Magnolia Blooms

19. Doubt

Meanwhile, Maggie was having a good day at school.  She still got to play the drum in music and in art they finger painted. 

At lunch, however, Maggie went and sat in the book corner and pulled out a Magic Treehouse book she liked. She had been working really hard on her reading and she could mostly read the books on her own. 

"Maggie, sweetheart," Mrs. Donovan came up to Maggie. Maggie frowned. Mrs. Donovan didn't eat lunch in the classroom with the class. Miss Toby came in and watched the class so Mrs. Donovan could have a break and have lunch with the other teachers. 

"Yes, Mrs. Donovan?" Maggie said, looking up from her book. 

"Sweetheart, it's lunchtime. Why don't you go eat your lunch, and then you can read until it's time to go outside for recess."

"I'm not hungry," Maggie said simply. 

"You mom says you didn't eat breakfast today. And you missed dinner last night. Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?" Mrs. Donovan asked quietly, trying not to bring too much attention to Maggie. She sat on the carpet beside Maggie.

"I'm not hungry," Maggie repeated.

"Is your tummy upset?" Mrs. Donovan asked. 

"No," Maggie said. 

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Mrs. Donovan asked. 

"No. I'm okay," Maggie said. "I'm just not hungry."

"Are you sure?"

Maggie nodded. 

"Okay. Well, you should try to eat something, okay? And if you do get hungry before afternoon recess let me know and we'll let you have a snack. Okay?"

Maggie nodded. 

"Can I read my book now?" Maggie asked. 

Mrs. Donovan smiled. She'd been watching Maggie over the past few weeks just absorbing book after book. She was improving by leaps and bounds and was reading pretty much at grade-level. 

"Sure, sweetheart. And if you feel tired or sick,  you come tell me and if we have to, we'll call your mom and dad, okay?"

Maggie nodded and turned back to her book. Mrs. Donovan sat at her desk and ate her sandwich.  She didn't really taste it, as she looked over at Maggie. She understood her parents' concerns. Maggie's teacher from last year had told her about Maggie. She sat and recalled the conversation, wondering if there was anything she'd missed. 

"Oh, you have Maggie Dun in your class this year?" Mrs. Thompson had said after one of the early meetings before the school year started. 

"I do," Mrs. Donovan said. "Why? Is she a problem?"

"Oh, gosh no! She is the sweetest kid. I swear. She really shouldn't be any problem for you at all."

"Is it the parents?"

"No, no. Her parents are amazing, too. You know her dad is the drummer for twenty-one pilots, right?"

"I did not. But that's actually very cool.  I'd heard he'd adopted."

"They're really great. Very involved. They'll probably set up a meeting with you within the first week of school to explain a few things about Maggie. Don't worry. They're not going to expect you to basically raise their kid.  They're just going to let you know what to expect with Maggie, and how they can best support you in the classroom. When Dad tours, Maggie's sad for a few days because she really misses him, but she's a great kid. You just need to be aware of a few things. She was abused as a baby. She's quite a bit smaller than her classmates.  She's seven, but looks, and speaks, more like a four-year-old. She's absolutely tiny. But also absolutely adorable. She's been working really hard on reading, writing and spelling. She's behind her peers, but she made great gains last year with me, but she's still a little behind. Very determined, though."

"What's her behaviour like? You said she was abused as a baby. Do you know any details?"

"Not really," Mrs. Thompson said. "They told me she'd been starved, she has cigarette burn scars all over - her parents told me that. In case I saw them if she had an accident and needed help changing. She still had some issues dressing herself at the start of last year, but between me and the parents, she figured it out. Her language is below her age level because she didn't learn to speak until she was five. Try not to laugh when she mispronounces something because it will sound absolutely adorable, but don't correct her outright, either. She gets embarrassed easily. She knows she's behind her peers, so don't draw attention to her mispronunciations. Mom and Dad say just repeat the word correctly. So, like, if she mispronounces a word, repeat her answer for the class using the correct word. It doesn't draw attention to her mispronunciation and she hears the proper pronunciation.  She substitutes 'b' for 'v' and I try not to laugh because it's so funny and cute."

"Okay. Got it. Anything else?"

"I don't think so. Mom and Dad are great communicators. If there's an issue at home, they'll let you know. Last year, Mrs. Dun told me that Maggie was sad about Mr. Dun leaving on tour before the end of the school year. I mean, most kids are sad when their parents have to go away but for most kids, their parents are only gone a week or so at a time. Mr. Dun is gone for months, and Maggie really misses him. He's the one who saved her, you know."

"Is he? How?"

"It's really sad. They told me the story - and they'll probably tell you, too. He was leaving the Nationwide Arena at the end of their tour two years ago, when someone threw what he though was a bag of garbage onto the street in front of where the cars and buses come out from backstage. He went to move it because he didn't want to run it over and he heard a whimper. He thought it was a puppy! Which makes sense. People are cruel. He was shocked and angered when he found Maggie in the trash bag. He brought her to the hospital, and then was able to foster her until her parents were found. Her biological parents. They'd abandoned her and moved to another state. They gave up their rights. I believe he was told that they said something along the lines of 'we don't want that useless waste of flesh. Let her be someone else's problem.'"

"That's so sad," Mrs. Donovan said. "No-one deserves that."

Mrs. Thompson shrugged and nodded. 

"Josh, Mr. Dun, says that Maggie has just thrived since he fostered and then adopted her. You're going to love having her in your class, and you're going to love having her parents as your classroom family. They really are involved. And they are clear that any failings on Maggie's part, if she doesn't do the work, or whatever, they aren't going to blame you but work to find out why Maggie isn't doing the work.  They got a tutor for her to help her catch up to her peers. Really, they're probably the best parents I've ever dealt with," Mrs. Thompson smiled. 

Mrs. Donovan was snapped back to the present by the sound of screaming. She looked up and searched the classroom for the source. 

Taylor was standing near the book corner, pointing and screaming. Mrs. Donovan got up and rushed over. 

"Mrs. Donovan! Maggie needs help!" Taylor cried. 

Maggie was lying on the floor shaking, her eyes rolled up into her head. She was having a seizure!

"Taylor, take Ashley and go run to the office.  Tell them to call 911 and that Maggie is having a seizure. They'll call her mom and dad, too."

Ashley and Taylor ran from the room while Mrs. Donovan started a timer on her phone and sat beside Maggie, making sure she didn't hurt herself while her body flailed on the floor.