I erased his name from the attendance board

Dear Delyara, One of my students was deported with his family over the weekend. He is nine. On Friday, he left his water bottle, a library book, and half a paper airplane inside his desk because he expected to return Monday. This morning, the principal told me to remove his name from the attendance system. The software required a reason. I selected “withdrawn.” There was no option for “taken before dawn,” “did not get to say goodbye,” or “left his multiplication homework unfinished because adults changed his country overnight.” His classmates kept asking when he would be back. I said I did not know. During recess, I erased his name from the whiteboard where classroom jobs are listed. He had been responsible for feeding the fish this week. The marker left a faint blue shadow that would not disappear no matter how hard I rubbed. I assigned another child to the fish and continued teaching fractions. Teachers are expected to create stability. Today, stability meant pretending the class could absorb one missing child and keep moving through the lesson plan. His water bottle is still in my desk. I am afraid if I send it away, the room will accept too quickly that he is gone.