It was six in the morning and people were making their way to work. Lee began to pack up her old and worn sleeping bag, ignoring the disapproving glares of passer by. As she walked towards the bus stop, she contemplated not going to school at all but decided it’d be in her best interest. She entered the bus and paid her fare to the white-haired man who was overwhelmingly friendly.
“Quite an early morning for you, isn’t it kiddo?” his amicable smile caressed his wrinkled face. Lee nodded in acknowledgement and made her way to the back of the bus.
When the bus stopped at Mosman public school, Lee reluctantly exited. Students streamed through the front doors, skipping and looking strangely joyful for a morning so incredibly ordinary. Lee quickly made her way to her class, avoiding any form of socialisation.
She sat at her small desk at the very back of the room, looking out to the playground, filled with jumping infants who were farewelling their mothers and fathers. Why were their parents here? Lee questioned the affection of the children’s parents. Her mum and dad had never been to her school, not even to drop her off on her very first day of school in kindergarten.
As she peered out the window, three girls from her year five class entered the room. They were giggling and chattering, their playfulness changing the aura of the room.
“Hey Lee”, one of the girls said enthusiastically.
Lee sharply turned, shocked and confused. Why was she talking to Lee? No one ever spoke to lee.
The two other girls looked almost as confused as Lee. Lee remembered that girl’s name from a year three group task; Jenny. The other two were her incompetent sidekicks. Jenny looked at the other two desperately, not knowing what to say in order to extend conversation.
“Hi” Lee responded, rather detached.
“Umm... I... I like your hair”. She said sincerely. The girls beside Jenny helplessly snickered.
Lee looked into the reflection of the classroom window. Her hair was a mousey blonde. It wasn’t curly or straight, just in the middle, and slightly frizzed. It didn’t at all look well kept like Jenny’s sleek, straight blonde hair. Lee’s hair was in an untidy low bun, oily and probably a bit on the nose too.
“Thanks” Lee replied, not sure whether Jenny was being sarcastic or was actually complimenting her. The giggling, bubbly girls then walked over to sit at their usual table.
The bell rang and students rushed into class, taking their seats and arranging their books and pencil case on their small individual desks.
“Good morning class” Mrs Landers exclaimed cheerfully.
“Today we will be zoning in on family units and what it means to be a part of a family”. She handed out a sheet, reading four bolded subtitles; Description of me, description of my mum, description of my dad and description of my siblings. Chatter filled the space of the class, as people discussed the names of their siblings, the ages of their mums, or the heights of their dads. As they filled out their sheets, Lee stared at her sheet. She answered the sheet in her head.
Description of me: A twelve year old girl who doesn’t seem to fit anywhere, A twelve year old who spends some nights on the streets of the CBD, a twelve year old who is eternally alone.
Description of my mum: an irrevocably damaged woman, an emotionally vulnerable woman, a dependent woman, a drug abusing woman, a woman who is eternally alone.
Description of my dad: a power driven man, a man that is not in control of his life, an abusive man, a hard man, a man who is eternally alone.
After filling the sheet out internally, Lee sat staring at the blank sheet. How could a sheet of paper with four black inked questions be so personal? Lee looked around the class room. Surely she wasn’t the only one with issues. She finally decided she’d write her answer down.
After everyone had finished, Mrs Landers came around to collect all the students’ sheets. Lee hesitated, roughly shoving the loose sheet into her book.
“And where is your sheet, Miss Lee?” It was as if Mrs. Landers had it in for Lee, always questioning her and picking at her brain. By this stage, the majority of the class had turned around to face Lee.
“It’s personal Mrs. Landers” Lee replied sheepishly. Her class mates’ chuckled.
“I understand it is personal, but it is also school work Lee. Now hand it up”.
"If you understood, you wouldn't be asking me to hand it up, Miss" Lee looked up pleadingly.
"Lee Ferguson, You have to the count of three" Mrs Landers was frustrated at this point.
"One" The word drifted off as Mrs Landers fumed.
Lee let her eyes wonder around the classroom. Her classmates were staring, incredulously.
"Two. Don't let me get to three, Lee" She warned.
Lee didn’t want to start an argument, nor did she want to draw attention to herself. She pulled the sheet out of her book, begrudgingly handing it over to Mrs. Landers. Mrs Landers swung around to return to her desk at the front of the classroom. Lee watched carefully as Mrs. Landers read her sheet. At the beginning, she looked confused, but as the answer progressed, a look of alarm took over. She stood up and hurriedly walked to the door way of the year five class room.
“Lee, May I please see you outside please?”
The year five students’ heads darted towards Lee. She stood up and made her way to the front of the class. As she walked towards the door, she was stopped by a gentle tug of her uniform.
“Everything will be okay” Jennifer whispered. Lee smiled back politely, hoping to death that she was right.
As she exited her class, she realised that Mrs. Landers looked rather on edge. She sat on the bench and patted the seat beside her, hinting that Lee would sit down.
“Tell me more about your family, Lee” She spoke gently, as if Lee were a fragile doll. Lee hadn’t seen this side of Mrs. Landers.
She looked down at her feet, avoiding conversation. This was exactly what Lee didn’t like; attention. Mrs Landers’ soft hands lifted Lee’s chin, so she had to look her teacher in the eyes.
“How about I say something and you say yes or no?” she asked.
Lee nodded in agreement. Although she didn’t want to tell Mrs. Landers about her home life, Lee knew she’d find out sooner or later. Mrs Landers knew everything about everyone in year five, except for Lee.
“Are either of your parents occasionally reliant on drugs?”
Lee looked into Mrs. Landers eyes, into her soul.
“Both” Lee answered.
“And it’s not occasionally” she added.
Mrs. Landers cringed.
“Have you been abused?” she asked softly.
Lee nodded, and Mrs Landers looked away as if she was almost going to cry.
“Does anyone else know?” Mrs. Landers asked.
“I have never told a soul, Mrs Landers”.
“You realise this is a serious issue Lee?”
“It could be worse Mrs. Landers; I could be living on the streets every night”. Lee assured her, not wanting her to be upset, not wanting to attract attention.
“Lee!” Mrs Landers definitely wasn’t going to leave this to rest.
“I am going to call your mother and father for an interview”
Lee’s face lost colour and she began to worry. What would happen if she did tell her parents? She’d get beaten harder than she ever had before.
“No, No, Please Mrs Landers don’t do that!” she urged.
“Lee, this is a legal matter! We will most definitely be consulting with your parents.”
Lee could see that there’d be no verbal reasoning. She stood up and unzipped her tunic. Lee could hear Mrs. Landers gasp at the sight of the severe bruising on her back.
“What on earth happened to you Lee? What did they do?”
She grabbed Lee and held onto her tight, as if she’d never let her go. Mrs Landers cried and cried, as if she had just witnessed an accident. She held Lee’s head, burying it into her chest. Mrs Lander’s strawberry blonde hair smelt like coconut and honey. Her perfume was feminine, like roses. Lee took in the essence of this affectionate hug. It was probably the most affection she had experienced in over a year.
Before Lee could fall asleep in Mrs. Lander’s arms, she pulled away abruptly, as if she had just remembered a vital piece of a word problem.
“If we aren’t going to call your parents, you must call the department of community services, okay Lee?”
Lee made a promise to Mrs. Landers that as soon as she got home, she’d call community services.
Together, they walked back into the class room; Mrs. Landers an emotional mess, Lee the exact same as of when she walked out of the class room. She wasn’t sad, she wasn’t angry. She was just numb.
Gender:
Points: 896
Reviews: 13