Chapter 3
Borrowing the ring to deal with a parent
It was about 20 minutes after the school day ended that I first wore the ring. I had picked it up from Mr. Wilkinson a minute before but waited until I got back to my classroom to put it on. I was amazed that it felt loose going on, but that it changed shape to conform to my finger. Could that have really happened, a piece of metal changing in size on its own? It felt a little heavier than a normal class ring, but being as old as it was I can imagine that the metals it was made of were different than the strong, lightweight materials used for today's rings. I wondered a bit about the ring. Was it enchanted by magic somehow, a spell or ritual? Was it made of some unknown metal that had otherworldly properties? The ring started to feel a little tight, and I remembered what Tom had said the first time:
The ring will tell you if you are going off track.
I figured that the ring was telling me it didn't want me to find out its secrets, so I stopped thinking actively about it. When I thought about my upcoming meeting, it relaxed its grip on me.
Knock, knock.
"Come in, Mrs. Johnson," I said. "C'mon in Jack, I'm glad you're here, too, since this is about you and me." I touched the ring as I got up to greet them, and sent out a thought to Jack not to say anything stupid. I knew it was a broad statement, but I wasn't sure how detailed I needed to be. Plus, it worked as he didn't say anything at all as he and his mother joined me at a group of desks in the middle of the room.
Marissa Johnson was a healthy woman. As a fairly average looking white man, it is always a bit exotic to see an attractive black woman. About my height, a little heavy but not fat, just your basic above average middle-aged figure. Her skin was smooth, milk-chocolate smooth, and her deep brown eyes just drew me in. I couldn't help but smile, even though I knew she had a reputation for blasting teachers. This time it was going to be different.
"Before we get started, Mrs. Johnson, I wanted to thank you for coming in to see me. I know we could have done this over the phone, but in cases where I have a strong disagreement with a parent I want to have the face-to-face contact needed for both of us to keep our emotions in check and find a solution that's best for the student."
Marissa was a bit taken aback by that. She was expecting hostility, and I wasn't going to give it to her. "Umm, thank you Mr. Kramer. I really do want what's best for Jack, and it's frustrating to have to fight with teachers every year to get what I think that ought to be."
"Ok," I said. "First, I'd like Jack to talk. I think that perhaps there's a difference in what you are hearing and what is actually happening." I turned to look at Jack, and started to gently turn the ring around my finger. "Jack, I want you to tell your Mom what's going on in class. Tell her why your grades are not where they should be, and tell her why I have had to ask you to leave the room and go to the office a half-dozen times this quarter. Don't be nervous. If you've been telling Mom stories that aren't quite the way things really are, now is the time to come clean, and I promise in front of your mother that I won't hold it against you."