When the morning comes

7 | special delivery

Slouched back onto a chair, I played with the ring that was on my ring finger. Shoving it up and down, changing fingers and accidentally letting it drop onto the table. Grasping it in a swift motion, I shoved it back onto the right finger and looked up, trying to keep my attention to Unc Teddy, the headmaster of the school.

"And basically-" He stared at me, blinked once or twice as his eyes narrowed. "Are you here with us, Zev?"

"I am, I am." It came out as stuttering, felt as if I was one of his pupils, getting caught red-handed while doing mischief in class. My cheeks colored lightly, I tried to ignore the eyes that burned on my face. "Continue."

"What I was trying to say.." Teddy continued, I trailed off right after. Simple, but elegant, delicate. Gold, thin, but kept enough space for the purpose to put our name initials and the date we got married on engraved into it. Z & A. July, 18th, 08.

Licking my finger, I tried to clean the smudge my fingerprint had left behind, wiping it on my jeans afterwards. Trying to suppress a yawn, I mentally scolded the empty paper cup that was filled with coffee before, wondering why it hadn't succeed in doing its only job- keeping you awake at meetings. Teddy was a good guy. Slim, has diabetes, grey curls, immense love for people. But when it came to talking, there were times where he couldn't stop rattling. Only because he loved talking- inspiring. To some point, it could be appreciative.

But then it could also come to the point where your ears would start ringing and you'd wanted nothing but slam your fist onto to table to shut him off, even if it was only for one second so you could regain your energy and attention.

Picking up the paper cup, I peeled at the edges. The cup had become rather soft due to the coffee's warmth, so it was easy to fold and rip in pieces. Drops of leftover coffee spilt onto the table, then onto my skin.

"What are your views on that, Zev?"

Looking up, I sat up more straight, stretching my back. "Excellent. Yeah, excellent idea."

The silence that came after was louder than Teddy's voice. "Zev.. I'm sorry- what?"

Not wanting to make eye- contact, I wiped the drops of coffee off the table with the sleeve of my sweater. "What?"

"Salomé, can you repeat what I just said?"

Soft chuckles were heard and when I looked into the direction of the unfamiliar sound, I made eye contact with a young woman I hadn't seen before. Not remembering when she got into this room, I started to worry about myself. How deep had I been in my thoughts this whole time?

"Just.." Her voice was mellow, her gaze secure, even though her brown eyes that were rather dark spoke softness, consideration and much care. "Mr. Wood just explained that maybe it would be a good idea to connect the education the children receive to the afternoon activities, include the parents of the refugees in the education project. Soon, they have to take the language test, and if they don't pass, there may be a chance they have to leave the country, and we don't want that."

"Yeah, so?" I cleared my throat, looking from her to Teddy. "Excellent idea, as I said."

"So.. his question about your views was directed to the situation of them being threatened to leave the country if they do not pass the language test and civic integration." Salomé hesitated, dark brows furrowing lightly in confusion.

"Oh." A sheepish smile appeared on my face. "Not so excellent." I mumbled out after, staring down at my fingers.

"What do you think of the idea, Zev?"

Raking my fingers through my hair, I noticed Salomé did the same thing, at the same time. Her fingers were thin, stuck at some point because of her wavy, brown hair with golden strands being knotted. It was cut just above her shoulders, jumpy as she looked around. It reminded me of Aurora's latest haircut, only her hair had been darker. "It would be a good idea, I suppose. But I already have my material ready and how would you want to include their parents in activities and such? How will they learn from their children? Also, how do you see my education being connected to the activities you will do?"