When Ellen walked into the classroom first thing on Thursday morning, Kennedy and five of the other early kids had Jimmy pinned to the floor by his hands, tickling him. Every child knew that was hopelessly ticklish and they always used it to their advantage when they wanted something- and from what Ellen could see, Kennedy appeared to be leading the pack.

“NO! Stop it- don’t tickle me there- AH! Alex, I swear to God if you…Ahhahaha!” Jimmy laughed as he tried to get the kids to stop, but it was no use. They knew where his weakness was, and if Ellen wasn’t quick, Jimmy would be the one that scarred the rest of them by shitting himself.

“Come on kiddies, leave Mr Sullivan alone. Go play outside” Ellen said, and the suggestion of getting to beat each other up on the playground, or at least that’s what they told the two teachers they were doing, each child got off of Jimmy and ran screaming out onto the playground. Lord only knew what the other parents must’ve thought. Ellen held out a hand to help Jimmy up, the first time the two of them had really had any physical contact since he’d kissed her. Neither of them had spoken about that moment beside the lake- and neither of them intended to bring it into the conversation.

“You saved my ass, El. Those kids will make amazing torturers someday” Jimmy smiled as he got up onto his feet, smiling at her.

She did look a lot like her sister, but there were differences. Ones that you would only see if you looked close enough. Like how her eyes were a slightly lighter shade of blue than Gabby’s, or how her hair was black rather than the dark brown that her’s had been before she’d lost it all from the Chemo. He remembered how people had stared and pointed, wondering what the bald kid was doing walking around the school. People didn’t know she was a girl, or that she was sick- they just made judgements and it made him hate humanity even more.

“What are you thinking about?” Ellen asked as she walked over to the cupboard, pulling out bits of crepe paper and glue. The kids were going to be making collages about their families today, and he could only guess that a lot of them would try and make their mom’s and dad’s and not much else. Kennedy was still in the first grade, so she’d be doing handwriting. Sometimes Jimmy wished he still had her in his class- he felt like he was protecting her more that way. Looking out for because Matt wasn’t around.

“Nothing”

Before she could ask again, the kids came flooding back through the door, accompanied by the many other children that Jimmy had acquired and he sat back, watching them hang their coats up neatly on the pegs and then taking their seats in the wooden red and blue chairs, smiling happily up at him. They’d already spotted the materials he and Ellen had gotten out- the excitement was brewing beneath them.

“Alright! Are you ready for the most dangerous, thrilling, jaw-droppingly intense arts and crafts session you’ve ever witnessed?” Jimmy cried, dropping to his knees in sheer drama of what he was saying. The kids probably had no idea what half of those words meant but they all yelled in approval.

“Today we’re going to be making collages of your families! So that’s your mom your dad, you brothers and sisters, your goldfish your dogs and your grandma that smells funny!” Jimmy announced and began handing each little child a piece of brightly coloured paper, letting them get to work on their drawings. He headed over to the first table, crouching down beside the children and letting his eyes wonder over the paper. They all drew pretty much the same thing, stick figures and funny blobs that were meant to represent people.

Each of them spoke and laughed loudly, yet there was still one little resigned kid, sat in the corner of the table, his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration. As Jimmy bounded over to him, getting to his knees so he was the same height as the little man, he spotted a very familiar building being drawn. The prison. The one where Matt was- it was in a lot of the drawings that Kennedy drew and showed him when they went to visit.

The kids name was Alex Tuck, and though he didn’t check the school records much, Jimmy knew that Alex was in the same sort of position that Kennedy was in. His mother had scarpered years ago, leaving him to be raised by his father- yet Jimmy had never met Alex’s father before.

“Who in your family are you drawing Alex?” he asked almost innocently, wishing that Brian was still working across the hall rather than some lame ass teacher he didn’t even like. If he got fired after Brian sued them, so be it. He didn’t want to work for a school that suspended people because they were gay. He’d find someplace else- but for now, he liked the children he worked with.

“I’m drawing my Daddy. He’s in prison because he had a bag with a big dollar sign on the front” Alex said quietly. Robbery- must have been either breaking and entering or he’d done a hold up at a bank somewhere. Jimmy wasn’t surprised. But the name Tuck, it rung a bell. He must have heard it somewhere else than in the class.

“He got in a fight with Kennedy’s Daddy, so then the bad men at the prison says he has to stay there for longer. I saw Kennedy with Mr Haner there and she looked sad” Alex continued, and Jimmy froze.
Matt got in a fight with some bruiser called Tuck who had called Kennedy a mistake. How could someone say something like that- especially someone who had a kid himself? He stood up slowly, beckoning at Ellen to walk over to him.

“Watch them for a moment. I have a call to make” he whispered and ran out of the classroom, behind the building where he was pretty sure no one would see him. Everyone would be busy with classes. Quickly, he speed dialled Brian’s number and jumped and down on the balls of his feet while he waited for the man to pick up.

“Hey baby. You wouldn’t believe how sore I am from last night, but you know I love having your big c---“
“BRIAN IT’S JIMMY NOT ZACKY LEARN TO LOOK AT YOUR PHONE BEFORE YOU PICK THE DAMN THING UP!”
There was an awkward cough from the other end of the line, and he could only guess that his friend was blushing furiously.

“Jimmy. What’s up- aren’t you meant to be teaching right now?”
“Yes, but I have to ask you something of vital importance. Who was the guy that Matt beat up?”
Brian sighed from the other end of the line.
“I don’t know, he beats hundreds of people up. You’re asking me to pinpoint just one?”
“The one that got his sentence extended”
“Tuck. That’s all I know”

Jimmy closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that the poor little man sat in his class drawing a picture of his father was the son of the man that Matt had beat up. He needed to get to the prison- he wanted to talk to both men. He wanted them to see their children- and usually there was only one way to do just that.
“I need you to do something for me, Brian”

“What?”

“I need you to go back to the prison and I need you to go and see this Tuck guy that Matt beat up. It's going to help you win this court thing. And all you need to tell him is…I know how to get him out of there. And Matt too”