This is a piece of one of my short stories I've been working on for a short story collection.
Quote:
Catherine pointed at the chalkboard.
“What’s on the chalkboard?” Ms. Mal asked.
Catherine then answered,“Who is that?”
Ms. Mal got up from her desk to take a glance. There was no one there other than the little girl who sat back down with the rest of the kids.
“No one is there, sweetie,” answered Ms. Mal calmingly, “it is just the chalkboard.”
“No,” Catherine rowed back, “There is a lady there.”
Ms. Mal looked at her strangely; there was certainly no woman there. Ms. Mal figured it was just the little girl’s imagination, and this was very natural to her. When she was in college back in Arizona, they were regarding children with imaginary friends or seeing things that aren’t there. Their brains were still developing and they’re still learning about the world around them, so anything imaginary was very natural.
Using this knowledge in her mind, Ms. Mal then asked little Catherine. “What’s the lady doing?”
“She’s standing there,” Catherine said, “She’s mad at me.”
“Why do you think she’s mad at you? What does she look like?”
“She’s covered with red lines.”
Ms. Mal stared. This was much more difficult. She had never knew a little girl would imagine things like that, or even knew. Being as calm as she could, Ms. Mal walked and then crouched down in front of her and said, “No one is mad at you Catherine. No one here is, now I need you to calm down okay? Then the lady will go away.”
Catherine looked as if she was about to cry, with sniffling as the first symptom, “She is mad at me. She won’t go away. She’s mad at me. She’s mad at me. She’s mad at me.”
Catherine stopped and her eyes widened again. Suddenly she screamed and crawled backward as the “lady” started to walk toward her. Catherine then lied in a fetus position with her hands covering her head, still screaming.
Ms. Mal went toward her and crouched by her. Her voice was shaking as she spoke, “Calm down Catherine, nothing will hurt you, nothing will hurt you, nothing will hurt you.”
Catherine calmed down and looked up, the lady was gone. Catherine then broke down to a sob and Ms. Mal helped her up. She was about to lead the little girl out the door, then she looked back at the kids, pointing at the crayons on the floor,
“I’ll be right back. Make sure you pick up the mess.”
Her and Catherine exited out of the classroom.
Ms. Mal led Catherine to the nurse and explained everything that happened as well as showing her the infected scrape. The nurse took Catherine inside and Ms. Mal walked back to the classroom. As she was in the halls, she looked back in wonder. No one had told her about this, not even a single phone call. The little Catherine was new and, apparently, had some kind of instability. Ms. Mal then remembered taking care of kids with disabilities and other mental disorders, because she had a disorder herself. She then thought Catherine’s mental sickness (whatever it was) was similar to her own. She couldn’t really be sure though, since she had just met Catherine. More questions then had to be answered, and this she knew. She planned to go to the main office or to the head of the school Mrs. Fumble, and that way she doesn’t have to be worried about it.
It was a few hours later, and the children were at the playground before lunch time. Ms. Mal could not keep her mind off of what happened. She decided to guide her legs to the office of Mrs. Fumble. She knocked on the door and waited with her arms crossed. An old lady, maybe in her early 50’s, with white hair that touched her breasts wearing a red dress decorated with flowers, answered the door.
“Hello Ms. Mal, what can I do for you?” She greeted with her low voice of wisdom.
“Mrs. Fumble,” Ms. Mal answered, “I’m here about the new student in my class.”
“Aah,” Mrs. Fumble replied, “Yes, I have known of her. Come in.”
Ms. Mal did as she was told and sat on a chair with a large desk in front of her. Mrs. Fumble sat on the chair behind the desk and then spoke,
“Is there something troubling you about her?”
“Actually, I was never notified about her,” Ms. Mal replied in a stern voice, “and I was not notified that she might have a disorder either. I was wondering why no one had told me.”
“Actually,”Mrs. Fumble replied, “we tried to call you, but you weren’t answering. Lately, you haven’t been answering our phone calls, and I assumed you felt ill. You’ve been acting like it for a couple days.”
Ms. Mal then thought about those calls she hadn’t been answering. The truth was she had been feeling quite sick, mostly because her disorder takes in and it puts a lot on her mind, but it shouldn’t prevent her from taking those phone calls. Neither should it prevent from being notified either.
Ms. Mal replied more calmly, “Well, I’m truly sorry about not answering the calls. I should’ve been more responsible. I’ve been feeling troubled and had a lot on my mind.”
“I understand Ms. Mal,” Mrs. Fumble said, “since I know of your health records. You may not believe me, but Catherine may have some kind of instability very similar to yours. Yours is more severe though, but since she is still a child, she cannot control it as much as you could. I heard what happened this morning, and I believed you’ve handled the situation well. I will give you some advice though; you’ll have to expect more of this to come.”
Ms. Mal absorbed the information into her mind, and then asked, “Do the parents know?”
“I’ve never gotten a hold of them,” Mrs. Fumble answered, “I tried, but each time one of them sounds completely drunk or hung-over. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
“Actually, you’ve helped a lot,” Ms. Mal replied. She stood from her chair,
“Thank you very much Mrs. Fumble.”
Ms. Mal then walked out of the office. Mrs. Fumble’s smile then disappeared as Ms. Mal left. Her expression was then turned to an emotionless face. She then sighed.
“What’s on the chalkboard?” Ms. Mal asked.
Catherine then answered,“Who is that?”
Ms. Mal got up from her desk to take a glance. There was no one there other than the little girl who sat back down with the rest of the kids.
“No one is there, sweetie,” answered Ms. Mal calmingly, “it is just the chalkboard.”
“No,” Catherine rowed back, “There is a lady there.”
Ms. Mal looked at her strangely; there was certainly no woman there. Ms. Mal figured it was just the little girl’s imagination, and this was very natural to her. When she was in college back in Arizona, they were regarding children with imaginary friends or seeing things that aren’t there. Their brains were still developing and they’re still learning about the world around them, so anything imaginary was very natural.
Using this knowledge in her mind, Ms. Mal then asked little Catherine. “What’s the lady doing?”
“She’s standing there,” Catherine said, “She’s mad at me.”
“Why do you think she’s mad at you? What does she look like?”
“She’s covered with red lines.”
Ms. Mal stared. This was much more difficult. She had never knew a little girl would imagine things like that, or even knew. Being as calm as she could, Ms. Mal walked and then crouched down in front of her and said, “No one is mad at you Catherine. No one here is, now I need you to calm down okay? Then the lady will go away.”
Catherine looked as if she was about to cry, with sniffling as the first symptom, “She is mad at me. She won’t go away. She’s mad at me. She’s mad at me. She’s mad at me.”
Catherine stopped and her eyes widened again. Suddenly she screamed and crawled backward as the “lady” started to walk toward her. Catherine then lied in a fetus position with her hands covering her head, still screaming.
Ms. Mal went toward her and crouched by her. Her voice was shaking as she spoke, “Calm down Catherine, nothing will hurt you, nothing will hurt you, nothing will hurt you.”
Catherine calmed down and looked up, the lady was gone. Catherine then broke down to a sob and Ms. Mal helped her up. She was about to lead the little girl out the door, then she looked back at the kids, pointing at the crayons on the floor,
“I’ll be right back. Make sure you pick up the mess.”
Her and Catherine exited out of the classroom.
Ms. Mal led Catherine to the nurse and explained everything that happened as well as showing her the infected scrape. The nurse took Catherine inside and Ms. Mal walked back to the classroom. As she was in the halls, she looked back in wonder. No one had told her about this, not even a single phone call. The little Catherine was new and, apparently, had some kind of instability. Ms. Mal then remembered taking care of kids with disabilities and other mental disorders, because she had a disorder herself. She then thought Catherine’s mental sickness (whatever it was) was similar to her own. She couldn’t really be sure though, since she had just met Catherine. More questions then had to be answered, and this she knew. She planned to go to the main office or to the head of the school Mrs. Fumble, and that way she doesn’t have to be worried about it.
It was a few hours later, and the children were at the playground before lunch time. Ms. Mal could not keep her mind off of what happened. She decided to guide her legs to the office of Mrs. Fumble. She knocked on the door and waited with her arms crossed. An old lady, maybe in her early 50’s, with white hair that touched her breasts wearing a red dress decorated with flowers, answered the door.
“Hello Ms. Mal, what can I do for you?” She greeted with her low voice of wisdom.
“Mrs. Fumble,” Ms. Mal answered, “I’m here about the new student in my class.”
“Aah,” Mrs. Fumble replied, “Yes, I have known of her. Come in.”
Ms. Mal did as she was told and sat on a chair with a large desk in front of her. Mrs. Fumble sat on the chair behind the desk and then spoke,
“Is there something troubling you about her?”
“Actually, I was never notified about her,” Ms. Mal replied in a stern voice, “and I was not notified that she might have a disorder either. I was wondering why no one had told me.”
“Actually,”Mrs. Fumble replied, “we tried to call you, but you weren’t answering. Lately, you haven’t been answering our phone calls, and I assumed you felt ill. You’ve been acting like it for a couple days.”
Ms. Mal then thought about those calls she hadn’t been answering. The truth was she had been feeling quite sick, mostly because her disorder takes in and it puts a lot on her mind, but it shouldn’t prevent her from taking those phone calls. Neither should it prevent from being notified either.
Ms. Mal replied more calmly, “Well, I’m truly sorry about not answering the calls. I should’ve been more responsible. I’ve been feeling troubled and had a lot on my mind.”
“I understand Ms. Mal,” Mrs. Fumble said, “since I know of your health records. You may not believe me, but Catherine may have some kind of instability very similar to yours. Yours is more severe though, but since she is still a child, she cannot control it as much as you could. I heard what happened this morning, and I believed you’ve handled the situation well. I will give you some advice though; you’ll have to expect more of this to come.”
Ms. Mal absorbed the information into her mind, and then asked, “Do the parents know?”
“I’ve never gotten a hold of them,” Mrs. Fumble answered, “I tried, but each time one of them sounds completely drunk or hung-over. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
“Actually, you’ve helped a lot,” Ms. Mal replied. She stood from her chair,
“Thank you very much Mrs. Fumble.”
Ms. Mal then walked out of the office. Mrs. Fumble’s smile then disappeared as Ms. Mal left. Her expression was then turned to an emotionless face. She then sighed.
If you want me to add more, I can. What do you guys think?
EDIT: I did some editing, and the dialogue made the piece longer than intended *shivers* and I'm a little worried about the dialogue parts because there were so many of them. Can you guys (the same people even) see if I did my editing right? Thanks.
