He did his best to ignore the thumping, deciding to let the kid vent his frustrations somehow. Then he dismissed class and decided to send one of the more trustworthy girls off to take a note to Bram's parent.

Bram can do sums well enough, he just has a short attention span. His biggest problem isn't his lack of desire to learn, but he likes to fight and disrupt some.

And then he sent a note informing both parents and constable of the older kid, stating: He doesn't want to learn, he might be better off being put to work and getting that chip off of his shoulder.