The Rock

Flash Fiction

The Rock

“Why did you throw the rock?” I asked my daughter. I’d been called to school to pick her up. A first grader. Apparently, she threw a rock during recess and it hit another child. The other child, Sandy, wasn’t hurt, but the rock throwing had been witnessed by two recess monitors. And so, it was required that she be sent home.

Being my first and only child, I had no idea what this meant. Her teacher told me that she had been lectured to never throw rocks at school again.

“Why did you throw the rock?” I asked, trying to be angry, but not angry.

“Jilly and Andrea. They told me to do it.” came a quiet and very insecure voice from her car seat.

“I know Jilly and Andrea are new friends, but they’re not the boss of you. You know you shouldn’t throw rocks at anybody. Why didn’t you just say no?”

“Because it was Sandy’s rock.”

Confused, I said, “I don’t understand. How could it be Sandy’s rock?”

“She brought it to school to show at show and tell. It’s from Florida!”

“And how did you get it?”

“Jilly and Andrea stole it from Sandy, and Sandy was crying. So, I told Jilly and Andrea they had to give it back but they just laughed. And then they threw it at me. So, I just tossed it to Sandy, and I was going to yell at Jilly and Andrea! But the teachers stopped me first…”

“After you tossed it to Sandy…?”

“Yes…”

“How about this, let’s stop at Sandy’s house later. Maybe we can make a play date for you two.”

“Yes!”

And that’s when I realized nothing much had changed since I was six years old. I think it made me a better mother.