SLICE #19- Are they ok?

 She is one of those kids whose brilliance takes your breath away. 
A straight A student.
Fully fluent in two languages. 
Articulate. Organized. Responsible. 
A kid who emails a question, 

then immediately emails again

to thank me for responding.

Her brother is also in my class. 
Not quite as strong academically,

But a super great kid.

Hard working. Respectful. Kind.

The kid who manages the chat box for me. 

Their lives are like those of 90% of my students.

Family in Mexico. 

Mom a single parent,

Recently remarried.

Not a lot of money. 

We are in a hybrid model. 

Their family has elected to stay remote. 

I've only seen the kids in person a few times.

Most recently, about a month ago, 

when I ran by their house with a Valentine present. 

Tonight, I can't stop thinking about them. 

It's because of something 

that happened in class today. 

I was reading aloud to the kids

from our district's e-book library. 

I was sharing my screen.

I don't have a fancy setup,

just a single screen

and when I project a book,

I can't see the kids. 

I'm reading along,

and all of a sudden,

I hear a string of expletives.

A man's voice yelling.

A child responding in a raised voice.

More yelling. Crying.

I don't recognize the voice,

and by the time I get my screen minimized 

to see what's happening

my kids have told my sweet

Straight-A girlie

to mute herself. 

To that point, she had been

 in full-on participation mode. 

After this, she doesn't say another word

for the next 45 minutes of class.

And so tonight, 

with the weekend looming

I can't stop thinking about them.

Are they ok?

Who was yelling? Why?

Does it happen often?

If it does, is there anything I can do?

I know I'm going to spend the weekend

worrying about them.

Are they ok?