AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did your friends all go home?” I asked.
“Yes,” Sam said with a nod. “But guess what happened.”
“What?”
“Bobby asked me to be his girlfriend,” Sam beamed.
“He did?” I asked in surprise. “That’s awesome, good for you!”
“Thank you, I’m happy,” she said as she sat on the edge of my desk and dangled her legs over the side. “He doesn’t have a phone, so I have to only talk to him when we are at school here. But that’s okay, too. I don’t mind. He would probably get annoying anyway.”
“Probably, and you have plenty of time to see each other when you are here at school, so you don’t have to really worry about it besides, right?” I asked.
“That’s right. I have to focus on my schoolwork my mom says, so she doesn’t want me to make this into a big deal, but I thought you would want to know since I was talking to you about him,” she said.
“I’m really glad you told me,” I said. “I was thinking about you all week and hoping you were having a good week even with Bobby in class here. I didn’t know how you were talking to each other and I’m glad that you are happy with what you are doing. And I’m glad your parents are happy with it, too.”
“What about you?” Sam asked. “And that boy you liked?”
“I don’t know,” I said. I knew I had to be careful of the things I shared with her. She was a kid, and I was the teacher, so there were lines that I couldn’t cross, but I also was happy to have someone to talk to about this who wasn’t going to be giving me advice on top of it. I didn’t need to hear more advice about what I should be doing.
I knew what I should do.
I just didn’t know how to feel about any of this. I was overwhelmed and feeling sad, and I didn’t know who to turn to about it. The problem with the situation in my mind was the fact that he only might be moving. There was nothing to say that it was happening for sure, and I had all that time to torture myself with the idea that it could happen.
And no real assurance one way or the other of what would happen.
“What’s wrong?” Samantha asked with wide eyes.
“Oh, it’s just that he said that he’s going to be moving away. Or, someone wants him to move away from here so he can work for them, but it’s a very far away place. If he moves away, I don’t think I’m going to be his special friend anymore,” I said.
“Well, you’re a grown up. You can just move with him, right?” Samantha asked.
“I don’t know yet. There’s a lot of things grown ups need to think about before they do something like that. Like I have my own mom here I take care of when she’s sick, and I have you kids here to teach how to do your schooling. How can I just leave you all behind?”
“But what about you and being with the boy you want to be with? Isn’t that important, too?” Samantha asked.
“It is important,” I said with a nod. “But I also have to put other important things in my life on top of things I want sometimes. That is part of being grown up.”
“That’s not very fun,” Samantha said. “How are you going to be happy with your own life if you are too busy making sure everyone else around you is happy? My mommy says you have to take the time to take care of yourself, too, or you’re going to get overwhelmed.”
“Your mom is a very smart woman,” I told her. “I should listen to that advice and think about what I want, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes, you should,” Samantha said with a solemn nod. “But anyway, I don’t think he would leave you behind. My mommy and daddy move a lot, and they never leave anyone behind when they do. Not even a goldfish!”
Samantha spoke so confidently about the subject it seemed like she was a marriage counselor herself. I wished for the innocence and positivity she had in her life. She was so young, she hadn’t dealt with all the heartbreak of the world yet, and that left her with all the hope anyone could ask for.
She was so certain about this, she was doing her best to make me feel better. I wanted to give the little girl a hug, but at that moment, her brother walked into the classroom. He was out of breath and appeared to have been running, and I didn’t want to hold them any longer.
He was likely already in touch with his mom and let her know they were running late, and I didn’t want to have her worry about them.
“Sorry, sis, let’s go,” he said. “We gotta hurry. Dad’s going to be home soon.”
“Coming!” Sam jumped off the side of the desk and ran out the classroom, calling out that she would see me in the morning.
“Have a good night, and you two be careful on your way home,” I called after them.
In an instant, I was the only one left in the classroom, and I sighed. I hoped Samantha was right about what she said. And I hoped she was wise beyond her years. It seemed that she came from a really good family, and her parents definitely seemed to be good together.
