Category: STORY

Sloane Ortiz sat between two empty chairs in the courthouse interview room, twisting the cuff of her green sweater until the threads lifted.

Nine-year-old Toby Mercer sat between his court-appointed advocate and the heavy oak railing of Hearing Room 4-C, his knees pressed together beneath an ironed navy cardigan whose sleeves ended an inch above his wrists.

The radiator in Hearing Room 3B had a dry, whistling rattle that sounded like breathing through a straw.

Mara Ellison kept both hands beneath the conference-room table so no one would see her fingers counting.

Nine-year-old Toby Vance kept his thumb hooked inside the cuff of his gray thermal shirt, pulling the fabric over his knuckles until only his nails showed.

In Room 304 of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, nine-year-old Toby Vance kept his thumbs locked inside the cuffs of his grey fleece jacket.

Lena Ortiz sat between two adults who had both been told not to touch her.

Three weeks after I transferred to St. Alden’s, I learned that a robotics team could have an invisible seating chart.

The iron-gall ink did not spread like water.