Well, I have taken Lubos’ advice, and Brooke has taken mine. It did not end quite as well as any of us would have hoped. In their apartment this evening, Morgan sat staring at the kitchen table, while both Brooke and I watched her anxiously. She had absorbed the story of the encounter between Brooke and Erin with calmness, but there was something in the set of her mouth that frightened Brooke. I could see more clearly, but I was…
Today Inca and I put our plan for Mary into action, and already it has begun to work better than we could have hoped. Surely the Father-King has his hand on this child. On her first day back to school after the break, Mary had left lunch early—the students at the next table were laughing very loudly, and she thought from their glances and their tones that they were talking about her. She was walking down the hall, her books…
Now that Thanksgiving is over, I have decided that something must be done for Brooke. She is trying to put her confusion about Erin and her doubts about Morgan into the past, but I am not certain that is wise. Will this not come back to haunt them in the future? I was at first unsure whether or not my uncertainty sprang from my own doubts, or whether it was a genuine concern. So I was on my way to…
Another year, another day devoted to giving thanks. What I am most grateful for this year is relief—a chance for my charges to rest from their hurts and pains. Pamela spent the holiday with her family, which at another time might have been a source of pain in itself. Now, however, after all the struggle with Daniel and finding a new place, the old tensions between herself and her mother felt easy and familiar. It is sad that one should…
I write today not with news, but a plan which Inca and I both believe will turn things around for Mary. Our young charge has continued to struggle—though the bullying has fallen off, she still feels lonely and cannot see the good in herself. She keeps a sharp object in her desk drawer, and sometimes late at night she will take it out and look at it. All that Inca and I have done keeps her from using it on…
Finally, I have a definite answer about Pamela’s situation. Christine, her supervisor and now friend—I have been very impressed with her supportive stance on Pamela’s situation—has worked tirelessly, and has now arranged for Pamela to work under a different teacher in January. She even offered to try and get Pamela transferred immediately, but Pamela said no, that she would be able to make it through the semester. Just knowing that there is an end to her struggle—and more importantly, that…
How strange it is to look after a pair who seem so perfectly happy, knowing that any moment that happiness could be ruined! How strange that so small a thing as a thought, a feeling, could destroy two lives! Yesterday, Brooke arrived with her team in Philadelphia, the latest city in their tour, which is coming close to its end. This morning, Morgan got onto a train and sat chewing her nails for the whole journey, brimming with excitement. Brooke…
I have learned a great deal by looking at things from another’s perspective. The obvious example is my work with Inca. She and I have done very well together, and we are beginning to find a rhythm with Mary. We have taken to alternating time with her, bolstering her with strength and soothing her with love. Inca has learned from me to look for the reason behind Mary’s feelings, to see if her weakness comes from loneliness or from something…
Today was a long day. I went first to Pamela, who was feeling despondent about the thought of going back to school tomorrow. Her supervisor Christine took her side immediately and is working hard to get her assigned to a new school, but nothing has been finalized yet, and even if it is, Pamela will still likely have to finish out the semester. Another five weeks of this seems to her to be more than she can bear. Morgan was…
Some of you have been asking me about Pamela. I have kept close to her, of course, but much of what she has been going through has not been worth writing about. The temptation of Daniel’s nearness, the constant awareness of Stefanie’s antagonism, and a rumor beginning to be whispered around the school that took the warmth from the other teachers’ voices when they spoke to her—there have been many a night when I could only stay with her and…