Breaking The Silence (standard:drama, 5825 words)
Author: Lori	Added: Nov 18 2008	Views/Reads: 3148/1983	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A teacher gives a student the courage to tell a secret by sharing one of her own.

Breaking the Silence 

Sherry Larson watched her children playing. They weren't hers
biologically, but felt she had given birth to each student which passed 
through her classroom. Sherry thought she had the greatest job on 
earth. She got paid to teach a subject she loved, played with the kids 
when it was time for recess, and still got home at a decent hour to 
spend time with her beautiful family. Sherry was on top of the world. 

“Mrs. Larson,” Feeling a tug on her pants, Sherry glanced down at little
Joanne Miller. 

“Yes, Joanne?” Sherry leaned down to eye level with the child and
smiled. “Did you need something? The bell is about to ring to go back 
inside. You might want to play until it does.” 

“Rebecca is in the bathroom and she won't come out.” Joanne walked off.
She had done her job of telling the teacher the problem, now she wanted 
to play. 

Sherry walked over to a fellow teacher on recess duty and asked her to
watch her class. Once inside, Sherry stood at the door to let her eyes 
adjust to the darkness of the hall after being outside in the sunlight. 
The students' bathroom was on the sides of the door; the right one was 
for the girls, the one on the left for the boys. Pushing open the door 
to the girls' restroom, she called out to the child. 

“Rebecca, are you in here?” No answer. 

Sherry didn't see the little girl at the sinks which was the first thing
you saw walking in. She looked under each stall until she found Rebecca 
in the last one. “Rebecca, did you have an accident?” 

It wasn't unknown for an eight-year-old to occasionally still wet their
pants. Sherry had never known Rebecca to do it, but there was a first 
time for everyone. 

“No, Ma'am.” Came the tearful reply. 

Sherry tried to open the door but found it locked. The students weren't
supposed to lock the door, but that didn't stop them from doing it. 
Sherry understood children were going to be children and excused the 
breaking of this rule. Everyone deserved a little privacy was her 
motto. 

“Can you open the door then?” Sherry stood back in case the door could
swing open instead of in. When it didn't after a few seconds, she tried 
a different tactic. “I need to see if you're okay, Rebecca. You know 
the rules about locking the doors. Could you please open the door for 
me?” 

“I don't want too.” Came another tearful answer. 

“Rebecca, I know you don't want to but you have to.” Sherry was getting
worried. 

Usually Rebecca didn't like to call attention to herself. She was an
“invisible one” as the other teachers called students who didn't fit 
into any mold. Sherry had tried to bring the little girl out of her 
shell before, but nothing she tried worked yet. She heard Rebecca 
unlock the door but not open it. “Are you going to come out?” 

“I don't want too.” Sherry laughed slightly at getting the same answer
twice. 

“Can I come in?” Sherry asked while pushing on the door. It really
didn't matter if Rebecca wanted her to or not, Sherry had to make sure 
she was okay. 

“NO!” Rebecca screamed and threw her little body against the door. It
wasn't much of a barricade. 

“Rebecca?” Sherry pushed open the door to see the little girl. “What's
the matter?” Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Sherry began to wonder 
what made the little girl close herself up in the bathroom. 


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