phelps embarrassed me in front of the whole class and called me a loser. I have to get better at math so he'll stop torturing me."

Mom sighed. "It's too late now for homework, Peter. You should've spoken to me about this earlier. Go to bed."

Peter slunk away. Mom didn't seem to care about him or his math troubles. Peter climbed into bed and turned out the light. If only Dad were still around.

"Arrest him for kidnapping."

The following day, Karen and Peter were running late as usual, but Peter decided to try again to get Mom to help him.

"I'm going to be late to fetch you from school this afternoon," Mom said. "I have to work late."

"It doesn't matter. Phelps will probably make me stay after class so he can insult me for not being good at math," he replied, but Mom barely glanced at him.

Karen raced to school that afternoon. She was far more behind than she'd expected, so it was a surprise when she didn't find Peter waiting for her.

Where could he be? Doesn't he know I don't have time to wait all afternoon for him? Karen left her car and walked over to the playground. A few kids were playing there, but none were Peter.

Karen walked on, scanning every group of students she passed. Peter wasn't among them. She sped up as worry grew in her heart. The next time she spotted a school guard, she grabbed him by the arm.

"Where is my son? I've searched this whole school, and he's nowhere to be found!"

The guard tried to calm her, but Karen was panicking. She called the police as she marched on, still searching for her missing son. Then she started calling everyone she knew.

As she jogged past classrooms, Karen suddenly remembered what Peter had said yesterday and that morning. She knew exactly who was responsible for Peter's disappearance!

"Which one of you is Phelps?" Karen shouted as she burst into the staff room.

A tall man stood and gave her a quizzical look. "I'm Phelps. What can I do for you?"

Karen saw red. This beanpole was the man her son was so afraid of? Well, she'd teach him a good lesson about bullying children.

"My son disappeared because of your mocking!" Karen lunged forward to grab the man. "He's run away, and it's all your fault!"

Another teacher stepped in to block her path. "Mrs. Reilly, please calm down."

"Reilly?" Phelps looked over the other teacher's shoulder with narrowed eyes. "You're Peter's mother?"

"Yes, and I'm going to put a stop to your sick predilection for victimizing my child."

Phelps shook his head. "If anyone's guilty of harming Peter, it's you."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Karen made another effort to grab Phelps, but a security guard had appeared now and took her by the arm.

"Your son is constantly late for my math class because you can't get him to school on time, and his homework is sloppy and full of basic errors. It's clear you've never checked his work or even tried to help him."

Karen gaped at the man. Her mouth opened and shut, but she was so shocked that only incoherent sounds came out.

"Mrs. Reilly? I understand you're looking for Peter." The principal had entered the room and came up beside her.

"One of our students has just informed us that he saw Peter leave school grounds with a man wearing a gray coat. The student said he's seen Peter meet this man at the school gates before."

"Brian." The realization hit Karen like a truck. "This school is ridiculous! How can you be so negligent with your students? I'm going to report you to the state!"

Karen jerked away from the security guard and ran for her car. She called 911 as she roared out through the school gates.

"I need to report a kidnapping!" She cried when the operator answered her call.

Karen charged into Brian's house with the police on her heels. She screamed her son's name, and Peter called back to her in a thin, weary voice.

"I'm coming, Peter!" Karen ran towards her son. She shouldered into the kitchen and found Peter and Brian studying math at the table.

"Please don't be mad, Mom. I asked Dad..." Peter trailed off, his eyes going wide as the police entered the room.

"What's all this?" Brian stood and gestured to the police.

"Arrest him for kidnapping." Karen pointed at Brian.

"Now you've really gone too far, Karen." Brian turned to address the closest police officer. "I'm this boy's father and have a right to see my child. My son waited almost an hour for this woman to collect him from school, so I offered to bring him to my home and help him with his math homework."

The police asked Karen if she had a court order to prevent Brian from seeing Peter, and since she didn't, they refused to arrest him and admonished her for wasting their time. Karen was furious. She dragged Peter to the car and warned Brian to stay away from them.

A few days later, Karen received a call from Mr. Phelps.

"I'm glad to see you've started taking an interest in Peter's work," Phelps said. "It's clear that he understands the work better now, and he scored in the top percentage of his class on the most recent test."

Karen had expected an argument when she realized who was calling and didn't know how to respond to Phelps' kind words. When she ended the call, an almost nauseating sense of guilt roiled in her belly, for it wasn't her who'd helped Peter; it was Brian!

Karen dropped into her office chair. All the nasty things she'd said to Phelps and Brian played through her thoughts. She'd thought they were to blame for her and Peter's problems, but now she couldn't deny the truth.

She'd been so absorbed in her worries that she'd lost touch with the world and the people she cared about. Worse yet, this was how she'd lived for years.

Karen bowed her head as old arguments with her sister, parents, and former friends came back to haunt her. She thought of the night Brian left and how he'd pleaded with her to change her life.

"You've got to learn to manage your stress," he'd said.

"Nobody can live with you when you're always on edge and looking for excuses to fight."

"I've been a darned fool," Karen muttered.

Karen immediately called Brian. She apologized for everything and poured her heart out to him as she admitted that she realized now how wrong she'd been. She also told him how grateful she was that he'd helped Peter with math.

"Why don't you pick Peter up from school today?" she said. "Spend the afternoon together, and you can bring him home in time for dinner."

Brian immediately agreed. He and Peter had a fantastic afternoon together. When he walked his son to the door, Brian resolved to discuss a schedule with Karen so he could spend time with Peter regularly. He hoped it wouldn't turn into an argument.

Brian took a deep breath, bracing himself for Karen's wrath. The last thing he expected was for her to answer the door wearing a figure-hugging black dress.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?" Karen asked.

There was a sparkle in Karen's eyes that Brian hadn't seen since their wedding day. They smiled at each other. While he followed Peter inside, Brian remembered how idyllic the first few years of their marriage had been. Maybe Karen had decided to change her life for the better.

What can we learn from this story?

• People behave badly when they feel bad. The stress and anxiety Karen carried around in her heart caused her to lash out at everyone around her. She blamed others for her problems because she didn't know how to accept responsibility for her shortcomings.
• Parents cannot decide the fate of their children. Karen's oppressive behavior and neglect of her son's problems caused Peter much suffering and ultimately forced him to favor his more sympathetic father.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a heartbroken mother who gets a text about her son who went missing two years prior.

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