Episode 2: Time for the Dragnet

We are not fancy: we write the grade on the door of the fridge with a dry erase marker, and the kid stands and smiles. I say all that to say this: we have proof that we all saw what everyone was wearing to the first day of school.

Trio First Day.jpeg — EMMA EVEN WENT TO BROOKE’S HOUSE AND TOOK A PICTURE WITH SIA

(MORE PROOF).

So…when Emma was pulled into the office because she did not conform to the school’s dress code, well, she might have broken a Towles family record for speed. I’ve been in my share of principal’s offices, but never that fast.

Really, I don’t blame the administration at our local public schools. They’ve had a time. That’s how we say it in the South when someone has tried to struggle (unsuccessfully, mainly) against an overwhelming force.

“She gave birth to quadruplets. She’s had a time, ya’ll.”

“He’s trying to give up drinking so much. He’s had a time.”

“The local school has tried to explain to children COVID mitigations passed down from wherever that stuff is passed down. They.have.had.a.time.”

So, what do you do when you’ve had a time? You pick the easiest thing that you have control over and you make sure that particular thing is in line. It really doesn’t require a focus on the actual problem—order must be maintained. We all do it.

Bad day at work? Mow the lawn.

Kids are all-of-a-sudden feral? Clean the kitchen.

Feeling overwhelmed with life? Take a nap.

So our school welcomed the kids back into the building with smiles and energy and a keen eye toward enforcing the dress code. The students streamed into the building, adolescent pods of hormonal distention. They were ready to be back to learn—the school wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.

To paraphrase Monty Python, “No one expects the dragnet.”

After that first day, Emma burst through the front door and told me the whole story. Walking into high school for the first time. Seeing friends. Finding the floor where her first class was. Being stopped. Waiting in the office. Being told she was clearly not following the dress code.

“Can you believe that?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I can.”

She demanded an explanation, and I really couldn’t give her one. I really don’t like rules. They usually don’t make sense, and they’re applied poorly, for the most part. I don’t tend to trust them.

I get it, though. Sometimes, there needs to be rules. Like, when you’ve had a time. The first day for Emma was a time, ya’ll.

CODA

Guess who didn’t get in trouble for dress code violations? Jonah. And he seems really happy about that. The rules didn’t work against him. This time, at least.