Sherlanna Series: Bonus Chapters

The Primary School Incident

When Susanna had gotten a call from the Primary School asking for her immediate presence, she was perturbed. The boys were mature and very well behaved- they avoided trouble as much as possible outside the house. So she had no idea what had happened as she got Kimberly into her carrier and hurried out to the car.

When they finally got to the school, she was further confused when she bumped into John at the entrance, "John, what are you doing here?"

"I got a call to meet with the Headmaster. You?"

"Same. What do you think is going on?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Susanna."

When they were taken in to the Headmaster's office, they found Rosie, William and  Victor waiting there, heads down, "Ah! There you are, Missus Holmes and Doctor Watson. Do take a seat." They did and John spoke up.

"What's going on, Headmaster?"

"You are here because Rosamund Watson, William Holmes and Victor Holmes were involved in a physical altercation with four other students earlier today."

"What happened? Who started it?" Susanna asked, looking towards the kids.

"They did. They were bullying Victor and when we told them to go away, they shoved Rose." William answered. Susanna looked over at the Headmaster who nodded.

"And then William punched two students in the nose and Rosamund put one of the others in a headlock. The situation escalated and we had to call the School Guards to stop the fight. The four other students are being treated in the Infirmary."

"And how are they being disciplined?"

"Your children injured the others-"

"Those other students were bullying them and started the altercation. While the kids know that violence is not how they should resolve conflicts, they would not have touched the bullies if they had stopped and hadn't shoved Rosie."

"The four students are receiving three days of in school suspension. Rosamund, William and Victor have been assigned a week of out of school suspension."

"No." John refuted.

"No, Doctor Watson?"

He hummed, "Yes. The other students should get the same amount of time. They bullied Victor and touched Rosie-"

"They shoved her in the chest-" Victor piped up.

"-In the chest. They put their hands on her first. William just stepped up to defend her and his younger brother. Rosie has had issues with bullies in this school before as well."

The Headmaster stiffened, "Your children hurt the other students much worse."

"Only physically. Emotional and Mental trauma from bullying is worse because you can't heal it like you would a bruise." Susanna argued.

The Headmaster eventually agreed to lengthen the bullies' suspension and restrict their privileges. Then Susanna and John got the three kids signed out and left the school, "Next time, please don't resort to violence. Try everything you can before hitting the other person no matter how much it angers you."

"Yes, Mum."

"Yes, Aunt Zu."

The adults shared a look and John spoke up, "But we are very proud of you guys for defending each other and others. We're not upset with you for that. Just next time, don't get into a fight because it would not be a fair match." This earned a round of laughter, and the mood of the group lifted. They split up and drove to Angelo's,  texting Sherlock to meet them there.

I know I already wrote a chapter about harassment, but I wanted to write this chapter as a follow up to Rosie's Run. Bullying is not okay, I think we can all agree that it is unacceptable. As a victim of bullying, both verbal and physical, I can attest that most often it's what people say that hurts worse. And it is extremely frustrating when the ones who are supposed to prevent and discipline bullies don't do anything about it. So we have to, when we see bullying happen, stand up for the victims and rally around them. Avoid physical retaliation because it really doesn't help very much- it can make the situation worse. But it is so important to stick up for each other and treat everyone with respect!! A little kindness and compassion does go a long way. Each of us can help others in a way unique to us.

Thank you for reading!! Love you guys!!