First Day of School: Santiago
“What if they think I’m weird, dada?” Santiago asks in a quiet tone, holding onto his dad’s hand tightly.
“Santi, mi sol,” Roman whispers and kneels to his level, giving him a warm smile, “Then those kids are bullies, and you owe them nothing. If they do start calling you names, then you are to tell Mr. Picani. Remember solesito, do not be afraid to speak up if needed.”
“But what if teacher doesn’t listen? And what if I do not want to talk?” Santiago asks, tugging gently on Roman’s fingers and looks at them.
“Then the teacher should know when you are not wanting to be talking, since I made sure to tell them everything. If they do not listen, you are to tell me after school,” Roman says softly
He wished he could give his son better advice, but he had other methods to deal with bullies that dealt with violence. Roman swore to himself to never pass those traits to his son, not wanting to give his father the satisfaction of doing so.
“Santi, it’s time for me to leave,” Roman says softly and stands up, knocking on his classroom door, “Do you have your little cube?”
“Pocket,” Santiago nadie.
“Lunch?”
“Yes.”
“Headphones for if the noise is too much?”
A nod.
“Is there anything else you might need?”
A shake.
“Okay dear. I knocked once. Want another knock?”
A nod.
Roman knocks once more, seeing a cheerful teacher open the door. He had glasses perched on his nose, wavy chestnut hair just barely above his eye, a pink sweater with a light blue tie, and khaki pants with brown loafers.
“Salutations! I’m Mr. Picani, your sons Kindergarten teacher. Very nice to meet you-“
“Roman Ramirez,” He introduces himself and shakes his hand, “This is my son, Santiago,” He says and sees the teacher kneel down, making Santiago take a step back and hold onto Roman’s hand even tighter.
“Hello there, I’ll be your teacher,” Mr. Picani smiles softly at Santiago, “Are you ready to step on an adventure with me and your new classmates?”
Santiago looks at Roman, who nods and gives a reassuring smile. Santiago slowly lets go and grips his backpack straps now, nodding slowly. Mr. Picani nods back, standing and takes a step back for him to enter. Santiago hesitates, thankful he was one of the students who arrived early. There seemed to be a pair of twins already sitting a table, playing with blocks, a girl with curly hair in the corner putting away her backpack, and a girl wearing glasses reading a book. Santiago takes a few deep breaths, walking in and decides to sit at the table where the twins were at. They look up and give a smile each, Santiago looking around and sets his backpack down next to him.
Roman spoke with his teacher, making sure he knew about his son’s autism and how he may not communicate verbally at times and to not interrupt his concentration if given work. Once done, he shakes hands with him once more and forces himself to leave the school, knowing he had to let his son go at a certain time.
School was hard for both students and parents.
