Sick To Her Stomach
The police officer hands Louise a video of her son and presses play. She watches it and is left mortified, frozen in her tracks. She can feel the police officer’s eyes burn into the back of her neck. She can feel their judgment and harsh thoughts.
Bad mom. Bad mom. That’s what they’re thinking right? What kind of mom would allow this to happen? But this wasn’t just any child, it was her son. He doesn’t mean any harm. She takes a deep breath before holding her stomach. She feels sick. Sick to her stomach. But this devoted mom had no idea things were about to get even worse.
The Perfect Life
Louise Smith had the life every woman could ever dream of. A perfect husband, a kind and gorgeous son, and a fantastic house, and an incredible job.
Every morning she woke up and reveled in happiness. She had just what she wanted. But little did she know her entire world was about to get turned upside down.
Her Son Jason
You see, Louise’s youngest son Jason was the absolute love of her life. Every time he walked into a room he lit it up with his smile and outgoing personality. But Jason was far from perfect. He often held tantrums and was recently diagnosed to have ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.)
Despite this, Louise knew Jason was a kind, clever and generous young man. And that’s all you could ever wish for in your child right? She had no idea what was coming.
Working From Home
With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, Louise and her husband Mark were working from home, while Jason was attending virtual online classes held by their teachers.
So far everything was going well. Jason seemed to enjoy his virtual classes and he wasn’t that much of a distraction to Louise and Mark. But then one day, everything changed for this happy family.
Another Week
Another Monday morning soon arrived and Louise’s morning routine began. Have coffee, wake Jason, check emails, feed Jason, and start work.
It was a lot to do but she powered through as any other mom would. Once Jason was settled she sat at her desk and took a sip of coffee. She thought today was just going to a day like any other. She was so wrong.
Logging On His Virtual Class
Louise was upstairs doing work when she heard Jason shout up to say he was going to his virtual class. Louise had a ton of work to do and she was already behind, so she shouted down to Jason, “ok honey, go do it in your room.”
She heard Jason’s feet pitter-patter on the floor as he raced to his bedroom. Louise had no idea what her son was up to.
Finally Finished
Louise takes another sip of coffee from her mug and shuts her laptop. Two hours later and she had managed to finally catch up with her work. For a moment she stopped and listened. Silence. Where was everyone?
She gets up and makes her way into the hallway, but then suddenly she heard a scream. And it sounded like Jason.
What Was The Problem?
Louise races across into Jason’s bedroom and to her relief he’s fine, playing with his toys. She lets out a sigh of relief and leaves the room, but then suddenly a forceful knock at the door echoes through the house.
The knock jolts Louise to her bones and she makes her way downstairs to see who was at the door. When she opened it, a terrible feeling hits the pit of her stomach.
Police At The Door
Louise opens the front door and to her surprise, she’s greeted by two police officers. Her heart drops at their sight. What had happened? Why were they here? She felt sick.
“Mrs. Smith, can we come in? We need to talk,” said one of the officers. Louise opened the door so the two officers could come in and they made their way to the sofa. But then suddenly, Jason’s teacher, Miss Morris appeared. What was going on?
Watching The Footage
The policeman handed her an iPad and pressed play on a video. It was a screen recording and it was from Jason’s virtual class. Louise’s eyes glance towards the date and it showed it was from today.
She sees Jason in the corner of the screen, his cheery smile beaming through the screen. Then suddenly, he picks something up and what he does next shatters her world completely.
Was This A Joke?
Louise can feel panic brew inside her like tea in a pot. Was this some kind of joke? What was her son doing with that? She felt sick. Sick to her stomach.
Obviously, it was not what it looked like right? There’s no way she would allow Jason to do something like that! But the evidence is there. And there’s nothing she can do about it.
Playing With A ‘Toy’
In the video, it showed Jason picking up what looked like a gun. He waves it across the screen before placing it beside him. Other children in the video either laugh or look alarmed.
While watching this Louise could feel shame creep up her spine. It was obviously a toy gun. It wasn’t a real gun, was it?
Explaining Herself
Louise immediately remembered that the ‘gun’ was actually a Christmas gift for Jason from the year before. She remembered it because she remembered just how much joy it brought him.
She raced upstairs to find it, which she did, and then frantically ran back downstairs to explain the situation to the police and teachers. But they were not having any of it.
Not What They Wanted
The teachers at Jason’s school ultimately decided to suspend Jason for what he did on the video chat. Hearing those words, “suspension” shot straight into Louise’s heart like bullets. This was not fair. Her son did nothing wrong.
She knew she had to take matters into her own hands. They were not going to get away with it. Not this time.
A (Sort Of) Happy Ending
Louise, like all angry and upset mothers, would, decided to post the incident to social media, in which both she and her beloved son went viral. Many people slammed and criticized the school for their behavior and suspension of Jason.
In the end, Louise knew it was in her son's best interest if he left that school. And finally, two months later everything was good again for Louise and her perfect family.