89- Mattie Moved

On my way home from work yesterday, I saw Mattie’s father dragging a lot of garbage from their house to the street curb. I was surprised at the amount of garbage that one tiny house could produce. There were at least two dozen garbage bags on the street, laced with lots of loose objects, like broken furniture and old toys. I figured the family was just doing some much needed cleaning.
I became suspicious today, when Mattie did not show up for school. The girl is rarely absent and had showed no signs of sickness yesterday. During my planning period, I went to the main office to investigate. I went to the heart of the school, the School Secretary.
Secretary is a sassy woman in her late fifties. She is usually dressed in trendy, all black clothing, and wears lots of funky jewelry. Her hair is bleached a shocking white and her raspy voice reveals a love for chain-smoking cigarettes. It is known that the Secretary “holds the keys to the school.” This must be true, both figuratively and literally. She is the woman with all the information.
When asked about Mattie, Secretary’s response broke my heart, “You didn’t get the note? I sent you a note earlier today.”
“No, I didn’t get the note. What happened?” I already knew the answer.
Secretary spent a few seconds coughing up a piece of her lung and then answered me, “Mrs. Gomez called and withdrew Mattie and her siblings from school yesterday afternoon. They have moved to Raleigh, North Carolina.”
Mattie moved?
“Is it a permanent move?” I knew it was a silly question, but kids come and go in neighborhoods like ours. Mattie could move back.
Secretary peered at me from behind her rhinestone studded glasses with a look of contempt. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, indicating that I was wasting her time. “Kids move, honey. Get used to it.”
Not my Mattie! My heart hurt a little bit. I really liked that kid. She had potential. I would miss her.
To add the cherry on top, Mattie had been ahead in the BRIBE bicycle contest. Caroline and I weren’t going to have to rig the contest. If Mattie had not moved, she would definitely have been the winner of the pink bicycle.