“There’s another one,” Olivia shouted as she went running off toward a butterfly.

“Look at its wings,” Lori said as she ran after Olivia. “It’s a Mo-arch butterfly.”

“Monarch,” Tammy corrected. “Isn’t it pretty with those orange and black wings?”

The three girls came to an abrupt stop in front of a kid holding their ears and looking all around.

“What’s wrong Brenda?” Lori asked?

“It hurts! Make it stop,” Brenda contorted her face while continuing to look around the playground.

Olivia, Lori, and Tammy also looked around trying to figure out what Brenda was talking about.

“It hurts!” Brenda shouted before letting out a giant scream of pain.

“Tammy, go get a teacher,” Lori directed. “Brenda, what hurts?”

“The bird, make it stop.”

As Tammy ran off, Lori and Olivia looked around. They could hear a bird singing off in the distance, but they couldn’t see or hear anything closer.

“What’s wrong with the bird,” Olivia asked? “It’s off in the trees. I can barely hear it.”

“It’s so loud. It hurts,” Brenda scrunched her eyes together, fell to the ground, and curled up into a ball, while holding her hands over her ears.

“What’s wrong,” Mrs. Thompson asked as she approached the group?

“I don’t know,” Olivia responded? “Brenda is saying the bird’s singing is hurting her, but it is way over there.”

Mrs. Thompson looked over to the edge of the playground. She could just barely hear the bird singing over the kids playing. Getting down beside Brenda, “It’s okay Brenda. Let’s go inside where it’s quiet.”

Lori looked at the locked door to the school and back at Mrs. Thompson, “She needs her special headphones.”

Smiling down at Lori, “Yeah, she does. When I unlock the door, do you want to take her down to the SpEd room to get them?”

“I can do that,” Lori said with pride.

“Office,” Mrs. Thompson said into her walkie-talkie. “Sending Brenda to SpEd room with Lori.”

“Office acknowledges,” came back through the walkie-talkie. “Notifying Mrs. Diamond.”

When they reached the door, Mrs. Thompson unlocked it and stepped inside with Brenda, Lori, Tammy, and Olivia. Once the door was closed behind them she stopped and got down on her knees in front of Brenda. Then everyone was silent as Mrs. Thompson just waited for Brenda to respond.

Slowly Brenda started to open her eyes and look at Mrs. Thompson.

“Can you still hear the bird?” Mrs. Thompson smiled at Brenda.

Hesitantly Brenda took her hands off her ears and shook her head back and forth.

“Lori will take you down to Mrs. Diamond. Can you go with Lori?”

Brenda shook her head up and down.

“Lori, take her to the SpEd room. Don’t talk with her unless Brenda starts the conversation. Let her recover.”

Lori nodded her head, and Brenda smiled at the directions. Then Lori took Brenda’s hand and headed down the hallway.

Tammy and Olivia looked at the two girls walking down the hall away from them.

Mrs. Thompson opened the door, “Okay, girls, let’s go back out and finish recess. Brenda will be okay.”

Olivia looked down the hall one more time before turning to Tammy, “I’ll race you to the twirly slide.”

Tammy smiled and darted out the door.