When we’re dismissed for recess, Miss Chang asks me to stay behind. As I walk toward her, I don’t feel any pang of dread, and I don’t recap my morning for possible offences. It’s all good.
“I’m just blown away, Craig,” she gushes.
“Thanks.” I grin broadly and add, “It felt a bit weird when everyone got so quiet at the end.”
“You had them, Craig. When you began with the soup, all doodling, all whispers, all daydreaming stopped. And that silence at the end? We needed time to let your message sink in. You made them—and me—think. All I can say is thank you.”
The grade? I told Miss Chang not to tell me. After all, I didn’t do it for a grade or for my teacher. I did it for myself. And I did it for Tom.
GREGORY WALTERS was born in Hamilton, Ontario. When he was thirteen, his family moved to Texas. He began his teaching career in Dallas and eventually settled in British Columbia. He currently resides in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast and enjoys his job as an elementary school principal. When not working, Gregory tries to find time to write, but his efforts are often dashed by his two attention-seeking miniature schnauzers, Lincoln and Hoover.
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