9

The day seemed to be endless and Ann caught herself staring at the clock for the fifth time in ten minutes. Normally there’d be the usual teasing and play fights to keep her busy, but the children seemed so much quieter today. It is as if they all have been influenced by that new kid, she thought. What am I thinking, Jamie’s not responsible for this, he’s new and probably a little scared of being around other children. I’ve dealt with that before, so there’s no reason why I can’t deal with it now. She tried to calm herself down, but somehow it just seemed to upset her more. Why was it that she let this kid get to her like that, after all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. As a matter of fact, he’d been perfectly behaved all day. He hadn’t cried or got in fights with other children, he hadn’t even complained about the food at lunch or about taking an afternoon nap. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, a child like Jamie’s a dream to work with, he’s perfect in every way. And that’s when it hit her…