Rise Up

Lin

Talie stumbled into fifth period on Monday with bags under her eyes. She looked terrible and upset. The bell rang as she plopped down in her chair and put her head down. She set her feet on the shelf underneath, curling herself up in a little ball.

I went over to her quickly as the class began writing. "Talie? Are you okay? Do you need the nurse?"

She just shook her head, not moving. Obviously, something was wrong, but I knew her well enough not to push it right now. She wouldn't want to be embarrassed in front of her peers. I let the class free write for five minutes and Talie didn't participate. I started class, stealing glances at Talie every once in a while.

When the bell rang to end class, Talie moved slowly. I smiled at my students as they left and shared some quick words with them. As Talie peeled herself off her chair I approached her.

"Hey," I said gently, sitting on the desk in front of her. "Something's going on with you. Are you okay?"

She shrugged and didn't look at me. She looked absolutely miserable. I wondered if she'd been bullied, or if something had gone on at home over the weekend.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" I reminded her, trying to tilt my head to look at her eyes. She was good at avoiding. Still, she didn't respond. "If not me, we have a counselor."

Students were laughing in the hallway and Talie looked over, obviously wanting to escape. She obviously didn't want to talk right now so there was no use keeping her.

"Go ahead and get to class," I told her. "Come see me if you need to."

She nodded and walked out quickly. I sighed, looking around my classroom. Most of the kids here were pretty well off with over involved parents. It made the troubled kids stand out even more. I wanted to help Talie, but I wasn't sure how. I stood up and walked back to my desk. It was my prep period. So far, I'd had no luck contacting Talie's father, but I decided to try again.

I pulled up her record on my teacher portal and found her father's cell phone number. I dialed and was surprised when he picked up on the second ring.

"Juan Rodriguez," he answered.

"Mr. Rodriguez," I changed the phone to the other ear, surprised. "Hi, my name is Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm your daughter's English teacher at Hunter High. How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thanks," he said. "Is there a problem?"

"Well, not exactly, but I've been wanting to talk to you about some concerns," I began, fishing out a pad of paper from my desk. "Lately, she's been really tired in class and today she seemed really upset in class. Is everything okay at home?"

He sighed. "Well, I'm sorry to say I can't really give you a very good answer. I have a very demanding job so I'm not home that much. I wouldn't be surprised if she was staying up late."

I nodded. "She mentioned she went to bed around midnight or one most nights," I said. "I've been trying to convince her to go to bed earlier. Umm...did anything happen over the weekend? She was really upset in class today."

I heard him breathe out. "Well, I did have to tell her that I'd be going to London for several months for work," he said. "We have decide if she's coming with me or staying here."

No wonder she was so upset. Her father, the only adult in her life as far as I knew, was leaving the country for an extended period of time. "Would she be staying with family in the city?"

"No, we don't have any family in the city. I told her she could stay with friends or stay by herself at home."

My mouth dropped. "Stay by herself? Sir, she's fifteen."