“Hi, Miss Lawrence,” Maya said, running right up to Allie for a high five.
“Good morning, Maya,” Allie told her fondly, lifting her hand to accept.
“Maya is introuble, Miss Lawrence,” Victoria said, her eyes wide. “She got introublein the bus line yesterday.”
Maya’s big smile disappeared instantly, and she looked down at her feet.
“We don’t need to talk about that right now,” Allie told Victoria firmly. “It’s time to work on our weekly words so we have time for anewactivity today.”
The morning passed quickly,though Allie’s thoughts kept going to Maya. The little girl was unusually downcast for the first part of the morning, though she got wiggly by the time they had reached the end of their first ten-minute lesson.
Instead of trying techniques to help her focus, Allie called out to the class to meet her in the back of the room.
She was happy to see that Maya wasn’t the only child who seemed to benefit from a few minutes spent moving and walking like various kinds of animals. After the bit of physical activity, the whole class was especially quiet and well-behaved when she read aloud to them.
Today’s story was a picture book version of the classic Sleeping Beauty story.
“Once upon a time,” she began reading, before lowering the book. “What kind of story might this be?”
“A fairy tale,” the kids chorused back.
“How do you know?” she asked them. “Let’s raise our hands to answer.”
All the hands went up and she smiled and pointed to Stevie Reynolds, who was doing a good job sitting still.
“Every fairy tale begins withonce upon a time,” Stevie said proudly.
“That’s right,” Allie said, nodding. “Other stories sometimes begin that way too, but fairy talesalwaysdo. And how do fairy tales end?”
“Withhappily ever after,” Esther Carson burst out, without raising her hand.
“Very good, Esther,” Allie said. “Next time let’s remember to raise our hands.”
When she looked up, Maya still had her hand up.
“Yes, Maya?” Allie said.
“Fairy tales teach a lesson,” Maya said.
“You’re absolutely right,” Allie said, impressed. “Fairytales do teach a lesson. You children are becoming fairy tale experts.”
The kids all seemed pleased, and Allie couldn’t help noticing the look of pride on Maya’s face in particular. She had behaved so well, and she was focused enough to raise her hand and offer an insight too.
By the time her lunch break came around, Allie’s belly was rumbling. But she had something more important than eating to do today, so she scarfed down a granola bar on the way down to the admin offices.
“Miss Lawrence,” Principal Chittenden said when she arrived, waving her in.
Principal Chittenden had been running the school since back when Allie was a student. Her diminutive figure and pleasant demeanor sometimes made newcomers mistake her for a pushover. But Allie had learned that the principal was both fierce and wise.
Allie followed her into her pristine office and they both sat.
“Good morning,” Allie said. “Thank you so much for sitting down with me.”
“Well, it’s my pleasure,” the principal said kindly. “What can I do for you today?”
“The Harvest Festival was a real success this year,” Allie told her.
“You outdid yourself with the fundraising,” Principal Chittenden said approvingly.
