By Girl Lover
Wanted: Caregiver for 11-year-old girl, blind, disabled, wheelchair-bound. Mon–Fri, 3:00–9:00 PM, $9/hr, 512-555-1278
The ad caught Kendra’s eye. She pulled it off the bulletin board and read it again.
‘Blind and disabled. Shit, that sucks’, she thought, ‘Nine dollars an hour, though. Nine dollars times six hours a day… that’s fifty-four dollars a day, times five days is…’
She dug out her phone and accessed the calculator. 54 x 5 = 270. Kendra’s eyes widened in amazement. Almost three hundred dollars a week. The sixteen-year-old knew a lot of things she could buy with that much money. In just four weeks, she could have over a thousand dollars. She didn’t know what would be involved with taking care of a handicapped girl, but for two hundred and seventy dollars a week, she was willing to find out.
“What’re you looking at?”
Pocketing the paper, Kendra turned to see one of her friends, Stacy, standing beside her. “Oh, just checking the ads.”
They turned away and walked toward the cafeteria. It was lunchtime at McCallum Middle/High School, a school that combined grades 6 through 12 in the same school. They got in line and then sat with their other friends at their usual table.
After school let out at three o’clock, Kendra hurried home.
“Mom!” she called out, dropping her backpack on the couch. “There’s this job after school—”
“Kendra, the couch is not where your backpack goes!”
“Ohhh!” Kendra groaned as she went over and picked it up, and hurried to her room. Quickly opening the door, she tossed the backpack toward the bed, then returned to the kitchen where her mother was slicing potatoes.
“There’s this job that pays two hundred and seventy dollars a week! It’s from three to nine every day—”
Her mom turned. “Three to nine?! From the time you get out of school until nine at night?! What about your homework? What about family time?”
“Mommm! It pays two hundred and seventy dollars! You’re always telling me how expensive things are. Well, with this job, I can buy my own stuff. And I can do my homework while I’m there.”
“But nine at night. That’s too late. Your father and I will hardly see you.”
“Yes, you will. You’ll see me on weekends,” Kendra replied sarcastically.
Her mother gave her that look that she had become accustomed to giving as her daughter became older but not necessarily wiser. She looked at the girl for several seconds, thinking. Kendra did have a point about the money. She was always wanting some new outfit or jewelry, and now that she was sixteen, she was hanging out with her friends more, which meant even more money needed.
“Who’s this person you’re watching?”
“She’s eleven, but she’s blind and in a wheelchair or something. I think I’m supposed to help her with stuff,” Kendra replied.
“How do you know you’ll be able to do your homework if you’re busy attending a disabled girl?”
“I’ll ask ‘em that when I call about the job.”
Her mother thought some more. Helping a disabled person was a worthwhile cause. She shrugged, “Okay. I suppose since you’re helping someone who really needs help, that’s something I can’t say no to. But I want you to keep on top of your homework, and we’re going to have family time when you get home.”
Kendra smiled and gave her hug. “Thanks, Mom. The money will sure come in handy.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve got your priorities straight.” Her mother rolled her eyes and went back to preparing dinner as Kendra pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the ad.
After a short conversation with the girl’s mother who answered, Kendra drove over to their house. When she turned onto Exposition Blvd where the address was, she gawked at the luxurious homes set back from the street and apart from each other, each seemingly on its own acre of land. The abundance of trees in the yards provided plenty of shade everywhere. She found the address and pulled into the driveway, staring in awe at the large house as she climbed out of her car.
“So, this is what it’s like to be rich,” she remarked to herself as she stepped up onto the porch and rang the bell.
The door was opened by a thirty-something woman with medium length dark hair, wearing a casual dress. “Hi! Come on in.”
Kendra walked inside a tidy, elegant home. Carpeted floors, lavish furnishings, and a patio window overlooking a swimming pool in the back.
“Thank you so much for coming, Kendra. I’m Ms. Carrington.”
Kendra shook her hand and followed her towards the couch. “Please have a seat,” Ms. Carrington indicated to the teenager. They both sat.
“As I stated in the ad, I need a caregiver for my daughter, Molly. The lady who was doing it had to move, and so I need someone who’s dependable and understanding, who can come here after school and stay with her till I get off work at nine. On Fridays, I usually work till midnight. Molly is very self-sufficient, but there are some things she needs help with, such as cooking dinner, helping her in and out of the bathtub for her bath, exercising her legs when she goes to bed and anything else that might come up. Most importantly, she needs a companion. Someone to be with her and talk to when I’m not here. Are you okay with all these things?”
“Yes, Ms. Carrington. I’ve babysat before.”
“Well, it can be challenging. Her condition makes it difficult for her sometimes and so she’ll have her good days and bad days. That’s when she especially needs you, and you’ll need patience and understanding of what it’s like for her.”
Kendra frowned confusedly. “Her bad days?”
Ms. Carrington gave a halfhearted smile as her voice became quieter. “Sometimes her condition overwhelms her and reminds her how much she can’t do. She’ll hear the other kids running around and playing and she wants to join them so bad… she does the best that she can, though.”
She reached over towards the coffee table for a tissue to dry her eyes. “Her bad days are bad for me too.”
After several seconds, Kendra, trying to be as polite as possible, said, “Has she always been…?”
“Yes. She was born with multifocal mononeuropathy. It was a difficult birth, premature, and complications caused the nerves involved with her vision and leg muscles to be damaged.”
“Is there any way to fix it?” Kendra asked hopefully.
“No,” Ms. Carrington shook her head sadly. “She’ll be this way the rest of her life.”
She was quiet for a few seconds, seemingly thinking to herself, before saying, “Could you stay until about eight tonight? I can make you some dinner, and that way you can see what the job’s like and if you’ll be comfortable with things like helping her in and out of the tub and exercising her legs.”
“Sure, I can stay.”
Ms. Carrington stood up. “Good, okay, let’s meet Molly.”
She led Kendra down the hall. “Because of her condition, Molly’s always shy around strangers, so it may take some time for her to warm up to you.”
Opening the door at the end of the hall, she said in a cheerful tone, “Molly, there’s someone here who would like to meet you.” The woman stepped inside and Kendra slowly followed.
Inside, she saw a large bedroom, similar to her own in some ways, only bigger. As she looked around, she saw that the walls were bare with no pictures or mirror. Thinking it odd at first, she then remembered the girl was blind and wouldn’t be able to use such things. There was a long, low shelf with some books, board games and other toys, a computer on a desk, and a plush stuffed animal duck on the bed. The little girl was on her bed reading a book which surprised Kendra.
Molly looked up from her book towards her mother, a look of nervousness on her face.
Ms. Carrington walked towards the bed and sat on it at Molly’s feet. “Come on in,” she said to Kendra.
Kendra slowly came over and stood next to the bed while Molly set down the book.
“Molly, this is Kendra. Kendra, this is Molly,” Ms. Carrington said.
“Uh, hi,” said Kendra, not knowing what to expect.
Instead of returning her greeting or even looking at her, Molly whispered gloomily to her mother, “I want Mrs. Lebowitz.”
“I know you do, but we talked about this last night. Her husband got a new job and she had to move,” Ms. Carrington explained patiently before turning to Kendra. “Mrs. Lebowitz was the lady who stayed with Molly before. They were very close, and it’s hard to say goodbye sometimes.”
Kendra nodded as Ms. Carrington suggested to Molly, “Why don’t you tell Kendra about your book.”
“Why can’t Mrs. Lebowitz come back?”
“Molly, we’ve been over this,” Ms. Carrington said with a bit of exasperation. “There’s someone else here who wants to meet you. What are you reading?”
Molly didn’t answer, instead raising the book so her mother could read the title, Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock. Still tying to coax her daughter out of her shell, Ms. Carrington tried to engage her again, “Ooh, that’s your favorite one, isn’t it? Do you want to tell Kendra what it’s about?”
Molly quietly shook her head.
Ms. Carrington looked at Kendra and sighed, “I’m sorry. Like I said, sometimes it takes her a while to warm up.”
She got to her feet. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the house.” She left the room and Kendra followed.
As they walked, Ms. Carrington explained quietly, “Part of the problem is because she’s different from everyone else. Everyone else can see and walk, but she can’t. She’s embarrassed by having to use a wheelchair when nobody else does. Also, she doesn’t have any friends except the few other students and teachers in her class. Since she only sees them during school, she gets really lonely. Now that Mrs. Lebowitz is gone, she feels more alone than ever.”
Ms. Carrington showed Kendra the bathroom and the kitchen, explaining things as they went. Then they stepped out onto the back patio where Kendra stared enviously at the below-ground pool. The wooded yard stretched out much farther than her own backyard and had ivy and garden decorations scattered about. They walked over to the pool and as they looked out over the yard, Kendra remembered something that had puzzled her. “How can Molly read that book if she’s blind?”
“It’s written in braille. Lots of books are.”
“And the games and the computer?”
“The games are in braille along with the computer keyboard. The computer has an audible voice that describes things on the screen so she can navigate it. There’s also a program called Jaws which reads any text on the internet.”
Kendra noticed that the side of the pool facing the house had a ramp leading down into it. “Does Molly, um, go swimming?”
“Yes. She rolls her wheelchair down the ramp into the pool. Once the water’s deep enough, she can float out of her chair with a swim vest that she wears to keep her on the surface since she can’t use her legs.”
“What else can she do?”
“Oh, lots of things. She loves making things out of Play-Doh, listening to music, going to the park, playing putt-putt golf. Some things, such as golf, she needs help with, but she can do them.”
“You said earlier that she needs help getting in and out of the tub, and also her legs exercised?”
“Yes, she’s not strong enough to lower herself safely into the tub when she’s starting her bath and when she’s done, she can’t get out of the tub and into her wheelchair again. A person’s legs weigh a lot and trying to lift yourself up is really hard unless your arms are strong. About the leg exercising… because she can’t move her legs, if the joints in the hips, knees, and feet aren’t moved regularly, they can lock up permanently. It’s called contracture. Nurses in hospitals move the joints of bed-bound patients to prevent it.”
They stood quietly looking at the yard before a voice broke the silence behind them.
“Mom?”
They both turned around to see Molly in her wheelchair just inside the backdoor, her sightless eyes vainly searching for them. “Can we have pizza for dinner?”
“Sure, honey. Come out here with us.”
Molly didn’t move. Ms. Carrington walked over to her while Kendra remained behind at the pool. Kneeling down, Ms. Carrington told her quietly, “Molly, please give Kendra a chance.”
“I want Mrs. Lebowitz,” Molly repeated in her small, sad voice.
“I know, dear. But she can’t be here, and we need someone to help. I think if you give her a chance, you’ll like Kendra just as much.”
“But she doesn’t know me. She’ll think I’m stupid like the other kids do.”
“No, she won’t. She’s not that way. And unless you tell her about yourself, she’ll never know who you are. You need to talk to her and show her what you can do. Show her how smart and capable you are. Tell you what. Let’s go to your room and you can show her your stuff and then I’ll order us a pizza, okay?”
“Okay.”
Ms. Carrington stood up and smiled at Kendra. “Let’s go in and look at Molly’s things.”
Molly turned her wheelchair around and Ms. Carrington and Kendra followed her inside to her bedroom. Kendra was amazed at how Molly was able to head straight for the hallway and to her room without bumping into anything.
Once they were back in her room, Molly listlessly waved her arm and said in a dreary voice, “These are my books and games.”
“Molly, your stuff isn’t boring!” Ms. Carrington chided. “Tell Kendra why you like everything. Tell her about Nancy Drew.”
“Well… she’s a detective…” Molly began, then faltered.
“And?” her mother encouraged.
“And she’s got her own car… and she’s smart. Smarter than grownups!” Molly became more enthusiastic, “And she can do all kinds of things!”
Just as suddenly as she’d started, Molly seemed to run out of things to say and became quiet again.
“Why don’t you show Kendra your games,” said Ms. Carrington.
Molly wheeled herself along the side of the room, feeling her way with her left hand on the shelf. She touched the game of Monopoly, running her fingers quickly across the front of it, feeling the raised braille bumps along the surface, spelling out the name. “This is Monopoly.”
“She’s very good at that one,” Ms. Carrington mentioned to Kendra. “She beats me all the time.”
Molly continued pushing her chair along the shelf as her fingers ran along the other games. “…Scrabble…” Feeling more confident with her mom’s compliment, she added almost smugly, “You have to know a lot of words to play that… Uno… Sorry…”
Reaching the end of the games, her fingers felt the containers of Play-Doh and a coloring book, both of which seemed childish to her. Quickly pulling her fingers away, she stopped and turned around, then remained silent, looking embarrassed.
“Show Kendra your computer,” Ms. Carrington coaxed her.
Molly pushed her wheelchair across the room, steering around the bed without bumping into it, again impressing Kendra as to how Molly knew where the bed was without feeling for it.
Stopping in front of the computer, Molly turned it on. Once the Windows screen appeared, she put her hand on the mouse and moved it around. As the cursor touched the desktop icons, an audible voice named each one. Molly selected an icon called Access Invaders and began playing it. It was apparently a Space Invaders type of game with verbal cues to help the player. Kendra watched amazed at how adept Molly was in listening for the audio cues to guide her in playing.
“I’ve gotten all the way to level ten,” Molly proclaimed proudly.
Kendra watched spellbound. After a minute, she asked, “How’d you get so good?”
“I play it a lot.”
“Sometimes you play it too much,” her mother commented.
“No, I don’t,” Molly replied, then asked Kendra, “Do you play any games?”
“No, not really.”
“Hey, do you want to play Sorry with me?” Molly asked her.
“Sure!”
Molly exited the computer game, then quickly wheeled over to the shelf, briefly touching the boxes, reading them till she came to the game she was looking for. She took it off the shelf and brought it to the bed. Removing the lid, she lifted the game board out and laid it down, then handed Kendra several pieces while taking other pieces for herself.
“Put your pieces in the spaces for your color like I’m doing,” Molly instructed her.
Kendra looked at what Molly was doing and copied her.
“Now, I’m gonna go first.” Molly pushed the plastic dome in the center of the board, causing a electronic voice to say, “FOUR.” Molly moved the first of her pieces four spaces, then told Kendra, “Now you go. Push this.” She pointed to the plastic dome.
Kendra did so. “TWO.” Kendra moved her first piece two spaces.
Ms. Carrington watching from the doorway, a slight smile on her face, quietly left and went back to the living room to order the pizza.
Kendra and Molly continued playing, then Kendra remembered that she had to call her mother to tell her about staying at the Carrington’s till eight. After she made the call, they continued playing until Ms. Carrington’s voice sounded from the dining room, “The pizza’s here!”
Molly drew a quick breath of excitement and began pushing the wheels of her chair as fast as she could out the door and down the hall. Kendra followed along behind her.
As Kendra came into the dining room, Ms. Carrington called her over. She had an empty plate in front of her and a slice of pizza in her hand.
“I wanted to show you how I make Molly’s dinner plate. I make it the same way no matter what food we’re having. Think of this plate like the face of a clock. The main food goes at six o’clock. And the two sides…” she laid two BBQ wings and two breadsticks on the plate “…go at two o’clock and 10 o’clock. That way, she knows where the food is on her plate.” She placed the plate in front of Molly.
While they ate, Ms. Carrington conversed with Kendra about school and her own family. During their talk, Ms. Carrington became convinced that Kendra was the right person for the job. Molly remained silent despite her mother’s attempts to draw her into the conversation.
After they finished eating, Ms. Carrington picked up the plates and took them to the kitchen. “Molly, it’s time for your bath. Since Kendra is going to be staying with you, I need to show her how we help you in and out of the tub.”
Kendra watched as Molly’s face become instantly alarmed. “No, Mom — she doesn’t need to watch! I can do it myself!”
“Sweetie, I know it’s embarrassing, but it’s too easy for you to fall and hurt yourself.”
“Well, you can help me.”
“I’m not always going to be here, though. I’ll be at work and that’s why Kendra needs to watch me do it so she can help you.”
“Then I’ll just wait until you to come home.”
“No, you can’t stay up that late waiting for me. Look! You need help and that’s what Kendra’s here for. She needs to know what to do and—”
“I don’t want her to help me!”
“You didn’t have any problems with Mrs. Lebowitz helping you.”
“That was different!”
Seeing how agitated Molly was becoming, Ms. Carrington went over to her and knelt in front of the girl, taking her hands and saying gently, “I know you don’t want this. Neither do I, but it’s so you won’t get hurt. Kendra won’t make fun of you. I wouldn’t have her here if she wasn’t a good person, and I’ll be right there with you tonight.”
Though still not liking it, Molly silently nodded her head.
“Thank you, sweetie,” said her mother.
Molly unenthusiastically wheeled herself to the bathroom and Ms. Carrington turned on the water, letting the tub fill up.
As they waited outside the door for Molly to undress, Ms. Carrington quietly explained to Kendra, “She’s already embarrassed enough needing someone to help her do things, and now to be exposed this way…”
She grimaced and sighed. “This is one of those times that you’ll need to be understanding and imagine what it’s like for her.”
Kendra nodded, and after a moment asked, “Does Molly need help getting into bed?”
“No, the bed is at the same level as the wheelchair, so she can do that for herself.”
“Mom…?” they heard from behind the door.
Ms. Carrington went inside and walked over to Molly, who tried to cover her nakedness. As Kendra watched, Ms. Carrington explained how to do it as she helped Molly out of her chair.
“Molly will hold onto your shoulders while you pick her up under her legs and back, then…” she turned toward the tub and slowly lowered the girl “…squat down.”
Ms. Carrington stood back up. “After she’s done with her bath, do the same thing in reverse to put her back in her chair.” Then she motioned Kendra out of the bathroom. “She’ll call us when she’s done.”
They waited in the living room and talked while Molly bathed herself. About fifteen minutes later, they heard her calling out, “Mom…”
As they went into the bathroom, Kendra saw that the water was drained and Molly had already dried herself off and had the towel wrapped around her as she sat in the tub. “Here, Kendra. You do it,” Ms. Carrington offered.
Kendra went over and squatted down. Molly reluctantly put her arms around Kendra, who carefully picked her up, hoping she wouldn’t tumble out of her arms. Staying on her knees, Kendra managed to place Molly back in her chair.
“Good job!” Ms. Carrington cheered.
“She’s not as heavy as I thought she’d be,” said Kendra.
“Now I’ll show you how we exercise her legs.”
As Molly wheeled herself into her room, Ms. Carrington and Kendra followed. Molly went over to the chest of drawers, took out a nightgown and pulled it over herself, then went to the bed. Kendra watched as she half pulled, half rolled herself onto it.
Ms. Carrington said to Kendra, “Go around to the other side of the bed.”
Kendra did and watched Ms. Carrington as she lifted Molly’s right leg.
“First, move the hip joint.” She slowly pushed Molly’s leg toward her chest, then straightened it again, as Kendra carefully watched. “Now, move it in all directions. In a circle. Away from the body. Now, we do the knee… and then the ankle…”
After setting Molly’s leg down, Ms. Carrington said, “Okay, you try.”
Kendra did all the things she’d seen with the other leg as Ms. Carrington watched.
When she was finished, Ms. Carrington announced with a smile to Kendra, “That’s it. You’re done. Not so hard, is it?”
“No. A lot better than changing diapers,” Kendra grinned back.
Ms. Carrington leaned over and kissed Molly’s forehead, “Goodnight, dear.”
She went over to the light switch, turning it off, then as Kendra walked out of the room with her, she quietly closed the door and they went to the living room.
“Well, what do you think of the job? Is there any part of it that you’re uncomfortable with?”
“No, I can do this.”
“Oh, good. You don’t know how hard it is to find someone willing to do this kind of work. Can you come straight here after school tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
Ms. Carrington smiled, “Great! Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
She walked Kendra to the front door. As she opened the door, she said, “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have someone here for her. Even though she’s standoffish now, she’ll get used to you, and then you’ll be the best of friends. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
*****
The next day at school between second and third period, Kendra was walking hand in hand with her boyfriend, Jason, on their way to algebra. Suddenly, she spotted Molly on the opposite side of the hall slowly wheeling herself towards them alongside the wall.
As Kendra watched, she saw that everyone else in the busy hallway was either talking to someone or walking together as a couple or a group, but Molly was alone. When her wheelchair approached someone at their locker, they would simply stand aside and wait for her to pass. With a dismal look on her face, the eleven-year-old slowly pushed her chair, marooned in her own world.
Her heart going out to the girl, Kendra stopped walking. “That’s the kid I’m gonna be taking care of,” she told Jason.
“Which one?”
“The one in the wheelchair.”
“The retard?”
Kendra shot a harsh look at him. “She’s not retarded!”
Crossing the hall, she offered a greeting. “Hi, Molly.”
Evidently caught off guard, Molly jerked her head toward the sound, an alarmed look on her face.
After a few seconds, Molly said aloud, “Hello?” her head moving back and forth, searching for some sign of the invisible voice.
“It’s me, Kendra. We met at your house yesterday.”
Not knowing how to respond, Molly simply said, “Oh, um, hi.”
“I just wanted to say hi.”
“Oh… okay.” The confidence and enthusiasm she had exhibited last night during their game of Sorry was completely gone here at school.
“Well, so, I’ll see you after school.”
Molly didn’t answer, just slightly nodded her head sadly as she continued on down the hall. Watching her go, Kendra had never seen a more pitiful person.
“I can’t stand idly by,” she mumbled to herself.
“What?”
She turned toward Jason, who had come up beside her. “I think I’ll eat lunch with her today and see her classroom.”
“Nothin’ doin’. We’re gonna hang out at the kicker steps,” Jason protested, then added hopefully, “Maybe we can go to the equipment room and you can show me that purty little body of yours.”
Suddenly filled with revulsion, Kendra scowled at him, “No! There’s other things in life besides hanging out at the kicker steps.”
Turning to look at the departing Molly, she said quietly, “I want to see what she’s like. What her world’s like.”
At lunchtime, after going through the line and getting some spaghetti and a roll, Kendra told her friends she had something else to do and would see them later. She knew that the special ed kids never ate lunch in the cafeteria, so she went to the special ed classroom. Though she had passed by it numerous times, she’d never gone inside.
Walking up to the door, she softly knocked. A few seconds later, a young man opened it. “Hi, can I help you?”
Momentarily at a loss for words, Kendra finally managed to find her voice, “Uh, my name’s Kendra. Molly’s mom hired me to watch her after school, and I was wondering if maybe I could have lunch with her?”
As she said this, it sounded stupid to her, but it was the truth and the only thing she could think of.
“Sure!” The young man surprised her by opening the door wide, inviting her to enter. “Please come in.”
Kendra stepped inside. Being the special ed room, she didn’t know what to expect so everything was a surprise.
Looking around, she saw five students, each at a computer and wearing headphones, and a woman hovering over one of them. She found Molly, but didn’t approach her right away. Molly was obviously concentrating on her computer tasks and Kendra didn’t want to interrupt what she was doing.
Three of the kids, including Molly, were in wheelchairs. One of them, a boy, flailed his arms about randomly. Looking at one of the girls in a wheelchair, Kendra saw that she seemed almost completely immobile, barely able to move her finger to push the large colored buttons in front of her.
Walking over to the board and examining the schedule, Kendra saw that lunch would start in a few minutes, so she put down her spaghetti and decided to wait. Speaking quietly so she wouldn’t disturb the students, she asked the man, whose name was Mark, “What are they doing now?”
“Taking a multiple choice test over what they’ve learned today. Later, me and Ms. Luedtke will look at the results to see if there’s anything they didn’t understand and that needs to be re-taught.”
Reviewing the schedule on the board — Art, Math, Community Outing, Lunch, Job Skills, Reading, Gym — Kendra asked, “What’s Community Outing?”
“We take them on field trips to different places to help them learn how to function in life. Today, we went to the HEB grocery store. They each were given a list of things to get and we helped them as needed.”
Seeing a blender on the counter, Kendra asked, “What’s the blender for?
“Two of our students can’t eat solid food, so we liquefy soft foods such as potatoes and bread in the blender. Then they can drink it instead of having to chew.”
“Shit,” Kendra mumbled sadly under her breath.
“I really appreciate you coming,” Mark said quietly. “It means a lot to them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hardly anyone ever visits here or even talks to them in the hall. They’re ignored. Treated like pariahs. They’re not weird or stupid. They just need to do things a little differently. You don’t know how much it means for someone to show them that they care.”
As Kendra watched Molly in her wheelchair, her finger pressing a button on the computer every few seconds, she realized she’d stepped into another world that she never knew existed. One similar to hers, but so much different.
“Okay, lunchtime!” Ms. Luedtke announced cheerfully. The students took off their headphones and three of the students, including Molly, went to a set of cupboards and grabbed the lunches they had brought.
Kendra picked up her tray and went over to the table that Molly was heading toward. “Hi, Molly. It’s me, Kendra. Is it okay if I eat with you today?”
Molly didn’t say anything. Kendra could tell that she wasn’t being deliberately rude, but instead seemed nervous and uncertain.
“Hi, I’m Ms. Luedtke.”
Kendra turned around, “Oh, hi. Um, I’m Kendra. I was wondering if I could have lunch with Molly.”
“Molly?” Ms. Luedtke asked, “Would you like Kendra to eat with you?”
Molly didn’t speak or move for a few seconds, not even raising her head. Finally she just slightly shrugged her shoulders.
Ms. Luedtke sat down at the table and motioned for Kendra to sit also. The kids and Kendra began eating their lunches.
“How do you know Molly?” Ms. Luedtke asked.
“Her mom hired me to stay with her after school.”
“Ooh, that’s great. Molly is a real joy to be with, although…”
She looked at Molly who appeared to be sulking. “You’re being awfully quiet, Molly. Why don’t you tell Kendra about the project you finished yesterday.”
Molly pulled within herself even more. “Molly!” Ms. Luedtke reproached her. “You should be proud! You worked so hard on it!”
Turning back to Kendra, the woman said, “It’s a science report on animals. She did the research and typed it all up and it even has diagrams! It’s hanging up in the hallway. Would you like to see it?”
“Sure,” Kendra exclaimed happily.
“Come on! I’ll show you!”
Ms. Luedtke pushed her chair back, stood up and walked toward the door. Kendra followed her out into the hall. There on the wall along with other students’ projects was a large poster with several typed pages, diagrams, and the title, Zoology.
“She really got into this. Sometimes a student doesn’t want to do the work, or their spirit isn’t in it, but she really enjoyed this one. You see, she started with—”
“I can tell her about it myself. It’s my project.”
Kendra was surprised by Molly’s suddenly appearance, though Ms. Luedtke wasn’t. “Okay, Molly,” she smiled.
“First, I said what makes an animal an animal, then I put them into groups, then I say where they live and what they eat and…”
As Molly talked about her project, Ms. Luedtke quietly went back inside, smiling to herself. Kendra listened, fascinated, as Molly explained everything. When Molly had finished, Kendra told her, “That’s really good!”
“Do you honestly think so?”
“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”
“It’s just that, well, other kids…” Molly’s voice faded.
Kendra knelt down. “I think it’s great. I really do.”
Molly gave a half-hearted smile. The bell rang.
“Oh, shoot,” said Kendra, “I gotta go to class. I’ll see you later, after school.”
She stood and started to wave to Molly, then realized what she was doing — but decided to wave anyway.
Continue on to Chapter 2