Chapter 12 Allie
ALLIE
Allie floated through the week, unable to stop thinking about that kiss.
But she stayed busy enough not to worry much about whether or not she should be thinking about it.
On Monday morning, she spoke with Principal Chittenden about the fact that she was seeing Maya’s father.
“I heard something about that,” the principal said.
“Please don’t take Maya out of my class,” Allie asked.
“As long as there are no issues, we can let things play out,” the principal said. “But Maya’s needs, and the needs of your other students come first.”
“Of course,” Allie had said. “I’m working with Maya to help her catch up.”
“I heard about that too,” the principal said. “I hope everything works out the way you want it to.”
Allie applied herself with all her heart to everything on her plate. Every evening, she worked on lesson plans or took calls with parents. And each morning, she came in half an hour early to work with Maya on fundamentals.
The little girl hadn’t gone to preschool, and Ash’s explanation about the teacher in the city focusing on Maya’s behavior over her learning made sense. Maya was behind her classmates in early reading and math skills, in addition to her struggling to keep still during lessons.
Yet Allie found herself looking forward to greeting Maya each morning before they slowly worked their way through Allie’s simple plan to help her with sounds, letters, and counting practice.
Maya had a lot of energy, but she was an eager student, and she clearly enjoyed having Allie’s attention all to herself. Allie was sure that Maya’s good attitude would help to catch her up to the other students before long.
They started each morning with Allie reading aloud and then asking Maya a few questions about what they had read.
Today, because it was Friday and since Ash was going to pick Maya up instead of having her go to the after-school program, they decided to do a second session during Allie’s lunch break.
“Are you really ready to do more work after a day of school?” Allie asked Maya as they sat at her desk just like they had in the morning.
“Yes,” Maya said happily.
“Let’s unpack your lunch then,” Allie told her. “And you can eat while I read to you.”
Maya dashed over to her backpack and pulled out an insulated lunch bag.
Allie was honestly curious about what Ash would have packed for the little girl.
He was still running his company remotely, so she figured it would be something easy, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or one of those prepared crackers-and-deli-meat boxes you could pick up at the grocery store.
She was impressed when Maya unpacked a container of yogurt and an apple, along with a baggie of carrot and celery sticks wrapped in a wet paper towel.
“That’s a nice, healthy lunch,” she told Maya.
“My daddy says it’s important to eat healthy things,” Maya said.
“What’s in your thermos?” Allie asked.
“Water,” Maya said, with an expression that told Allie she thought that was obvious.
It was a bit telling, but also good to know that Ash’s apparent comfort with marketing highly caffeinated, overly sugary beverages to the public didn’t extend to his own daughter.
“What are you going to read?” Maya asked as she carefully opened her yogurt container.
“This is one of my favorites,” Allie told her. “And it’s not from school. I brought this book from my house.”
She held up her beloved copy of The Little Engine that Could. Allie always thought that the drawings of the toys and the sweet little train were especially beautiful in this particular version of the book.
As she opened it up, Maya took a bite of her yogurt. But by the time she was a page or two in, the little girl was too engrossed in the story to eat.
“Did you like this one?” Allie asked Maya when she finished reading.
Maya nodded her head.
“What did you like about it?” Allie asked her.
“I like the dolls and toys,” Maya said. “And I like the engine being so strong, even though she was little.”
Allie smiled, there was a lot for a child to relate to in the book, whether they realized it or not.
“Was it hard for the little blue engine to pull the train up over the mountain?” Allie asked her.
“Yes,” Maya said.
“Why?” Allie asked.
“It was very heavy,” Maya told her. “It had lots of toys.”
“That’s very good, Maya,” Allie told her. “Why do you think she was able to get to the top?”
Maya frowned, deep in thought.
“Do you think she did it because she believed in herself?” Allie led her. “Because she said, I think I can.”
“Yes,” Maya said happily. “Yes, that’s why.”
“Do you believe in yourself, Maya?” Allie asked gently.
“I’m too little to go up a mountain,” Maya said, frowning again.
“Well, that’s a job for trains,” Allie said with a smile. “But do you believe you can do a great job in kindergarten and be a first grader one day?”
Maya nodded, but she didn’t look super convinced.
“I believe you can, and you will,” Allie told her. “You and I are going to work hard to make sure of it.”
That earned her a relieved-looking smile.
“Can I ask you one more question about this book?” Allie asked.
Maya nodded.
“Which toy would you choose, if you were going to get one toy from the train?” Allie asked.
Maya beamed at that idea and began paging through the book when Allie pushed it to her across the desk.
Allie smiled as she watched Maya carefully look through all the pictures. She was very sure Maya would be caught up to her peers in no time. But confidence was an important element for kids Maya’s age.
I’ll make sure she feels good about her progress, Allie told herself. We’ll celebrate it every day.
Maya pointed to the doll with two brown ponytails on the cover.
“That’s a very nice doll,” Allie told Maya. “Great choice. I have something for you, Maya, but it isn’t a doll, okay?”
“Okay,” Maya said, her eyes bright with curiosity.
Allie dug in her desk drawer for the little item she had picked up at the toy shop in town. Amidst the amazing dollhouses, sleds, and remote-control cars, there was a shelf of smaller items.
“It’s not real,” she told Maya as she held out a brightly colored foam cupcake. “It’s for squishing.”
Maya took it and slowly squeezed it in her small hand.
“That’s fun, isn’t it?” Allie asked her. “When I’m having a hard time concentrating, sometimes I like to have something in my hand to squeeze or play with.”
Maya squeezed the cupcake again, harder this time.
“Next week, you can bring that to school with you, and you can play with it even during lessons,” Allie told her. “If it helps.”
“Okay,” Maya said, eyes on the cupcake as she gave it another experimental squeeze. “I’m going to your house tonight. But you won’t be there.”
Allie’s “date night” with Ash was tonight, and her parents were going to watch Maya.
“Yes,” Allie agreed. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yes,” Maya said right away. “Do your parents have real cupcakes?”
“I’m sure they’ll have a nice dessert,” Allie said with a chuckle. “My dad has a sweet tooth. But I’m not sure it will be cupcakes.”
“That’s okay,” Maya said, smiling at Allie.
Allie smiled back at her, wishing all over again that somehow all this could be real.