Awkward Abroad by Rachel Rhodes
Author:Rachel Rhodes [Rhodes, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B07WK4JLY4
Publisher: Melissa Delport
Published: 2019-06-11T23:00:00+00:00
I read through the childrenâs stories with the TV on low in the background and a bowl of stir-fried vegetable perched on my knees. The stories are sweet â utter plagiarism and peppered with âand thensâ, but all in all, Iâm proud of the work theyâve put in. I save Weiâs until last. I have no idea what it is about him that intrigues me so much, but heâs like an enigma I need to solve. His behavior since the incident has improved, but Iâve noticed he hardly ever interacts with any of the other children anymore.
The forkful of food goes cold halfway to my lips as I read Weiâs piece. Then I drop it back into the bowl and read it again.
Weiâs story is simple. Heâs retold the story of the three billy goats, but heâs done something remarkable â something Iâd never have expected a seven-year-old mind to consider. Heâs told it from the trollâs point of view.
I snatch up my phone and call Kate.
âHey!â I say, the second she answers. âSorry to call so late, you werenât sleeping, were you?â
âNo, not at all,â she says, in the high-pitched tone that someone adopts when theyâre trying desperately to sound like they havenât just woken up.
âIâm sorry, I just had to talk to someone about this. Have you ever taught Wei?â
âWei Li?â
âYes. Have you ever taught him?â
âNo, why?â
âHeâs a genius. I mean, I think he might be really gifted. I set the kids a task today, to write me a story. I read Three Billy Goats Gruff to them first, as an example, and they were all pretty much the same thing â rehashing of common fairy tales. But his story was⦠hang on, let me read it to you.â
âWow,â she says when Iâm done.
âI know, right? And heâs only seven!â
âThat really is brilliant,â she murmurs, sounding lost in thought.
âItâs genius! And his writing â spelling, grammar, punctuation â itâs incredible, especially seeing that itâs not his first language.â
âWhat are you going to do about it?â
âBesides give him a big fat A? Iâm going to speak to Bianca. I told you I majored in English literature, right?â I donât wait for her confirmation, âwell, anyway, I took a bunch of creative writing courses on the side, and I really think this kid has serious talent. Who knows, he might even find it a creative outlet for all that pent-up anger heâs holding on to.â
Kate is silent a long moment. When she speaks again, her voice is gentle. âAre you sure youâre not blowing this out of proportion? I know youâve got a soft spot for him.â
That takes me by surprise. âNo, I donât.â
Her soft laughter tinkles through the phone. âAmber, Wei has been in trouble more times than I can count. Not a week goes by at school that someone isnât lodging a complaint about him, but other than that first day, you havenât spoken a bad word about him. Teachers bitch,â she adds, âitâs what we do.â
âIâm not really a teacher,â I remind her.
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