Sindy Hunter
Planetoid
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2023
- Location
- UK
The front door of the house burst open and Becky Rogers stormed down the hallway. She entered the kitchen and threw her school bag into the corner of the room. A few seconds later her mother, Jasmin came through the front door and slammed it shut. She called out angrily after her daughter. “Becky! Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you!”. Jasmin walked into the kitchen and glared at Becky. “Well I hope you’re satisfied young lady! You’ve been warned repeatedly about your attitude and now you’ve got yourself expelled!”. Becky spun around to face her mother “It’s not my fault the teacher is an idiot. Everyone knows the country is the Netherlands, not Holland!”. Jasmin gave an exasperated look “Yes! But you don’t have to call him a moron in front of the entire class!”.
Jasmin switched on the electric kettle and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Becky started towards the kitchen door. “Not so fast.” said her mother “Sit down. We need to talk about what’s going on.”. Becky reluctantly sat down at the kitchen table. Jasmin sat opposite her daughter. “I know it’s been a difficult few months with the divorce, moving house and starting a new school. But I don’t understand the sudden change in your behaviour. You used to like going to school and always got good grades. What is it dear? What’s wrong?”. Becky sat silent for a moment. “Everything’s wrong! Dad’s gone, we had to move to this dump and the school is just full of idiots who just want to mess about all the time.”. Jasmin held Becky’s hand “I know it’s tough for you. but it’s been tough for me too. I need you to help out reorganising our lives. There are only another four weeks of school this year, which you will miss anyway because of your expulsion, and then six months next year. Then you can go to university.”. Becky looked at her mother, tears starting to form in her eyes. “I know, but I really do hate it.”. Jasmin sighed “If you carry on like this you are going to miss out on going to university. You might have to stay on at school.”. Becky frowned. “I talked with the headmaster. He said you need to turn things around before the start of next term.” explained Jasmin. Becky huffed. Jasmin pulled out a file from her handbag. “He has given me a syllabus he wants you to study before next term. You will be tested when you go back. If you fail he will be reluctant to take you back.”.
Becky bit her bottom lip, she started to understand the gravity of the situation. “So are you going to teach me?” she asked. Jasmin gave a stifled chuckle. “No, I don’t think that would work, do you? But I am willing to pay for a tutor.” Becky looked a little more interested. “Now you must understand that it’s not going to be easy to find the money, but I am willing to do this if you promise you will do your best”. Becky gave a smile, the first in some time. She saw an opportunity for things to go back to how they were, maybe she could persuade her mother to keep the tutor on and she wouldn’t have to go back to school. “OK Mom, I think that would be great and I promise to work hard”. Jasmin sighed in relief, it seemed they had found a solution to her daughter’s problems.
After their evening meal, Jasmin sat at her laptop computer and searched for tutors in their neighbourhood. After half an hour of reading several profiles, Jasmin found one that seemed to be perfect. The tutor was a man who lived in a nearby town. He specialised in the subjects Becky was most interested in; maths, english and art. Furthermore, he had been a lecturer at the university that Becky had wanted to attend. Jasmin composed an email, giving details of Becky’s circumstances and what they were looking to achieve. She clicked the send button and hoped this was the start of returning their lives to some sort of normality.