Seraph

60

The man smiled at the interaction between all.

"How do you think you did?" Esme asked Serafina.

"¡Creo que lo hice bien!" Serafina excitedly answered, smiling and earning smiles from both Rosalie and Esme.

The man stiffened at her words, and his smile faltered for only a moment, "You already graded young Miss Rosalie's? I can grade the other." He said, taking the test before Lynn could grab it. She frowned, "I'm sure both did well, Mrs. Cullen. I'll have her sibling escort Miss Rosalie while I grade this one."

"Are you sure you won't need me for anything else?" Esme asked worriedly.

"I don't mind waiting," Rosalie quickly volunteered.

"All the paperwork looks in order, Mrs. Cullen, but thank you! And as for you young lady, I must insist, it's better to be on time for your first class. It looks like you are alright to go to junior year. Ms. Lynn will notify your twin to pick you up to show you around." He smiled at the two.

Esme hugged and kissed both before leaving, much to Rosalie's embarrassment. Serafina didn't care. She hugged back. But she did feel a small sense of anxiety when Rosalie was going. Although small, it was still strong, Rosalie felt it and ran back to Serafina to hug her tightly, whispering in her ear how Serafina would be fine and Rosalie would be waiting for her in class because she was sure they would be together. Rosalie was confident in her scores.

The older man waited for them to leave before looking at Serafina, "You come with me to my office. I'll grade your test there." He smiled. He then gestured for the empty chair across from his own, "Take a seat Serafina," he said, reading her name from her placement test, "interesting name." He mumbled as he took a seat and began grading her test.

Serafina didn't know if she was supposed to respond to that. She smiled awkwardly and waited to hear which class she would attend. She nervously watched. She had seen the others grade her papers before and knew they were marked in red when errors occurred. This man was making a lot of red marks on her test. Maybe she thought it was easy because she was wrong? Her face dropped.

Mr. Simmons gave her a sympathetic look and sighed, "Look, I can tell you've been trying very hard. But I don't think you're ready to join your adoptive siblings just yet. It would be best to be placed in special education classes until you're caught up. But don't worry. We'll catch you up to your adoptive siblings in no time." He gave her a small smile.

"What are special education classes?" Serafina asked. She hadn't heard of those classes. Everyone at home was confident she could place into sophomore or junior year. But it didn't seem like this class was an option any of them had considered for her and, therefore, never explained to her.

"It's not a big deal. It just means you need a little more help," he explained, "I'll have a classmate escort you over. Just wait in the hallway for them to get you."

"Thank you," she said as she got up to leave.