"Jane, please stop fidgeting." Peso looked over at me for the 5th time. I didn't think I was- oh.
"Sorry, Peso." I looked down, embarrassment enveloping me.
"It's perfectly fine, do you have your Spanish folder?" I looked in my desk, oh sh- I lost it. I shook my head.
"Do you want to go see if you left it in your room?" He asked gently. I nodded. My cheeks were burning, and I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I walked out. I ran to my room as fast as I could, and made a beeline to my desk. I let out my breath, and my body relaxed; I didn't lose it! I grabbed it, stuffed it into my backpack and ran back to the class.
"Oh wonderful, you found it!" Peso beamed, "Now do you remember how to say they are?" No, I did not. I had studied it last night, but now, my mind was completely blank. Everyone turned to look at me; I wished they wouldn't.
"Somos?" I murmured, barely loud enough to hear myself.
"What was that, sweetheart?" Peso leaned in closer. I repeated myself, slightly louder this time.
Peso looked sadly at me,"Sorry, it's 'son' not 'somos'. 'Somos' is 'we are'. May you please see me after class, my dear?" He asked gently. I knew what was coming. I've been hearing those nine words ever since I started daycare. But I just nodded, and stared down at my desk, tpping my fingers on the hardwood. Who was I kidding? The Octopod wasn't a change. I would be a disappointment no matter where I was. The wait for class to end seemed to stretch on forever just a moment ago, but now, time flew by too quickly. It was just what I needed! A chance to prove to Peso that I was stupid.
The seconds dissipated little by little, 5 minutes left, then 3 and a half, then 2, then 30 seconds. The bell rang, and it hurt my ears enough that I flinched. If there was one thing I hated more than ADHD, it was loud noises. I slowly stood up. Maybe if I took my time, it'd make this easier?
"Jane? Do you know what I called you for?" Peso asked, smiling gently. I shook my head. I knew, I was just playing stupid. It made life easier for you. A small streak of relief made its way through my twisted, useless excuse of a being. He wasn't using the "I'm smarter than you, you little failure" tone or my full name, both very good signs.
"I called you because you're having trouble keeping up in class." He sounded sympathetic, and it taunted a wave of anger inside of me. Why couldn't we come to a conclusion, I am dumb, he knew it, I knew it, everyone knew.
"I understand that ADHD makes it difficult to pay attention in class." He gripped my paw in his soft warm flippers. It felt gentle, but strong, like he was going to make a change for me. "I have full faith in you, Jane." He pushed a sheet in front of me. Oh no.
"Can you fill this out for me, dear?" His warm dark eyes were twinkling, and he was smiling at me expectantly. He handed me a pencil, and I tried, I really did. Soy was I am, I remembered that, but not much else. When I gave it back to him, He stared at it for a while, and handed it back.
"Great work, you only missed 'eres", and "es", but otherwise, you did very well! Just try again, you can do it!" I picked my pencil back up and stared at the paper. 'Eres' and 'es'. Understanding began to dawn on me. Of course! I must've switched them. I scribbled down the correct forms of 'ser' and handed it back to him.
"Brilliant!" He exclaimed, beaming at me, "I knew you could do it!" He reached out a flipper and gripped me around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug. He was warm, and I could practically feel pride radiating off of him.
"Shellington's going to be expecting you soon, I better write you a pass." He went back to his desk, picked up a piece of paper, and scribbled something on it. He handed it to me and I left, feeling much better than I'd expected to feel. From my experience, staying after class with a teacher would always make you feel much worse than when you went in to their class.
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"Jane, pay attention!" Dashi and I were sitting on her bed, and she had been quizzing me on Spanish verb phrases for the last 8 hours or so. At this point, I really couldn't care less what 'tener' meant, but my sister was insistent. I had wished for a brother all my life, and here was the reason why.
YOU ARE READING
The Odd Sister Out
Fanfiction"The middle child has it worse" Janine Margot Doxter knows that this is a lie. Being the younger sister of Dashi and Koshi, who were known as inseparable, mystery-loving sisters in their hometown. Therefore, she has always been the third wheel to he...
