Double-Edged Words

CHAPTER TEN

"This is getting ridiculous." Stomping my feet down the hallway, I searched for a spare table.

In a flurry of skirts and agitated gestures, Brigitte, Annie, and a couple of other maids scurried down the opposite side of the hall.

Going in and out of an empty room, Brigitte asked, "Do you see anything there?" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"No. No table. But I did find a dead roach." Annie's silvery voice rebounded inside another room.

Bridgitte stepped back from the door and slightly leaned forward as if ready to sprint. "Don't you dare!" she warned.

Ms. Rose's victorious yell stopped my fit of giggles. "I found one!" The sound of wood scraping against the granite floor came from the second floor.

Dashing up the stairs. I stumbled into my teacher, pulling a table out of a room. "Let me help you," I grabbed the opposite end. At the count of three, we lifted the table off the ground and crab-walked towards the stairs.

"Ok, now what?" Ms. Rose asked.

"Madam, wait a moment. We will get some of the guys working at the stables to help us out." Annie shouted from the bottom of the staircase.

"Don't worry. We can figure out how to bring this down by ourselves. Don't bother them."

"Madam, you're going to end up hurting yourself. Please, the guys can help." The maids begged.

"Let the guys come over to help. Because I, for one, am not fond of physical labor." Ms. Rose huffed. "That's one of the reasons I became a teacher." She added with a smirk.

⚜⚜⚜

The cool early spring air caressed my skin and ruffled my hair as we sat in the yard. Enveloped in the sun's warmth. I gazed at the thousands of small morning dew diamonds scattered through the grass as birds serenaded me with their melodious song. It's such a beautiful morning, I thought with a smile.

A muted thud came from the other side of the table. "Now, let's start with mathematics today." Ms. Rose placed another book in front of her. "Were you able to complete your worksheets?"

"Yes, ma'am." I handed her the worksheets.

"Good, and did you have difficulty understanding this section?" she asked while her eyes scanned the papers.

"Well, it was difficult. But I was able to push through."

"Ok, well, let's see how you did." After reviewing my answers, Ms. Rose set the papers on the table.

"Well?" I asked, inching forward in my seat.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. I'm such a failure." My back slumped, and in an attempt to hide the oncoming tears, I dropped my gaze to my lap.

"No, no. There's no shame in failing. We all fail a couple of times in life. What's important is to learn from them and keep going." She patted my back and added, "It's also important to know when to ask for help. I asked you yesterday if you needed me to explain this to you."

"I know, but we were so busy with the other subjects, and if I asked you to explain it to me, you would have been here till sundown. I would have inconvenienced you, and besides, I don't like to bother people. I'm used to figuring things out on my own."

"It's no bother, and we all need help from time to time." She shook my shoulder. "Now, come on, let's see what went wrong and try again."

The sun had risen to the middle of the sky when we had to carry our chairs back to the dining room for lunch.