Fragment #42 - The little boy that brightens your day

I get off the bus. It's raining, not too much, just enough, so that I can remember that the few nice and shinny days of the summer are gone. I want to hurry to my home, some hot tea and TV... We are back to good old Glasgow, to school, work, pupils. They are such a pain sometimes, and that's why this job is challenching and damn interesting. Some won't listen. The smaller ones: you have to repeat hundreds of times the same things. The old ones, they are so concentrate on doing it well that they won't be really trying.

And sometimes it's just too easy. It's a gift even. And today this small boy, second year, he was in my class in first year too, he didn't grow up like some of his classmates yet. Steven. Small little boy, very shy when he got into the school. The blond hair, the fragile look, he still has sometimes the « little first year lost in the old ones school » look.And today he spoke up! He told me in French about this family, his three brothers... « J'ai trois frères », with this cute accent but trying very hard to do it right, and it was right. He was so proud. And what about how proud I was myself... He actually said three whole assurate sentence in a row. It was actually a good day. They were keen to participate, to ask questions about what we do in France. They don't ask me anymore if we do eat frog's legs and snails for breakfast, but some questions about the pronounciation, about Paris, if I've seen the Eiffel Tower. I remember I had the sixth year last year for one period every two weeks. Some girl, Molly, she asked me if I ever went to the Louvre. This was her dream... I hope she will have the chance, now she is studying art at uni, to do this trip. There is nothing like a youngster asking you a question. He is like I don't really care... And you know he does, just like his classmates, when they listen religiously to the answer, staring at you. They seem like they won't believe you. And I like to believe that for a brief moment, I touched them, I changed their school day. And if I can touch them and interest them to what I teach... Then I've done something good. I still believe that when you work with people, young people, and you give them as much as you can, at least, even if it didn't went the right way, at the end of the day... You've done something good.

Shh Amélie, you shouldn't be so emotional. You know how your ups and downs work, you know you can't think like that. Then you can be sure to be disappointed. You don't want to, do you? It was just a good day at work...