Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 14

"Nicholas, I need to talk to you about something". Agatha had been waiting for Nicholas to finish his tutoring class because she wanted his full attention without him being rushed. Nicholas turned and saw her, and immediately cringed to himself. He was expecting this and had been avoiding Agatha. She was like a mother to him, and he knew she was going to reprimand him about the way Ella was being treated by some of the students. Imagine his shock when he found out that Ella had grown up under the care of Mother Christina and this was the same Christina that was very good friends with Agatha. They had met when Agatha had lived at the convent for a year as a young woman. Actually, when Nicholas was ten years old, he had visited Trobotdom with Agatha when Ella had been born, and he had even held Ella as a baby and played with her. He remembered the visit and Ella as well and was at the time mesmerized by her large blue eyes. He also remembered Father Poly, who had tutored him in math for the month that they were there. He was the one that helped Nicholas develop his love for mathematics and science. He also remembers a few years later, walking in when Agatha was on a phone call, and she was crying. When she got off the phone, she told him of Christian being killed in a car accident. He will never forget how devastated she was and how she cried for her friend Christina, because Christian was like a son to her.

She had Ella though and she was determined to protect Ella, no matter what. It is the "no matter what" part that Nicholas had come to have issue with. She had sheltered Ella to the point that her safety was at stake. Ella was so naive that he was afraid she may not understand when someone was a threat to her. Mother Christina wanted to prevent Ella from getting into a relationship like Christian had done. That is what inevitably had led to Ella being born, but in that, it had alerted the Warbotums that Christian was alive. They obviously knew about Ella too, so Christina had put her into hiding, only allowing her out on very few occasions. She also purposely withheld any proper education about sex, other than the most basic information that Ella had to know since she was a female. This was all done to keep Ella safe, or so that's what the mother had intended.

Now he was in a predicament. The girl was like a sitting duck in a school full of adolescent boys and men, who could be ruthless when it came to the opposite sex at times. He was put in a place of either having to abide by the mother's wishes for Ella to remain completely ignorant about the opposite sex or to explain things to her that he really didn't want to, because he didn't feel it was his place. He had to admit to himself, that he had neglected some of his own responsibility toward Ella. He had been told that there were some young men that were picking on her. He had done a little investigating and having determined it was nothing more than schoolboy nonsense, he had not addressed it as of yet, but he knew he needed to talk to them. Of course, if he were to see this for himself, he would not tolerate it at all, as he wouldn't for any of his students. He knew though, if it had been any other young woman, she would have been able to give back an equally offensive, snarky reply and put whatever boy in his place. It was different with Ella though, and he wasn't happy about being the one nominated to watch over her. He felt as though one of the female staff should be there to explain some of the prodding and teasing from these immature bullies. He was caught in the middle, and it made him even more angry... at Ella. So why did he feel such a tender spot in his heart for her? He had tried to cover it up with anger and by avoiding the entire situation, but it was not to be ignored. Why did she have to end up on this planet at his school? What are the odds?

"Nicholas, come here so we can speak. I know you know what I want to discuss. I also know you are avoiding me." Agatha had entered his classroom with the intention of cornering him.

"Nonsense Agatha. I have been very busy is all, but now I am at your disposal."

"Don't patronize me, young man! I know what I know, so don't argue with me"

"Yes ma'am." He sat down at his desk and for a moment, looked at her in anticipation of her starting the conversation, but she didn't speak.

"Well...shall we sit here, or would you like to go to my office or yours?" He was trying not to show his irritation.

"This is fine, right here."

She pulled a chair up closer to him and she began her spiel... "Now, as you know, because I told you, there are some boys that have been picking on Ella and I understand that you haven't spoken to them yet. I was told again today that those little troublemakers were giving her a hard time at lunch."

"Oh? What were they saying to her Agatha?"

"I'm not sure, but the other girls at the table were taking up for her. The boys just laughed at them all before finally leaving her alone."

"Well, maybe Ella needs to start taking up for herself? Maybe if she were the one to snap back at them, they would decide she wasn't such an easy target and maybe they would leave her alone. It is to her benefit that she learns to handle these types of situations on her own, Agatha, or she will never make it in the outside world. Or was Christina planning on keeping her shut up in the convent for the rest of her life? That will be difficult now that she has had a taste of reality. I can assure you, I have seen her with the other girls, and not all of her time is spent being heckled. I would venture to say she is having a good time.

"Nicholas Moustakas! Don't you speak about Mother Christina like that!" She was angry that Nicholas would insinuate that Christina had kept Ella in the convent out of selfishness. She knew her friend was only trying to protect Ella.

"She has done what she thought was best to keep Ella safe. You can't judge her. She is now seeing that it may not have been the best course of action to take. She was so hoping that Ella would want to become a sister and live at the convent, and not venture out. However, I guess you and I both know, that will most likely not be the case. I think Christina knows as well, and she is beside herself. She is terrified that the Warbrotums will find her. I don't know how to comfort my old friend. The least I can do, is promise to her that we are keeping Ella safe and not allowing any ill to befall her while she is here."

"I know Agatha." His words had softened, and he sounded understanding. He loved Agatha like a mother, and he hated seeing her upset as well. There weren't many that would have the nerve to speak to him the way Agatha could and get away with it. He held her in the highest regard and dared not disrespect her by backtalking to her, but he had to say what he just did. Ella would not be able to survive anywhere, other than the convent, without learning to deal with some difficult people and situations . That was actually the least of her issues with regards to protecting herself, both physically and emotionally. The truth was, Ella was going to have to toughen up some. "I will start taking all my meals at the same time as hers and I promise, I will keep a close watch out for her. I can't always be there to do that though. I think we may need to teach her that it is ok to fight back, so to speak. She has never had to deal with adversity, so she will have to learn. It is a skill that most people learn as they grow, but she has some catching up to do."