In "Charles," how does Laurie respond when his dad asks, "What are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose?"

Laurie says that he thinks Charles will be thrown out of school.

Charles is not real. He is an invention of Laurie’s imagination. Laurie had a difficult time adjusting to kindergarten. His parents had a new baby at home, and not much time for him. The combination of circumstances led Laurie to act out at school and at home.

Laurie comes home every day with wild stories about what Charles did and how the teacher...

Laurie says that he thinks Charles will be thrown out of school.

Charles is not real. He is an invention of Laurie’s imagination. Laurie had a difficult time adjusting to kindergarten. His parents had a new baby at home, and not much time for him. The combination of circumstances led Laurie to act out at school and at home.

Laurie comes home every day with wild stories about what Charles did and how the teacher reacted. His parents are entertained but not overly concerned by these stories. They never guess that Laurie is describing his own actions.

The next day Laurie remarked at lunch, as soon as he sat down, “Well, Charles was bad again today.” He grinned enormously and said, “Today Charles hit the teacher.”

“Good heavens,” I said, mindful of the Lord’s name, “I suppose he got spanked again?"

When Laurie comes home and tells his father that Charles kicked the teacher’s friend, Laurie’s dad takes a half-hearted interest in the situation.

“What are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose?” Laurie’s father asked him.

Laurie shrugged elaborately. “Throw him out of school, I guess,” he said.

Laurie’s answer to this question is a window into his young mind. Laurie doesn’t like school. This is the first time he has gone to school, and he finds conforming to the rigid expectations difficult. He seems to be hoping that if he is bad enough, he will just be kicked out of school.

It doesn’t work, and eventually the teacher is able to get through to Laurie. He starts to behave himself and have fewer and fewer incidents. His parents still have no idea that Laurie is Charles until Laurie’s mother sees the teacher at a parent-teacher conference. There, the teacher tells her that there is no Charles, and she realizes that it has been her son the whole time.