Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen Read Free Book Online

don’t know all the reasons for Cole’s anger, but we do know he’s out of control. Any solution found by this Circle must protect society and make Cole totally responsible for his actions.” She handed the feather to Peter’s mother.
    Peter’s mother also turned to look straight at Cole. “Because of you, I have a son now who…” Her voice broke. “I have a son who has speech and coordination problems. He wakes up at night screaming with nightmares. Five years, ten years, even a hundred years of jail can’t change that. But never again should any other parent have to worry about this happening to their child. Not sending you to jail would be a huge mistake.”
    Cole sat tight-lipped. The jail talk was getting old. If he was going to end up in jail anyway, he might as well have gone through normal justiceand avoided all this Circle baloney. Suddenly he wanted out of this place. If only there weren’t a guard waiting in the hallway.
    Cole slouched low in his chair as the feather passed on to Peter. Peter gripped the feather with a tight fist and looked down at his lap. When a full minute had passed, the Keeper walked around and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “Peter, would you like to tell us what you think would make things better again?”
    Peter bit at his lip before speaking in a struggling, slurred voice. “I think someone should smash Cole’s head against a sidewalk so he knows how it feels.”
    Uneasy glances followed Peter’s comment. Even the Keeper’s voice sounded tense as she took the feather gently from Peter’s hand and returned to her place in the Circle. “Tonight, raw feelings have been exposed like plowed-up ground,” she said. “But that’s when you plant seeds. We now understand better the struggle we face, and share the desire to find a solution. Let’s stand and hold hands again.” Three hours after it began, the Keeper closed the Healing Circle with a prayer.
    Cole stood but refused to hold his parents’ hands. He folded his arms defiantly across his chest, causing a break in the Circle. On his leftstood a liar who had beat him numb, and on his right stood a dressed-up puppet, afraid of her own shadow. Cole would not let them hold his hands and feel how sweaty they were. He would not let them pretend they loved him. Especially his dad.
    If the Keeper noticed Cole’s actions, she did not show it. When the prayer was finished, Cole’s parents and their lawyer immediately began putting on their coats to leave. Cole’s guard entered the room and took hold of Cole’s elbow, motioning toward the door.
    Cole jerked his arm free. “I can walk by myself.”
    With one swift movement, the guard pulled handcuffs from his belt and clipped Cole’s wrists behind his back.
    Others from the Circle turned to watch.
    “What’s that for?” Cole asked loudly.
    “You had your choice,” the guard said.
    Before they could leave, Garvey walked up. “You’re not buying into this Circle stuff, are you, Champ?”
    Cole sneered at Garvey. “So now you read minds, huh?”
    Garvey shook his head. “Actions speak louder than words.”
    “Whose side are you on, anyway?” Cole said.
    Cole’s father, standing nearby, overheard Cole’sremark. “Son, this isn’t about choosing sides. This is about learning responsibility.”
    Before Cole could answer, Garvey said, “Yes, Mr. Matthews, this is about responsibility. By the way, when is your son’s birthday?”
    Cole’s father gulped a quick breath, and his face grew flushed. “Uh, well…birthdays have never been a very big thing around our house,” he stammered. “I think it’s the beginning of July sometime.” Quickly he turned and left.
    “Did you hear him lie tonight when he was holding the feather?” Cole asked Garvey.
    “He wasn’t the only one,” Garvey said, heading for the door.
     
    Thinking about the Circle Justice meetings brought Cole’s anger alive once more. If Garvey or Edwin or anybody else showed their ugly