Millie

Chapter Thirty- Gifted

I had walked back into the school under a cloud. Wren had taken my day, and my excited anticipation to see her... and rained on it. I knew it would have surprised her to see Ruth, it did me too, but I never came at her in that same way with Ava at the party. I had been a little bothered by it, yes, but I hadn't used that tone with her that she had just used for me. We had to talk this through before it became a thing, because there should be no doubt for her that it's her I want. If there was doubt, I had to erase it. We needed to trust each other or this wouldn't work. Ruth had asked if I wanted to go out for dinner and catch up tonight, and I had politely declined and told her that I had a girlfriend. Wren and I didn't currently have a label, but she was absolutely my girlfriend in my head and my heart. She hadn't stopped being, not to me. It was a little blip. I shook it off and told myself that tonight it would all be cleared up, and we could finally start dating again.

When I made it to my office, there was a teachers slip on my desk waiting for me, a student skipped class. I sat down and lifted it to inspect, Olympia, of course. It was my job to let parents know when this occurred, so that we could work together with the child to make sure we could support them, and so that it didn't happen again.

I lifted the phone and dialled the Nomikos residence by heart. I didn't need her file out for this one.

"This is Harper" came her Mamas voice.

"Harper. Good afternoon, it's Millie" I replied.

"Millie, hey, how's it going?"

I leant back in my chair, and braced myself. I really didn't want to drop this on Harper right now, but rules were rules and this was my job.

"Good, but I'm ringing on a professional level, as Olympias school counsellor I'm afraid"

I can hear Harper sigh "what did she get up to on day one" she asked.

"She skipped final period" I inform her.

"Do I need to come in" Harper asked, sounding resound to the fact she would be back up here on the regular.

"No" I assure her " I'm gonna call Olympia into my office on Monday if that's okay, and see how we can combat this pattern of behaviour for the new school year"

"God speed with that one" Harper replied. "She's even got me praying again, before I go to sleep at night. I just want her to be okay. I worry about her taking this into her final years of high school, and her behaviour getting worse or slipping into the wrong group of people"

I nodded, I understood that worry, but Olympia's file, despite being meaty, wasn't serious. Olympia hadn't ever physically hurt anyone, she hadn't taken or sold drugs, and she wasn't a bully or a mean girl. Olympia's problem was that she was impulsive, and she did things without thinking them through, just because she wanted to. Her file was littered with talking back to teachers, taking classes off when she had felt like it, and being in the frame for a few spray painting incidents, that were never proven.

"She's not a bad kid, she just needs to think before she acts. I've looked at her file Harper, she's one of the highest graded students in her year. She's got a four point zero GPA despite missing a couple classes. I think Olympia may actually be...bored"

"Bored" Harper asks with surprise.

"Yes, I get the impression she is. She's finding it so easy to complete these classes that she's then finding trouble to entertain herself. The classes she skips correlate to the ones shes acing most easily. Olympia is gifted academically. I would suggest we discuss having Olympia skip a grade. If she is challenged, her motivation will no doubt increase and her focus be less class clown and more wanting to learn. Olympia in my opinion, should have skipped grades a couples years ago, and I'm sorry if it's been missed by my predecessor, but it's not too late to get her situated in twelfth grade from next week. Speak with Teddy, and Olympia about it over the weekend, and I can set up a meeting for myself and Olympia on Monday at nine, and then if you guys could come in perhaps for ten, we could get the ball rolling. No pressure, but most definitely my suggestion"