He shrugs indifferently.
“Have fun.”
He smiles smugly. “We definitely will.”
Jordan
Skylar pokes her head into my office towards the end of the lunch break.
“What have I done?” she asks, alarmed.
“I just wanted to have a chat with you.”
“It was announced over the loudspeaker,” she says, concerned. “That’s what they used to do when I got expelled.”
“Oh, no, Skylar, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to expect the worst. That’s how we usually call students – not just if they’re in trouble.”
She studies my expression, unconvinced, from the doorway.
“Please, come in.” I gesture towards the chair across from me.
Skylar steps inside tentatively and sits down. I take a seat, too, smiling at her; her expression tells me that she doesn’t trust my words of encouragement.
“There’s just something I wanted to talk to you about. Nothing to worry about, okay?”
She nods.
“I’ve been thinking about how to help you make up for the school you missed.”
“You mean the whole year I dropped?”
“Exactly. I’ve been going through your reports, and I’ve noticed that you have the most trouble with the more scientific subjects.”
“I’m terrible at Maths, and Science is boring.”
“I hated them, too.”
“Seriously?”
“I preferred subjects like English and History.”
“I like History, too,” she says, suddenly shy.
“There are always things that everyone struggles with, that we can’t do very easily. But that doesn’t mean we’ve failed.”
She smiles self-consciously.
“It just means that we need to put a little more work into those things.”
“Do you think so?”
“Absolutely. Sometimes you just need the right help.”
“I don’t have anyone who can help me.”
“That’s where I come in.”
She watches me, concern flickering back into her face.
