Hold a Smile (Demi Lovato) COMPLETE

Five: She's Fine

Demi's POV

I must have made that mom really upset by keeping Avery in the classroom. I mean, I wasn't going to let a little girl sit outside all by herself, not knowing when she'd be picked up. Her mom actually didn't come until around six o'clock. It's ridiculous. And then she was going to get mad at me about it!

I felt bad for Avery. She had to go home with that. She seemed so scared of her mother. Why would a child be so scared of their own parent?

No, it can't be.

And why was she so upset when I asked about the paper? I wasn't mad at her, but she just freaked out. She's scared of everything. Only one option pops into my head.

No, no, no. I can't just assume what I don't know. Maybe she's just timid like that, and her mom was having a bad day. Besides, no one would be able to hurt a little girl like Avery.

I walked into the classroom to see some students already there, including Avery and Jasmine. They were talking, but Avery's hair was covering one side of her face the whole time.

I sat at my desk and waited for the rest of the class. Once the first bell rang, I clapped my hands. "Alright, settle down. Today, we are going to practice some writing. I want you all to write about your favorite time of the day, and why it's your favorite. I want you to focus on punctuation, such as periods, commas, question marks, etc. I'll give you a paper with all of them and their uses. I passed out the papers, then I gave the kids time to write, then they turned them in. I decided to read and grade them during my lunch break. After everyone was done writing, I decided to go over some of the math homework they had.

Lunch soon came, and I got the kids lined up. I noticed that Avery didn't bring her lunch like she usually does, but I assumed she would just buy from the lunch line, but when I walked them to the cafeteria, she went straight to the table and sat down with no food. I decided to ask about it.

"Avery?" She jumped at my voice. I don't know how to get her attention without startling her. "Do you not have food?" She shook her head. "I can buy you something from the lunch line."

She shook her head again. "I'm fine. I'm not hungry." The whole time, she didn't lift her head up enough for her hair to uncover her face.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to have to go hungry."

"I'm sure. Thank you."

I hesitantly walked back to the classroom. I really hope she's telling the truth. I decided to read the papers from earlier. Many kids wrote about meals being their favorite part of the day. Jasmine wrote about family time in the evening. I got nervous when I got to Avery's, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Her paper stated:
My favorite part of my day is going home after school because I get to spend time with my mom. After a long day at school, I get to talk, eat, and watch TV with her. She helps me with my homework, too. She explains things so well. I know she loves me because we get to cuddle before bedtime. That's why I like to spend time with my mom, and it's my favorite part of the day.

Well I sure was wrong about her mom. I'm sure she was just having a bad day yesterday.