“You’re so stupid!” Sophie snapped.
“Look what you did!”
Michael froze for a moment staring at the scattered pens and pencils on the floor.
His face had gone pale.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled and quickly bent down to gather everything.
He picked up one of the pencils first then reached for the pencil case.
Sophie suddenly shrieked.
“Don’t touch my things!”
Before Michael could react, she pushed him away.
He lost his balance and fell backward, his butt hitting the floor with a thud.
His eyes widened in shock before tears quickly filled them.
Claire was already moving toward them.
She knelt beside Michael and gently checked his head.
“Are you hurt?”
Michael shook his head but the tears were already running down his cheeks.
He looked frightened more than anything else.
Claire stood up and turned to Sophie.
“Why did you push him?”
“He touched my things,” Sophie said as if there was nothing wrong with what she had done.
“When someone does something by accident, you don’t push them,” Claire said, keeping her voice calm even though her hands were clenched at her sides.
“You tell me, and I’ll help you sort it out.
Michael didn’t mean to knock over your pencil case.”
Sophie scoffed.
“I already told you.
Stop telling me what to do.”
Claire looked away for a moment taking a deep breath.
She had been warned about Sophie.
She had tolerated the girl’s behavior for days, but this was different.
Pushing another child was unacceptable.
She turned back to Sophie.
“I understand that you’re upset, but the way you’re behaving isn’t acceptable.
Someone should have taught you that you can’t treat people this way.”
Sophie puffed out her cheeks.
“Well, you’re not that someone.”
That’s when Claire lost it.
“Perhaps then your mother should have taught you better.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Claire realized she had gone too far.
She saw Sophie’s eyes darken, but before she could regret it, she continued.
“Now apologize to Michael.”
Sophie’s expression changed again.
She folded her arms.
“I’m not apologizing to anyone.
Never.”
“Then you can stay here until you’re ready.”
Sophie scoffed again and sat back down at her desk.
Claire pulled over the chair from the empty desk near Sophie’s and sat down, waiting patiently.
“My daddy won’t like you,” Sophie said quietly.
“This isn’t about your daddy.
It’s about what you did.”
“You’re mean.”
“You don’t have to like me,” Claire said.
“But you do have to treat your classmates properly.”
Minutes passed.
The other children started fidgeting in their seats.
Sophie kept glancing at Claire from the corner of her eye, clearly uncomfortable with the teacher sitting near her.
Claire looked around the classroom and noticed several of the children watching them.
She didn’t want Sophie to feel embarrassed in front of everyone, so she decided to give her some privacy.
“Alright, everyone,” she said to the class.
“Please continue with your writing activity while I wait here with Sophie.”
The children went back to their work, though many still sneaked glances at the two of them.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sophie mumbled something under her breath.
“What was that?” Claire asked.
“I’m sorry,” Sophie said, her voice barely audible.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Claire sighed inwardly.
She wanted to tell Sophie that she wasn’t the one who needed the apology that it was Michael she should be apologizing to.
But she was too tired to argue and she didn’t want to make Sophie dislike her more.
Claire liked being liked by her students.
She didn’t like the feeling of knowing that one of them disliked her.
Michael had stopped crying by now and was back at his desk quietly writing.
Claire stood up and walked up to Sophie thinking maybe she could talk to the girl properly.
But before she could even reach her, she heard the girl muttering under her breath.
“I hate this school.”
“She’s not even a good teacher.”
“I’m going to tell Daddy.”
“Daddy will send her away from this school.”
“Nobody likes me here.”
Claire pretended not to hear her.
She only walked back to the board and looked toward the class.
“Michael, you can come back to the board now,” she said.
The boy quickly nodded and walked to the front of the classroom.
Claire gave him a small encouraging smile before turning her attention back to the lesson.
But for the rest of the day, she could feel Sophie’s eyes on her…
***
Claire couldn’t shake the thought of what had happened in class that day.
As she ate dinner, the scene kept playing in her mind, making it difficult for her to focus on anything else.
She absentmindedly pushed the food around her plate, barely eating.
Ruby, who had been watching her all evening, finally set down her fork.
“Okay, you’ve been looking like someone just told you the world is ending since we got home.
What happened?”
Claire looked up, surprised.
“Am I that obvious?”
“You’re always obvious,” Ruby said, her usual playful tone replaced by something softer.
“Let me guess.
It’s the little princess with grey eyes again, right?”
Claire sighed and told her what had happened in class that day.
Ruby’s eyes widened when she finished.
“She said all that?
And did the boy get hurt?”
“Not really, just scared.
But Ruby, I said something terrible to her.” Claire took a deep breath.
“I told her maybe her mother should have taught her better.”
Ruby winced.
“Ouch.
That’s…
not good.”
“I know,” Claire said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I just lost it.
All week I’ve been dealing with her talking back, disrupting class, refusing to listen.
And today, when she pushed that boy…
something snapped.” She bit her lips.
“The thing is, I need this job.
I really do.
But sometimes I wonder if I’m cut out for this.”
“Hey,” Ruby reached across the table and squeezed Claire’s hand.
“You’re one of the strongest people I know.
You’ve been working since you were what, fifteen?
Taking extra classes, tutoring, that awful waitressing job where that manager kept…”
“I remember,” Claire interrupted, not wanting to revisit those memories.
“It’s just…
I thought once I got a proper teaching job at a good school, things would be different.
That I could finally focus on building a life instead of just surviving.”
“You will,” Ruby said firmly.
“One difficult student doesn’t change that.
You’re good at what you do, Claire.
Even if you sometimes tell kids their mothers should have raised them better.”
Despite herself, Claire laughed.
“I guess I shouldn’t make a habit of that.”
“Definitely not,” Ruby grinned.
“But tomorrow’s a new day.
And if that little princess gives you trouble again, just remember: her parents can’t fire you for being a good teacher.”
Claire nodded feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders.
“Thanks, Ruby.”
“Anytime,” Ruby said, already back to her usual cheerful self.
“Now, are you going to eat that broccoli or are you planning to challenge it to a duel?”
Claire smiled and finally took a bite of her dinner, the warmth of their small apartment and Ruby’s support washing over her…