A Brave Face by Barbara Marlowe

Author:Barbara Marlowe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2019-01-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

ENDURING STARES

When are you going to get it out of here?”

The father of one of the little girls in Teeba’s class stood in Tina’s office at The Goddard School, pointing an accusing finger in Tina’s face. He’d asked her for an after-school meeting to discuss some concerns, and that “concern” turned out to be Teeba.

It wasn’t the first time that a parent had come forward with worries about Teeba being in their child’s preschool classroom. A few parents had worried that Teeba, being from a third-world country, might have brought diseases to which their children would be susceptible. Other parents were made uncomfortable by the questions their children were asking about why it was so dangerous in Iraq. One little boy’s father was a member of the US military deployed to Iraq, and his mother worried that he would reach the conclusion that his dad was hurting little kids like Teeba.

But this went far beyond practical concerns.

“That thing is scaring my daughter,” continued the angry father, still waggling a finger in Tina’s face. “That thing—that girl from Iraq. It’s scaring my daughter and I want it out of here.”

Tina was taken aback, but she didn’t miss a beat.

“She’s not it. Her name is Teeba,” Tina said, calmly yet firmly. “Maybe you could come visit the classroom sometime and meet Teeba. If you can show your daughter that you’re not afraid of Teeba, then maybe she won’t be either.”

He was silent for a moment. “Quite frankly, I think it’s hard to look at,” he said angrily. “And I want it out!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but this is a five-year-old child, not a ‘thing,’” she said, keeping her cool despite the anger rising in her. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“Are you choosing her over my daughter?” he roared.

When I learned later about her response, it made me love her all the more: “I’m not choosing anyone over anyone,” Tina said. “She’s staying. And your daughter is welcome to stay as well.”

Fuming, the man stalked out of Tina’s office, slamming the door behind him. He withdrew his child, and Tina never saw him or his daughter again. That was the last time she got a complaint about Teeba’s presence at the school. For the rest of the children and their parents, Teeba was just a regular kid, expanders and wig and burns and all.

Outside of her school walls, however, Teeba got plenty of stares. Some of the children in our neighborhood refused to play with her. Kids would point and say, “Look at her face!” It was even worse when she had expanders in—people assumed she had some enormous tumor on her neck or back.

One Halloween, at a time when she had expanders in, Teeba dressed up as a witch and was having a great time running around with her new friends. I walked the streets with her and her friends, smiling at the way they ran up to each different house. But then I saw Teeba walking slowly away from a particular house, her shoulders drooping and tears brimming in her eyes.

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