The making of a Luna

Chapter 13

Ashley

The morning was all fine and the first period worked out well for me and Ed. I was a bit shocked when after only twenty minutes of class the kids had their first short break. All the children got up, ran a lap around the school building and then came inside to continue the class. The teacher did this as well.

But then, halfway into English class, which was the second period, Ed had his first fit of rage. The children were told to read and answer a few questions in their workbook. Ed tried at first but then suddenly he threw the book across the room so it hit a girl in the back of her head.

The teacher loudly admonished him in front of the whole class, causing Ed to storm out. All of this happened so fast I didn't have time to react with more than running after Ed out of the classroom.

"Ed!" He was running through the halls at top speed and for some reason I wasn't even shocked at how fast he was. "Ed! Wait up! I'm not as fast as you." I called after him and he actually slowed down but slunk beneath a staircase to the second floor. I was panting when I finally reached him.

"Wow. You're really fast." I bent over to catch my breath and looked over at the ball of limbs beneath the stairs with a smile on my lips.

"He will kill me." Ed muttered and squeezed his arms around his legs tighter. I fell down on my hands and knees and crawled into the small space where Ed was hiding.

"This is a cool place." I smiled but Ed refused to look at me. "Who will kill you?" I asked with a soft voice.

"Freya's big brother."

"Freya was the girl who got the book on her head, right?" Ed nodded. "We can always apologize."

"It won't matter. Everyone will tell Thor and he will beat me."

What is this? Some nordic mythology theme on child names? I had to bite back a snort. I had a period just a few years back when I was obsessed with nordic mythology. It might have been because of Chris Hemsworth... But to seriously name my children after the nordic gods would have been too much, even for me.

"It will matter to her at least. Then I will be there to speak to her brother when he seeks you out. What do you say? Should we head back and talk to Freya?" Ed squirms slightly but then he nods his head and we crawl out from his little hiding place. "That is a cool hiding place you got. Do you always hide there?"

"I have a few others as well." He mutters.

"Can we have a deal that you show me your hiding places so that when you run off I can find you? You were so quick that I could hardly keep pace with you." Ed nods his head and I wrap my arm across his shoulders to give him a sideways hug. When we arrive back at the classroom his classmates are returning from another run.

"Freya!" I call softly and a little girl with sandy blond pigtails turns to look in our direction. When she sees Ed she crosses her arms over her chest and frowns deeply, but at least she stays to wait for us.

"Ed has something he wants to say to you." I tell her with a soft smile when we reach her. Ed shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot and I give him a small nudge.

"I'm sorry I threw the book at your head." He mutters at the ground and then he turns to run away again but I grab his arm to prevent him. Freya is quiet but her frown is not as deep now. For a few moments we are all silent, me and Ed waiting for Freya's decision and Freya silently contemplating if she should accept the apology.

"Okay. I forgive you. But Thor already knows." She says with a stubborn tilt of her chin.

"Can you talk to Thor?" I ask her and her shoulders slump slightly and it's her turn to shift uncomfortably.

"Um. He doesn't care. He only wants to beat Ed." I sigh and Freya looks at me with apologetic tears in her eyes. This is why I love kids so much. There is such a large heart and compassion in those small bodies.

"That's okay Freya. It's not your fault. I will speak to Thor when he comes to find Ed. Now I think it's best if we return to class before Mr. Clayton puts me in detention." I scrunch up my nose and give them a troubled expression. And when Freya giggles behind her hand Ed grins back at her.

I make a scene with quietly opening the door to inconspicuously peek inside. I turn back to the kids and hold my finger over my mouth to sign that they have to be silent and then usher them inside. Freya giggles silently as she sneaks across the room to her place by the window and me and Ed sneak to his place at the back.

The other children giggle as well because even though we sneak in like professional ninjas we are very hard to miss. Mr. Clayton stands silently in front of the board with a displeased frown.

I help Ed with reading the text and the questions in his work book. I write what he answers, word for word without altering the answer. I want to act like a tool, not an auto-correct. When class is over me and Ed are called forth to Mr. Clayton.

"You know you are not supposed to throw your books and run out of the classroom." He says angrily even before the whole class has left and a few boys snicker. I glare at them and they hurry out of the classroom.

"And you should not reprimand Ed in front of his classmates." I place my hands on my hips and glare at Mr. Clayton, who gives me a matching glare back.

"It is nothing new that the boy misbehaves."

"Ed did not misbehave." I put a lot of weight on Ed's name to indicate my displeasure with Mr. Clayton's reference to him. "Ed has trouble reading-" Mr. Clayton huffs and I clench my jaw in irritation.

"As I said, Ed has trouble reading and lost his patience when he tried. He did not mean to throw the book in Freya's head and he has apologized to her. Me and Ed are going to work out a way that will work for him to lessen the need for outbursts. Until I know Ed better and he feels completely at ease with me the outburst will continue. We can however make changes so that they will impact the rest of the class less." I take a pause to see if Mr. Clayton is even remotely interested in my thoughts on the matter.

"Go on, Miss Simmons." Mr. Clayton's voice is patronizing and his posture and glare tells me he does not think a little girl like me can possibly know a way to help Ed when he, an experienced male teacher, can't manage him.

"We can move Ed's seat as close to the door as possible and place his bench against the wall with his back towards the class."

"And how do you think he will participate in the lectures with his back to me?" I do my best to not roll my eyes at his narrow minded view.

"He will turn his chair to face you, of course." I give him a sweet smile. "But if Ed sits with his back to the class he won't be bothered by his classmates when he needs to work in his books. And if his seat is close to the door he won't need to run past his classmates when he leaves and it won't bother them as much." Mr. Clayton just glares at me and I sigh.

"Can we at least try it? What's the harm?" After a few tense minutes he gives a curt nod and I turn to Ed with a smile. "Come on. Let's move your bench."

"Let's hope for your sake that this will work, Miss Simmons." I smile at Mr. Clayton but he is already on his way out of the classroom. Instead I shrug at Ed and give him a smile. Then we get to work doing some minor rearrangement to the classroom.

***

Did you think Ashley managed to help Ed today? It seemed like Freya at least appreciated Ed's apology. Hopefully the changes and Ashley's presence will help Ed get along better with his classmates.

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