Riley Unlikely by Riley Banks-Snyder & Lisa Velthouse

Author:Riley Banks-Snyder & Lisa Velthouse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2016-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

A DESPERATE

Need

Mom and I got as comfortable as possible in the two chairs situated across from the headmistress and her desk. It was a typical office: papers stacked on top of files, a couple of certificates hanging on the wall. The room’s one lone window had been flung open wide, but it wasn’t letting in much breeze, so the place felt especially small and hot. Later I would wonder whether those conditions had made the headmistress seem even more fiery and looming than she actually was. Then again, maybe she gave off that impression all on her own.

“Thank you again for coming to our school,” she said warmly. She closed the office door and then sat down at her desk, smiling. Even with her benevolent expression, she was an imposing figure. Her broad shoulders practically towered above her desk, and she leaned forward onto her elbows, already confident in what she was about to say.

“We are honored that you would come—here, please sign on this page.” She slid the school’s guest book across her desk to us.

“We’ve had a great time with your students,” Mom replied.

“We really have,” I added. “Thank you for being so kind and welcoming.”

With that, Mom and I each signed our names and wrote the day’s date. Then we smiled politely and waited, anticipating whatever the headmistress would have to say to us.

“You are most welcome. The girls and our staff are all thankful for your kindness.”

There was a brief pause as we all looked at one another. Then the headmistress continued. “You know, it is very important that these girls get a good education. Here in Kenya an education affects a young woman’s chances more than anything.”

The pitch had begun. Mom and I settled a little deeper into our chairs. We were paying attention, and we were taking seriously what the headmistress was about to say to us, but I will admit that we were listening like people who had heard it before. At upward of seven other schools, we had heard as many of these speeches already. We figured the one at St. Mary’s would be just like all the others: kids needing sponsors, kids needing surgeries, families needing cash. We had already gotten so used to schools requesting assistance that we almost didn’t expect any of the particulars to surprise us anymore.

But the particulars put forth at this school were about to shock us. This headmistress was about to unearth a need and a request that was unlike anything we had yet encountered.

“Here at St. Mary’s,” she told us, “when the students come to school, they stay for three months at a time. This means that when they come, they must have everything they need for all three months. They must have their uniform, a notebook, writing supplies, and books. It is very expensive, very difficult to collect all of those things,” she told us, “and for girls in a secondary school, it is even more expensive, because now they are old enough to have a period.

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