Rise Up

Lin

           

Sebastian was good enough the next day that I was comfortable leaving him with my mom.  She came around 7:30, and he was being really clingy.  I'd fed him Cheerios for breakfast, and I was just gathering my stuff when he started whimpering.

"Buddy, what's wrong?" I asked patiently, kneeling down next to his chair.

"I don't want you to go!" he said sadly.  He looked adorable, in his dinosaur PJs, his hair disheveled.  Sebastian turned and wrapped his little arms around my neck and cried.

I gently rubbed his back. His body was still a bit warm, but his temperature was down to 99.1.  "I know, bud, but Daddy has to go to work.  We can play when I get home."

"Can I go with you?" he asked hopefully.  The kids would love him, that's for sure.

"No," I told him sadly.  "I have to focus on teaching the kids.  You're gonna stay here and play with Abuela and Cisco."

I stood up with him in my arms.  He rested his head on my shoulder and I gently stroked the back of his hair.  Even though he was better, he still needed his rest.  A minute later, he was drifting off to sleep in my arms.  I carefully passed him over to my mom and thanked her, then slipped out the door.

When I got to my classroom, I checked out my sub's notes on my sub plans.  The classes seemed to have gone well, apart from Talie's outburst during fifth period.  I checked my teacher portal where student discipline was displayed, and the principal had given her three days after-school detention.  He generally didn't suspend kids unless it was something major.  He wanted the kids at school learning, and I agreed with that.

Fifth period rolled around and Talie walked in on time.  She had her hoodie up, but at least she didn't lay down.  Today was the day I was going to assign their papers – a day they dreaded.  The good old five paragraph essay.  As the kids did their Do Now, I passed out the assignment page and started to hear groans.

I asked the kids to put down their pencils and started going over the assignment's requirement.  Two quotes per paragraph, APA citation, double spaced.  The kids' eyes began to glaze over.  This was the easy part for me.  The hard part was having to grade them all.

"Any questions?" I asked, glancing at the clock.  Talie raised her hand and I raised my eyebrows.

"Do we have to do it?"

A lot of the students laughed and I grinned at the question.  "Yes, Talie.  This is a requirement for this class.  It's due in two weeks.  I'm offering after-school help on Wednesday and Thursday.  If you want me to read over what you have, please stay."

It was freshman English, so this was generally the students' first experience writing these lengthy persuasive papers.  It was the second major paper of the year, so it wasn't quite as painful as the first.  Still, the kids needed a lot of help.  I couldn't stay every night after school because I had kids at home, but I could offer a couple days.  I hoped they'd take advantage.

When Vanessa got home that night, she was a mess.  She'd been operating on maybe five hours of sleep for weeks now.  She needed a break.  I ran her a bath and poured in some lavender bubble baths.

"Can you sleep in tomorrow" I asked as I adjusted the water temperature.

"Maybe," she told him, wiping under her eyes with a tissue.  Her day hadn't gone well and as soon as she got home and saw me, she finally broke down.  She'd been trying to keep it together for so long, and she was such a tough cookie to crack.  When Vanessa cried, I knew things were bad.

"Let's go out Friday night," I told her.

"We'd have to get a sitter," she said.  "Both our parents are out of town."