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 children’s stories with the TV on low in the background and a bowl of stir-fried vegetable perched on my knees. The stories are sweet – utter plagiarism and peppered with ‘and thens’, but all in all, I’m proud of the work they’ve put in. I save Wei’s until last. I have no idea what it is about him that intrigues me so much, but he’s like an enigma I need to solve. His behavior since the incident has improved, but I’ve 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 Wei’s piece. Then I drop it back into the bowl and read it again.

Wei’s story is simple. He’s retold the story of the three billy goats, but he’s done something remarkable – something I’d never have expected a seven-year-old mind to consider. He’s told it from the troll’s point of view.

I snatch up my phone and call Kate.

“Hey!” I say, the second she answers. “Sorry to call so late, you weren’t sleeping, were you?”

“No, not at all,” she says, in the high-pitched tone that someone adopts when they’re trying desperately to sound like they haven’t just woken up.

“I’m sorry, I just had to talk to someone about this. Have you ever taught Wei?”

“Wei Li?”

“Yes. Have you ever taught him?”

“No, why?”

“He’s 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 – rehashing of common fairy tales. But his story was… hang on, let me read it to you.”

“Wow,” she says when I’m done.

“I know, right? And he’s only seven!”

“That really is brilliant,” she murmurs, sounding lost in thought.

“It’s genius! And his writing – spelling, grammar, punctuation – it’s incredible, especially seeing that it’s not his first language.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Besides give him a big fat A? I’m going to speak to Bianca. I told you I majored in English literature, right?” I don’t wait for her confirmation, “well, 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 he’s holding on to.”

Kate is silent a long moment. When she speaks again, her voice is gentle. “Are you sure you’re not blowing this out of proportion? I know you’ve got a soft spot for him.”

That takes me by surprise. “No, I don’t.”

Her soft laughter tinkles through the phone. “Amber, Wei has been in trouble more times than I can count. Not a week goes by at school that someone isn’t lodging a complaint about him, but other than that first day, you haven’t spoken a bad word about him. Teachers bitch,” she adds, “it’s what we do.”

“I’m not really a teacher,” I remind her.

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