WILLOW MANOR

Chapter Nine

"Very good, Delia." Katie looked over the girl's shoulder at her paper. "Keep working on your spelling list."

"Thank you, Miss Gallagher." Delia beamed. "Some of these words are too hard for me. But Arabella helps me."

Katie knelt beside her. She spoke softly. "Delia, is Arabella here right now?"

The little girl smiled slightly. "No, but I can hear her in my head sometimes if I really try."

That thought sent a chill up her spine. Katie forced a smile and put her hand on top of Delia's head gently. "Well, tell her to stay out of there. We need the space for learning!"

"You're funny, Miss Gallagher." Delia laughed.

"Miss Gallagher, I've finished my English assignment." Blake held up his paper, uncharacteristically excited.

He was grinning, an expression she'd not seen since she got here. His eyes were bright and lively as she took his paper and returned his smile. "Well then, I will take a look at it and see how you did."

As soon as the page left his hand, however, his confidence faded. He frowned as Katie's eyes moved over the page. "I probably messed it up. I'm not very good at school."

"Blake, that's not true! This is very good." She smiled as she read. His writing had an enthusiasm, an energy, that must be hidden within his heart. If only she could find a way to bring it out into the open. "You've done very well, just in the week that I've been here."

Blake seemed to reluctantly cheer up. "Well... okay."

Katie watched as the boy warred with his own emotions, as if he wanted to be happy but was afraid to. She needed to find a way to raise Blake's self-esteem.

Clarissa stood and handed Katie a few pages. "I finished my writing assignment, too."

"Really?" Katie was pleasantly surprised. "You wrote a five-page story already?"

Clarissa smiled unkindly. "I was inspired."

"That's fantastic!" Katie looked over the pages. There were five full pages of script—no space gobbling tricks like wide margins, large writing, or blank lines, things other children in other households had tried to get away with. She was impressed. "I can't wait to read it!"

"Oh, you'll love it." Clarissa smirked. "It's about an unwanted nanny who just shows up one night."

"Oh?" Katie could not help the sting that word unwanted dealt her.

"And then she sticks her nose in everyone's business." Clarissa continued. "And tries to change the way everyone does things."

Katie tried not to show it bothered her. After all, Clarissa was working through a lot of emotions. She was a child and Katie was the adult here. She thinned her lips in a toothless smile. "Well, that sounds very interesting. How does it end?"

Clarissa shrugged. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Well, that's quite imaginative." Katie said. "I like the way you used a real-life situation and turned it into a fictional narrative. Very creative."

Clarissa frowned, unhappy with the response. "Whatever."

"No, I'm very excited." Katie insisted. She put the pages into her lesson plan book and tapped the cover reverently. "That shows me some very complex thought processes are going on and you're able to harness those thoughts effectively and artistically. I can't wait to see how you channel that passion into all your assignments."

Clarissa frowned, disappointed that her plan to intimidate Katie was backfiring so profoundly. "Whatever."

"Oh no. I'm serious. Such a vivid imagination should be encouraged." Katie smiled broadly. "And who knows? You might really enjoy writing."