Do you want to come over?
Me:
Right after?
JJ:
Whenever you want
Me:
Yes.
JJ:
:)
I smile to myself as I look at the little smiley face. It doesn’t feel very JJ, but I like that he’s opening up more. He seems happier and less distracted, like maybe he isn’t carrying as much weight as he once was. Maybe he just needed more time to warm up. Not everyone is instantly comfortable with others.
Sheila and I get through the rest of the afternoon smoothly and do parent pick up where she goes back and forth helping me and the other class. At this point in the year, we’re familiar with the parents, so we don’t have to get IDs from everyone to make sure they’re on the pick-up list. This means it goes quicker than the first month. We don’t get to leave any earlier, but it doesmean we have more time to prepare for tomorrow. Which for us is pretty simple. As kids get older, the lesson plans get more complex.
“Hey, Noah. How was your day?” I ask when I get back to my room.
Noah is sitting in my chair, spinning around—as he always does.
“It was good. We’re learning about tornadoes!”
“Whoa, that sounds cool.”
“Did you get to do cool experiments when you were in school? Mr. Carpenter says we’re too young to make explosions.”
I laugh. Noah will be the one to blow something up… accidentally, of course—in the name of science.
“Yeah, but not until I was older.”
“I don’t wanna wait,” he huffs.
“Maybe we can do some science stuff at home,” I offer.
“Really?” He perks up.
“Sure. I bet we can find a book or something.”
“Like at the library?”
“Probably.”
“Can we go today?” he asks excitedly.
I don’t have the heart to tell him I have plans. Besides, I doubt JJ will mind if I take a little detour. The library is on the way, so it won’t take long.
“Sure.”
“Yay!”
Sheila and I clean up the room and get some things together for tomorrow, and then we leave. Once I’m in the car, I text JJ.
Me: