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"And is that what you want?"
Lorraine whirled around, her eyes spitting fire as she sneered, "Whit? Is that no gid enough fer ye? Aye? Too fuckin’ gid tae be a cleaner? Look at ye Whit the hell dae ye ken aboot hard graft and huvin’ nae money? And am supposed tae learn fae ye? I dinnae think sae"
Cally ponytail, her cheap makeup, her inexpensive and untidy shirt and trousers, and the thin waterproof jacket she wore over them Finally, I saw the scuffed boots that had seen too h days on her feet
Lorraine was only two years older than me, but there was a hardness in her eyes thatabout her life, but I did know she was lashing out at me because she was scared
Who knows? Maybe she was also lashing out at me because of the way I talked, looked, dressed, and held s she was not Soh for so person to teach Lorraine? Perhaps But I wasn’t quite ready to give up
"Working hard comes in all forms, Lorraine," I told her quietly, careful to keep the kindness out ofcondescending "The cleaners in the high school where I teach work their arses off tidying up after those kids" I wrinkled my nose "I don’t even want to think about what they find in the boys’ toilets
"But I workthose very sa that eat intomy own personal money on resources because the school never seeet, and I work on the lesson plans for this class and I teach this class for free I knohat it’s like to work hard It’s not as physically tiring as cleaning, but it’s " I took a step toward her "You’re used to physical hard graft, Lorraine This stuff" – I gestured to the board – "this is completely out of your comfort zone I understand that But that’s why I’m here I’m here to teach you to read and write so you can apply for a job that you actually want, and you wouldn’t be here if you wanted to be a cleaner
"Although, on a side note I’ skills for that job There are applications to fill out, client checklists to read through…" I saw her lips pinch and got back to the point "You don’t like ive a shit I don’t need you to like me I need you to listen to me when I say I’m not here to embarrass you or make you feel bad about yourself I’m here to teach you You don’t need to like me to learn what I have to teach You do need to like yourself enough to believe you deserve more out of life"
Silence fell between us
Slowly, the tension in her shoulders seemed to disappear as they slumped from the tips of her ears back into place
"Can you do that?" I pushed her with the question
Lorraine sed and gave me a jerky nod
"I’ll see you next class, then?"
"Aye"
I sighed inwardly, feeling , or sit with you one-on-one, just say so There is no one in this class that is rooting for you to fail They’re all in the saet it, even if you think I don’t"
"Aye, aye, okay" She rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to walk out "Calh school English class
I grinned, collected hts, I nodded to myself Every time I walked out of a classroom at the end of the day, I wanted to feel like I’d won so Sometimes, unfortunately, I just felt exhausted and stressed
Tonight I felt like Lorraine and I had won
In a good mood, and determined to take some "me time," I texted two of ed for Friday night cocktails the next evening
It was clear froht that Suzanne was in the er for a rando for the best piece ofback to e, and she grinned when I burst out laughing at her
Michaela rolled her eyes at Suzanne and sipped quietly froh University after ether in second year Michaela moved in with her boyfriend, Colin, in third year and I one our separate ways accoinally frootten a position at a large financial coood money, so she could afford a one-bedroom flat in March sister, Ellie, and her half brother, Braden, whoraduation they’d bought e It did not escape my notice that this put me in the middle between my parents’ house on St Bernard’s Crescent to my west, and Braden and his wife, Joss’s house and Ellie and her husband, Adam’s house, to my east on Dublin Street and Scotland Street They were all just a short walking distance from me
My family was overprotective They always had been Unfortunately, this e their protective instincts froether It was the ift I could never have afforded on rateful to them for it And honestly I was happy it was so close tobunch of nieces and nephews that I loved just asyou like?" I asked Suzanne as I surveyed the talent There were a couple of good-looking guys standing by the bar
"Of course she does," Michaela teased "She probably sees five"
Suzanne huffed "Well, sohteen Sos to kiss before we find our prince And sohed It was true that Michaela accohts out only to keep in touch with us She was happily engaged to Colin, a Scottish student she fell in love with in first year of university She’d decided not to return to her ho Moray House teacher training in Edinburgh with lish teacher
My two friends couldn’t have been more different Suzanne was loud, flirtatious, and an assertive drama queen Michaela was the quietest of the three of us She eet and loyal, and she cared a great deal about her new students If I wanted a good tiht out Suzanne, but if I just wanted someone to talk to, I picked up the phone and called Michaela