Special Needs by Sinisa Kovacic

Author:Sinisa Kovacic
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-01-20T11:03:17+00:00

The Teacher

While I was bed-ridden for a few days I missed out on some important things in school. Important because they were about the show, the allocation of roles in the school play, the recital and the songs. There was so much excitement: who would do this and who would do that. It looked to me as if I wouldn’t be doing anything. But maybe that was just how it looked. Because things sometimes look one way and later turn out another. Whatever. Hanging up the Christmas and New Year’s decorations made me happy and I thought about snow. If only it would snow, then everything would be perfect.

And then the same thing that had happened to mum, happened to the teacher.

At first, I didn’t know what it was and why she looked different. On the outside she was the same. Her face and make-up hadn’t changed. But there was something about the softer, slower way she was moving. So I just looked and listened, waiting for it to reveal itself. Because if it didn’t reveal itself to me right away, it would do so later. That’s how things always were with me.

Maybe I got on her nerves. Maybe it was like the problem I had with Auntie Zrinka. She told me several times that I should be looking not at her but at my notebook and doing the assignments she’d given us, adding that they weren’t printed on her forehead or jumper or skirt. She knew, even when she turned around, that I was staring at her back. I looked down. At my shoes, where else? Which didn’t stop me from listening.

Our second lesson was art. The teacher told us to take out what we’d made with modelling clay and put it on our desks. I immediately noticed that Natalia had made a beautiful clay model of her mother. An added touch was the newborn baby cradled in her mum’s arms. That’s how we learnt that she wasn’t an only child anymore. Now she had a brother. I saw Natalia look strangely at what I’d made. Still, she didn’t say it was either pretty or ugly, just:

“I clearly explained to your mother what we had to make for our homework.”

I didn’t say anything. I wanted to say that there was no problem. I’d understood the assignment, but just then the teacher walked up to our desks. She praised Natalia’s work in front of the whole class and said that the best Christmas present a family could receive was a brother or sister. And to portray it all so beautifully with modelling clay. I agreed with her. I wanted a brother or sister too. I just didn’t know how it was done. Was it like with caterpillars or different somehow? I still didn’t agree with the teacher on anything, but that was nothing new:

“Emil? Again? Can you please tell me what your piece is supposed to represent?”

“Mu…um.”

“Mum? Really?”

“?!”

“Alright, then let’s describe her. The way we just did with Natalia’s piece! OK?“

No, it’s not OK, I said to myself.

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