As the terrible five-letter word of her name left the teachers lips, the impending doom of the girl’s speech dawned. As she picked up the paper on her desk, her hands trembled, as she walked to the front, her legs weak beneath her, as she turned around, she felt her cheeks burn red. And she opened her mouth. No noise. Just a wordless dribble of choked sound. Someone sniggered, but most of all, she heard the deafening silence. For one hundred and eighty painful seconds. She tried a couple of times to get one word out, but when she failed, she gave up. It was a record for her; she had never made it to the front of the room. Yet, as the tear spilled over her eyelid, she didn’t feel like she’d achieved anything. When the teacher said that she could sit down, a few people slow clapped until the girl sagged into the faded plastic chair. And that is where she stayed, with her head cradled in her arms, tears pooling on the filthy desk.
As the class was dismissed she didn’t move, she didn’t dare to. The teacher slowly approached the broken girl, feebly patting her back.
“You can try again if you’d like…”
And with that, the woman’s loud heels took her out of the room.
