Not calling for Jake

"Earthquake!" yelled one of the boys.

"Ok, everyone, calm down!! You know the drill, let's all go" I yelled.

Sobbing frightened, the students formed a line and went quickly to the exit. I heard the other classrooms do the same.

Luckily the shake was strong but very short. The kids were scared but it was easy to calm them, having them all in the yard to comfort and cheer each other up. Classes were cancelled for the day, however, it wasn't protocol but everybody knew it. Every time there was a shake, parents would soon come for their children and that day wasn't any different.

I was able to see a smiling Jake Ryan picking up his sister, Nataly. She was as beautiful as handsome was her brother. I watched them leaving school with a smile on their faces not worried at all about another possible shake.

I fantasied about him speaking to me, asking if I was feeling ok and empathising on how difficult it was to keep control of the situation with so many students under my care.

Similar conversations were always hanging in my mind every time I saw him, but he never came near and I never went to him.

The school was empty in an hour and teachers also went away. I was closing the door to my class when I noticed the disturbing kid was still inside.

"Jake! your parents didn't come for you?" I asked, feeling my heart as disturbed as a few hours earlier. The kid didn't answer and I was trying to remember where he had gone when the earthquake happened. "Come, let's wait outside." I was surprised when he moved and followed me. I closed the classroom and went to the principal's office, all the while he kept his eyes on me.

I felt distressed when I found the office closed. Everyone had gone home already and I hated that I was stuck with that kid.

"What time are your parents picking you up? Do you have any way to contact them?" I asked, feeling my patience running out. Jake still wouldn't respond so I waited with him for a few minutes but I couldn't stand his quiet stare. He wouldn't look at anything but me and I wanted a bigger earthquake to happen just so that he would stop.

"I'm going to the restroom, could you wait for me?" Upon his silence I felt unsure to leave him by himself there so I took him with me and left him near the sink while I went to one of the stools and shut the door. I tried to breath and decided I was going to be there just five minutes.

Seven went by until I gathered the courage to go out again but Jake wasn't there anymore.

I called for him a long time and explored the school but I felt guilty and relieved when I didn't find him. I told myself his family had probably come and picked him up so I went home feeling his eyes still piercing my mind and swallowing my soul.

The next day I told the principal about him, he seemed worried at first to hear one student had stayed after he had gone but when I told him his name, he seemed confused. We had many students but my boss knew all their names. That was one thing I liked about working for him.

"We don't have a student named Jake..."

I told him about his badge and what had happened and he assured me there wasn't any new student and he didn't know about any Jake. In the end, he tried to shrug it off, "he was probably a kid who lives near here, just messing around".

In the end, I agreed with him but I wasn't convinced, for Jake had been wearing the school's uniform and had a backpack on his shoulders.

The next time I saw hollow-eyed Jake was in a school meeting with parents. It was the same as always: parents complaining about their children having too much homework, complaining about school supplies, bullying in school, clandestine young couples, the use of technology inside and outside the classroom and the number of exams needed during the year.

I felt sorry that Jake Ryan hadn't attended the meeting, instead his parents were there, although his father was nice to look at too. His hair was tinted gray, he was very tall and slender and he had the same personality and talent to make everyone hear what he was saying. He was always very enthusiastic and spoke his ideas just for the joy of being heard.

His wife, on the other hand, was always serious and quiet, looking like she couldn't wait to get out of there. You could tell she was once beautiful but she had had surgery so now you couldn't say if she was sophisticated or plain scary.

How different she was, I thought, than from the woman of the news I had read earlier that day. She had been apprehended for throwing her newborn into a cliff one week before. She and her partner had been spotted by a security camera of bad quality but hadn't been found by the police until recently. The man was still profugue and apparently nobody cared, for they were content with having the mother arrested.

Although I wasn't able to see the criminal's face on the news, I saw her general appearance and I don't know what made me compare her to the woman in front of me. How different their lives were. How different our lives are.

"What we need is short quizzes at the end of every week!" a woman was saying, "that way they can earn more points!"

"No, no! One general test should be enough for the whole year!" was Ryan senior's response. "Pass or fail. Done."

"Stop!" I imagined myself yelling, "A baby was thrown down a cliff! What nonsense are you speaking about now when last week a baby was thrown down a cliff?!"

But instead of participating, I focused my attention to what was on the other side of the window. We were on the second floor so I had a pretty nice view of the yard and some trees. Between the trees I saw a young couple walking under the rain. Their faces were hidden among the leaves of the trees so I could only see their clothes. Even though they were simple, they were very nice and ten times better than my long skirt and plain t-shirt. I had only to see the way the couple moved, played and dressed to know that I would never experience the kind of life they led.