‘His action?’
‘Yeah, it’s kind of an actor thing we use in Drama class sometimes; the thing you do to another character in a scene to get what you want from them. So, for example, right this minute my action could be to “generate” you.’
‘Generate me?’
‘Into figuring out what Ronan might be thinking and what his action might be with his silence.’
‘Well, I suppose he might be trying to get me to do the right thing for him?’ I said.
‘OK, yes, so maybe he’s trying to “activate” you, or “motivate” you …’
‘Could he be trying to “confuse” me?’ I laughed. ‘Because that’s how I feel.’
‘Well, maybe, but if you think about it, he was laughing and engaging with you the times before this …’
‘Except in the canteen when he screamed at me … ’
‘Well, he didn’t scream atyou…’
‘No, I know, it’s just that’s what people are saying …’
‘So if he was laughing when you visited at Christmas and at New Year and really enjoyed reading the book with you, and is even laughing when his mum or dad mention your name, but now he’s the opposite when you’re doing home schooling stuff with him, then what’s he trying to tell you?’
‘That …’ I began to form it in my mind, ‘… that he doesn’t want me to do that with him?’
‘That he doesn’t want you to be the teacher …’ She looked at me encouragingly as she let the last word linger.
‘He … wants me to be the friend?’
‘Bingo!’ said Jennifer. ‘I could be wrong, of course, but I think that’s certainly a possibility.’
‘Yeah, I think you’re right, Jennifer.’
‘You were saying his parents have all this routining and scheduling for every single thing, even your Buddy Time. The thing they might need to do is just let you and Ronan hang out without being told how to do it. I seriously think that’s all Ronan wants – he just wants to hang out without there being a reason behind it.’
‘Especially not an educational one,’ I said.
‘Exactly! I mean, Ronan was always smart but I don’t think he ever needed to study, he was just gifted that way.’
‘Jennifer, you’re a genius!’
‘Well …’ She did a pose with her hands either side of her face as if they were leaves and her face was the flower.
‘I don’t really know how to have that conversation with his parents, though,’ I said. ‘They’ve worked so hard to make everything work.’
‘Yeah, but remember, parents don’t know us as well as they think they do.’
‘Speaking from experience?’ I said.
‘Ah, I don’t know, sometimes I just want to …’ she made a strangled kind of sound then said, ‘scream.’
‘What have you to scream about? “Smartest girl in the year,”’ I quoted.
‘Well, I certainly don’t feel very smart around my parents, that’s why screaming is good, but I do it into a pillow in my room so I can get it all out and no one can hear me, although there’s not much difference between that and when I do actually talk to Mum and Dad. Feels like they don’t hear me then either.’
‘In what way?’
‘I don’t know. I didn’t get to telling you but we went to Australia for Christmas.’
