Page 40 of Shattered Love

Avery

I can’t believetoday is my last day at work. I walk into myclass after lunch. The children are suspiciously quiet, all trying to hide smiles.

“Afternoon, class,” I say, looking at all their tiny faces.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Stone,” they all sing back, giggling.

The door opens and Cecelia walks in.

“Hello, Miss Kyle.”

Cecelia smiles. “Mrs. Stone, can you come to the main hall, please? There has been a problem.”

I wonder why I needed to be called. Cecelia had proven to be an amazing teacher who is extremely capable. “Of course.”

There are more giggles behind me and I smile at the class. “Okay, this class seems to be very happy this afternoon. There must have been something in their dinners.”

I leave class, waddling into the main hall. It takes me much longer than normally. As I push through the door, a loud cheer erupts, taking me by surprise. All the children, including my class, are holding banners that read: We’ll miss you, Mrs. Stone.

The tears fall but I have a massive smile on my face.

Cecelia smiles at me. “If you could sit here, Mrs. Stone.”

I walk over to the chair in the middle of the room and take a seat.

The students start coming up one by one, handing me cards they’ve made. They’re all brightly colored, some with pictures of a baby and some with me as a stick figure and a smaller stick figure beside me. None of them are a masterpiece but each one of them is perfect. I can see how hard they’ve worked on them.

A little girl called Suzie walks up to me. Trying to hide the flowers behind her back, she shouts. “Surprise!”

I smile as I take the flowers, giving them a sniff. “Oh Suzie, they are beautiful.”

She smiles shyly before running back and taking her seat with the other children.

“Mrs. Stone, if you’d like to look behind you?” Cecelia asks.

I turn around, seeing a TV we use for class videos. The screen comes alive to all my children saying. “We’re going to miss you, Mrs. Stone.”

Then it goes to various children talking. Lois, a little girl who is extremely bright, says. “Thank you, Mrs. Stone for helping me with math.”

Then there is Rhett, who is a complete character. “Mrs. Stone, we’re going to miss you. We won’t let the new teacher dis you.”

Cecelia and I are both laughing as Rhett stands up and takes a bow, causing the other students to laugh.

The video continues with photos of me and the class projects we’ve done. It shows me cheering them on as they race and high fiving the soccer team.

Then Reese appears on the screen. He had a stutter and it caused him become incredible shy. We worked together after class and at break times and we built his confidence a lot. I hold my breath, unable to take my eyes off the screen.

“Miss, Miss. Stone, Miss Stone. Helped, helped, Miss Stone helped. Me, me, helped me. Talk, helped me talk, not be, be, not be scared.”

The tears are coming thick and fast. I hold my thumb up as Reese sits proudly, but what surprises me is the whole hall fills with cheers as the students clap, all looking at Reese.

His eyes widen and his cheeks redden, but he wears the biggest smile I have ever seen on his little face. This moment, I know, I’ll never forget. It’s why I became a teacher. I wanted to watch the students grow and to influence their lives. To help them be ready for the life ahead.

Reese is so different now and to think I had a little part in it is a feeling so magical, it has made all the extra hours of my free time worth it. Reese was worth it.

The final bell goes off but the children don’t move. Instead, all the parents come in, each walking over to me. They give me advice as well as their best wishes.

Reese’s mother has tears running down her face. She races over. “Did he really speak on the video?” Her hands shake as she covers her mouth.

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