What's Love?

Alex was excited about going to school.  Not that he liked school.  In fact he hated school.  He didn’t have any friends there.  No one seemed to like him or want to play with him.  He was excited because Madison was in his class again.  She had been in his class in Kindergarten.  She was cute in Kindergarten, but over the summer she had grown into a beautiful woman.  She was the prettiest and sweetest girl in first grade.  Every time Alex saw her, his mouth went dry and his knees wiggled like they were going to fall down.  He had to find a way to talk to her.

Alex jumped off the bus, skipping the two steps and causing the bus driver to yell at him.  He didn’t care.  He was determined to talk to Madison.  He marched into the classroom, making sure his lunch kit could be seen.  It was a man’s lunch kit just like his daddy’s—well, maybe a little small.  Alex wanted everyone to know that he was a man.  He may have been only six years old, but he was in love and that made him a man.  He walked up to Madison’s desk before he put his lunch kit away.  He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.  He tried again.  His mouth just hung open like a rusty hinge.  

“Get away from my desk.”  Madison yelled.

Once again Alex opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“Did you hear me?  I don’t want you standing by my desk.”  

Alex went behind her desk and pulled her chair out for her like he had seen in the movies.  He didn’t realize that Madison was starting to sit.  She fell on the floor.

“I told you to get away from me.  Now look what you’ve done.  Just get out of here.  No one likes you anyways.”

Alex walked slowly to his locker to put away his lunch kit.  He was disappointed in himself and surprised at Madison.  He couldn’t believe she had yelled at him.  She must not be feeling well today.

At recess Alex watched Madison run to the swings.  On the swing she moved her legs back and forth to make the swing go higher.  Alex decided to help her.  He ran behind the swing and waited for it to come down.  When it did, he put both hands on Madison’s back and pushed as hard as he could.  Madison went high up in the air, the swing didn’t.  Madison hit the ground hard.  Her head bobbed down to the ground and when it came up there was blood coming out of her forehead.

Alex ran to say he was sorry, but Madison pushed him down in the mud.  Then she ran off to tell the teacher.  By the time she got to the classroom, blood was all over her dress.  Mrs. Johnson started wiping the blood off Madison’s face.  Alex walked into the room to make certain Madison was alright.

“Alex, I’m surprised at you.  That was mean.”  Mrs. Johnson scolded.

Alex tried to explain, but Mrs. Johnson didn’t want to hear about it.

“Go to the restroom and clean yourself up.  I don’t blame Madison for pushing you in the mud.”

Alex went to the bathroom and washed the mud off of his hands and arms.  Then he started to cry. 

 Not because he was hurt, but because he had hurt Madison.  He didn’t want her to see him crying.  She might think he was baby.  So he stayed in the bathroom until he stopped.  

When he walked back to the classroom, all the other students had come in from recess.  Madison’s mom was there too.  She looked at him in a mean way that scared Alex.  He walked up to her, but she turned away before he could speak.  Not that he could have spoken anyway.  Why did Madison make him so shy?

Madison’s mom took her to the doctor to get her cut fixed.  The room was kind of quiet after she left.  The other kids didn’t talk to Alex for the rest of the day.

The next morning Madison came back to school with a bandage on her head.  The doctor had put stitches in her head and covered it with gauze.  

“Madison, does your head hurt?”

“What do you care?  It’s your fault.  My daddy told me that if you touched me again, I’m supposed to hit you in the nose with my fist.  Get away from me or I’ll do what my daddy said.”

Alex sadly walked back to his desk.  He watched Madison all day to see if she needed anything.  When it was time for recess, Madison had to stay on the sidewalk so her cut wouldn’t come open again.  Alex decided to stay with her.  

“Hi Madison.  I’ll stay with you so you won’t get lonely.”  He told her.

“I think I’d rather be lonely.  Every time you are around something bad happens.”

“That’s not true.”  Alex said, but with not very much conviction.  It kind of was true.  He didn’t mean for these things to happen.  They just sort of happened before he could stop them.

“Just be quiet.”

“I’ll share me gum with you.”  He took it out of his mouth to give to her, but she turned her head.  Her ponytail hit his hand and the gum got stuck in her hair.  

“Now look what you’ve done.” Madison yelled.  “I told you to go away and leave me alone.  I don’t want you to stand by me.”

“Madison.”

“Just leave me alone.”  She yelled as she went into the school to tell the teacher what Alex did.

Alex went back to the restroom—to cry again.

After a while the principal came into the restroom.  “What’s the problem?”  Mr. Watson asked.

“Nobody likes me.  I don’t have any friends and most of all Madison hates me.”

“Well I’m sure it can’t be as bad as you say.  Let’s talk about it.  Nobody likes you?”

“No, nobody.”

“You see that’s not true.  I like you.  The important question is do you like yourself?

“Not really.” Alex answered.

“That’s the most important thing.  If you don’t like yourself, how can anyone else like you?  Tell me something good about you.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“What do you do well?”  Mr. Watson asked.

“Nothing.”

“That’s not true.   Everyone does something well.  Do you obey your parents?”

“Yes, most of the time.”

“Well that’s good.  Most children don’t obey their parents.”

“I clean my room sometimes.” Alex said.

“That’s good.  Did you push Madison?”

“Well I kind of did and I kind of didn’t.”

“What do you mean?”  Mr. Watson asked in his principal voice.

 “I was trying to help her go higher and she let go of the swing.  I didn’t mean for her to fall.”

“You were trying to help her?  That’s good.”

“I didn’t mean to put gum in her hair either.  I was trying to share my gum and she turned her head.”

“Sharing is good.”

“One time my sister was crying and I hugged her.”

“Caring is good.  It sounds to me like you do a lot of things well.  There are lots of things to like about Alex.  Now do you feel better?”

“Yes, I do.”  Alex walked back into the classroom.  He smiled at Roger.  Roger looked at him strangely.  Alex walked toward his desk.  Emily dropped her book and Alex stopped to pick it up for her.  She looked at him funny. 

Alex began being nice to everyone.  That afternoon Brandon invited Alex to play ball.  They both had fun.  Roger invited Alex to his house to watch cartoons.  Suddenly Alex was getting a lot of invitations to play with other children.  They were beginning to like Alex.  By the end of the week, the whole class liked Alex.  Well, not the whole class.  Madison still didn’t like him, but that was alright because Alex liked himself.  That was the most important thing.

Fiction Friday-Just Visiting

Just Visiting

Betty was sleeping in her recliner when she heard the sound.  She stirred slightly, not awake but not asleep either. It was a familiar sound yet she couldn’t identify it in her dazed condition.  Just as she was drifting back into a peaceful slumber, she heard the noise again. 

Wide awake now, she looked around the room to find the source of the racket.  When she saw it, she was shocked that she hadn’t been able to identify it sooner.  Walter, her husband of fifty-two years, was rocking back and forth in the old rocker.  Betty saw his mouth move, but couldn’t understand what he said.  The loud creak of the rocking chair, which they had received as a wedding gift, made conversation difficult.  He stopped rocking so she could hear him.

Walter smiled, “Good morning, sleepy-head.  I was afraid you’d sleep all day.”

“Walter?”

“Yes, dear.”

“What are you doing here?  What do you want?”

“I just wanted to visit with you.  It’s been a long time since we’ve talked.  How have you been?”

“I’m fine.  I have good days and bad days.  How are you?”

“I’m great.  All of my days are good.  I haven’t had a bad day in six months.”  Walter was clearly excited.  “I feel great.  I walk all day long, just visiting with one person then another.  I can always find someone to talk to, you know?”

“How well I remember.  You were always the first one to arrive at church and the last one to leave.  I used to get so mad at you for holding up dinner.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”  He chuckled.  It had never bothered him when she would get angry about one of his habits.  He was who he was and didn’t plan to change.  He always reasoned that he had been behaving that way longer than she had been getting upset about it; so it was easier for her to change.  Every once in a while, he’d feel a little guilty about not trying to change.  Then he’d remember that he was that way before they met.  He rationalized, She knew that when she married me.  With that justifying statement, he continued the habit and secretly enjoyed watching his beautiful wife turn three shades of red as she tried to keep her temper in check.

“No, I’d gladly worry about it again if you were here.”

“I know, Sweetheart.  I’d love to see you happy, but I just don’t want to come back.  You’ll understand when you get there.  You wouldn’t want to come back either.”

“Do you miss me?”

“No, Darling.  I’m afraid not.”

Betty couldn’t keep the tears from falling.  She had been sure he was missing her as much as she was missing him.  Now he stood before her saying that wasn’t true.

“Please don’t cry, Sweetheart.  I love you, but I don’t miss you.  I have to leave soon.  Let’s don’t spoil what little time we have together with tears.”

“I’m sorry.  I just miss you so much.”

“Is that why you are sleeping in the recliner?”  Walter asked tenderly.

“Yes.  I haven’t slept in our bed since you left.  When I go in the bedroom I just see a huge, ugly platform.  I just can’t sleep there.  I did try, but I kept reaching for you.  The pillows weren’t comfortable, so I bought new ones.  That didn’t help.  I finally realized what was wrong.  I had laid my head on your should before falling asleep every night for fifty-two years.  They don’t make a pillow as comfortable as your shoulder.  Did you really have to leave me?”

“Yes, Darling.  I stayed as long as I could, but finally the pain was more than I could stand.”

“The doctor was giving you pain pills.”

“The pills were only easing the pain.  They didn’t kill it.  Please don’t begrudge me the opportunity to be pain free and happy.”

“I don’t.  I’m sorry if I sound as if I do.  I’m just being selfish.  It isn’t easy being alone.”  Betty heard the whine in her voice, but couldn’t help feeling sorry for herself.

“I know.  You won’t be alone for very long.  Soon you’ll come with me and we’ll be able to visit for all eternity.”

“Is that why you’re here?  Can I go with you today?”

“Not today, but soon.  When you come, I’ll be waiting at the gate for you.”

“How will you know I’m coming?”  Betty asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ll know.”

The unexpected ringing of the telephone prevented her from asking more questions.  “Hello?”  She answered.

“Hi, Mom.  What are you doing today?”

“Oh I was just visiting with your dad.”  The silence was deafening.  “Alisha?  Are you there?”

“Mom, Dad has been dead for six months.”

“Do you really think I don’t know that?  In case you don’t remember, I’m the one that wakes up every morning without him.  He may have died six months ago, but he is sitting in my rocking chair today.”

As if to verify her statement, Betty turned toward the old rocking chair.  It was perfectly still and empty.  She quickly looked around the room.  “Walter?  Walter?  Where are you?”  With fresh tears, she said, “He was here, Alisha.  I know he was here.  I saw him.”

“When did you see him?”

“When I woke up this morning.”

“I think you were dreaming, Mom.”

“I know the difference in reality and a dream, Missy.”  Betty snapped.

Alisha cringed as she heard the name.  It was used to express her mother’s displeasure with her.  She had heard it often growing up.  Alisha couldn’t decide if she upset her mother often or her mother was always upset and funneled it Alisha’s way.

“Calm down, Mom.  I’m sure you believe you saw Dad, but I’ve never heard of someone coming back from the dead.”

“Well I don’t care.  He was here.”

“Have you been feeling alright?”

“Oh, good one, Alisha.  Like I don’t know what you’re trying to say.  I’m not crazy.  I talked to your dad everyday for fifty-two years and I don’t plan to stop now.”

“I don’t want you to stop talking to him.  I just want to make sure you know that he wasn’t really there today.”

“He was here and you are not going to get me to admit otherwise.”  Betty’s voice was at a level and pitch that clearly showed her frustration.

“Fine, Mom.  Just please don’t tell anyone that Dad came to see you today.”

“I’ll think about it.”  Betty snapped as she hung up without saying goodbye.  She loved her daughter, but there were times when they butted heads.  Usually during those times neither was willing to back down.  Walter had intervened many times when Alisha was growing up. 

Betty went back to her recliner.  “Walter?” She called softly.  “Walter, please come back.  I need you so much.  I don’t want to live without you.”  Again the tears started and couldn’t be stopped.  He had been the love of her life.  She had married him right out of high school and had never considered loving anyone else.  Every decision she had made for the last fifty-two years had been with his happiness in mind. The thought of facing another day without him was unbearable.  Eventually Betty fell asleep. 

Alisha began to feel guilty for the way she had talked to her mother.  She thought about it for a while and decided she owed her mother an apology.  With a heavy heart and filled with anxiety, Alisha dialed her mother’s phone number.  This time there was no answer.  After several calls, she drove to Betty’s house.  As she walked in the front door, she saw her mother sleeping in the recliner.  Irritated that her mother hadn’t gotten up to answer the phone, Alisha walked over to wake her up. 

“Mom.  Mom, wake up.  When are you going to learn you have to answer the phone?  I worry when you don’t answer my calls.  Mom?  Mother?”

Betty didn’t wake up.  She didn’t move.  She had gone to be with Walter, her husband, lover, friend, and reason for living.

Fiction Friday-Year 2345

Fiction Friday

Year 2345

“Michael, get up.  You’re going to be late for school.”  Regina called.

“Coming Mom.”  It was the answer Regina wanted to hear, but she saw no evidence of her son’s appearance in the kitchen where he should have been ten minutes ago.

Michael entered the room in his blue coveralls.  They matched his mother’s and father’s.  In fact, they matched the residents of everyone in the city.  The President and Congressmen had gotten tired of the school shootings stemming from jealousy and decided to get rid of it all together.  They drew up the pattern and had one piece coveralls made for everyone in the country.  Color was assigned by city.  It was required attire and one had no choice about what to wear.  At one time, it seemed like a good idea.  It eliminated jealousy and the need to waste time in the morning deciding what to wear.  It also made everyone equal.  There was no long any rich or poor.  It was just people in their blue coveralls or whatever color they were assigned.

“Look in the compartment and see what the cooks sent for your breakfast.”  Regina told her son.

Michael went over to the wall of compartments.  It looked like a wall of small cabinets stacked on top of each other.  For each meal, the cooks decided what everyone in the city would eat.  They would cook enough for each citizen and then deliver the meals.  That saved the citizens time shopping and cooking.  It also made sure that each citizen got the nutrition he or she needed.  Furthermore no one ate more than their fair share.  Obesity had been eradicated using this method. Diabetes and high blood pressure were considered extinct diseases. 

After Michael ate his allotted banana and bowl of oatmeal, he gathered his books, shook hands with his mother, and rode his hover scooter to school.  Kissing had been outlawed years ago when research showed that emotional ties made people weak and unable to use logic when making decisions.  Michael longed for more affection from his mother.  He didn’t know exactly what a kiss was, but he had read about it.  His thoughts were that a mother and child ought to have more affection for each other than they did their neighbors.

His hover scooter was white with a blue stripe down the side, just like everyone else’s.  A hover scooter was a machine that had a flat platform on which to stand, a steering post and handles to guide it.  It rode on a stream of jet air.  There were no trees left, so an alternative to tires had to be developed.  The hover scooter was the answer.

Michael parked his hover scooter in his assigned parking place and went to his classroom.  He opened his assigned computer and received his lessons for the day.  Students were expected to complete the assignments on their own and then report for volunteer duty.  They worked alongside the regular workers and received credit for volunteer hours which was applied to their education requirements.  There were no grades in the educational system.  There was a set of criteria to be achieved by each student no matter how long it took.  Upon completion of the criteria, they were ‘graduated’ to the workforce.  During the classroom time, students were not allowed to socialize.  There was no talking in school.

 
Even though there was no human teacher in the room, there was a monitoring system observed by the principal.  Students caught breaking the rules lost some of their credits, which lengthened the amount of time they remained in the educational system.

Michael completed his daily assignment and then went to his assigned volunteer duty.  His duty was mixing concrete used in all building projects.  He worked beside ol’ Jim.  Michael thought Jim had been there since the year 2000.  He knew that couldn’t be true, but sometimes Jim moved slow enough to be that old. Today was one of those days.  Michael arrived to see steam coming from one the pumps.  He ran to the pump and saw that Jim had closed the wrong valve.  Instead of the concrete being pumped out to the site that needed it, it was going back against itself.  The concrete under pressure was getting hotter and hotter.   If Michael hadn’t come when he did, the entire plant could have blown up.

“Hey Jim.  Didn’t you see the steam coming out of the pump?”

“Yeah.  I was going to get it if you hadn’t stepped in and took over like you know everything.  You know I hate that.”

“Jim, I don’t know everything and don’t want to get in the way of you doing your job.  But if that pump gets too hot, it will blow up and you could be killed in the process.”

“Then there’d be one less mouth to feed.  Wouldn’t that be horrible?”  Jim said sarcastically.

“Jim, what’s gotten in to you lately?  You don’t seem to be yourself.”

“I’ve been doing some reading and been pretty surprised at what I learned.”

“What’s that?”

“I learned there was a time when people made their own choices about what they wanted to do with their lives.”

“Are you sure about that?  That sounds a little scary to me.”

“Well up until a hundred years ago, that’s exactly what they did.  A man or woman could be anything they wanted to be, eat anything they wanted, and wear whatever clothes they wanted.”

“Really?  What happened?”

“A lot of people became irresponsible with their decisions.  Some chose to eat poorly.  Some even chose not to work.”

“Not work?  How did they get their supplies?”  Michael asked, astounded at the information.

“They just stayed home and the government sent them money.”

“Well that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Except the government didn’t give them enough to live on.  They gave just enough to get by on. Even though everyone had choices, these people had fewer choices because they didn’t work.”

“So what happened?”

“The government decided to stop giving people the option of not working.  That’s why everyone is assigned a job and gets their needs met by the government.  In some ways this is a better system, but in others—I’m not so sure.”

“Which system would you rather live under?”

“I’m not sure.  I see advantages and flaws in both systems.  What do you think?”

What DO YOU think?  Please leave me a comment.  If you do not want it published, I will delete it after reading.

 

Fiction Friday--Pardigm Shift

Fiction Friday

Paradigm Shift 

The GED class at The Hope Pregnancy Center was going well.  Students were coming on a regular schedule and working hard while they were there.  Class was almost over when Brittany walked in. 

“May I help you?”  Miss Carolyn asked.

“I’m here to sign my boyfriend up for the GED class.” 

“Does he know it?” Miss Carolyn asked with a chuckle in her voice.

“Yes, he sent me up here.  He took the practice GED test and tested at 5^th grade.”

“Why didn’t he finish school?”

“Because he moved here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well he used to live somewhere else and he was going down the wrong path so I made him move here.  I wanted to get him away from his friends who were leading him in the wrong direction.”

Fear gripped Miss Carolyn’s heart.  She was committed to helping these young people be successful.  For a better understanding, she had taken the GED practice test and knew there was no way someone with a 5^th grade reading level could pass the test.  If one adds in a little attitude, it was even harder.  After visiting with Brittany further, she learned that Charles had been given accommodations in school to help him pass his classes. 

“As long as you read it to him, he can tell you the answer.”  Brittany explained.  “He just can’t read it himself.”

“I wonder if accommodations are available for the GED.”  Miss Carolyn asked.  “I’m going to find out.

Through some research, she learned that there were accommodations for the General Education Diploma test upon request.  The test could be read to him.  Oh great, Carolyn thought.   Another one that will get tired of me reading to him while practicing and storm out the door.   In her career as a Special Education teacher, she had run across this often.  The student would start out excited and willing to ‘do anything’ and then frustration would set in and he left feeling defeated and worthless.  She certainly wasn’t looking forward to working with this boy.

When she told the receptionist that Charles was coming in and she would read the test to him, Miss Jackie was shocked.  “Charles can’t read?  That surprises me.  He has never shown any indication that he can’t read.  You should see him in the parenting classes.  He participates more than the mothers do.  He really takes care of that baby.  When Brittany came home from the hospital, she didn’t have to do anything.  Charles took care of her and the baby.  You are going to love him.  I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

Miss Carolyn smiled sweetly at Miss Jackie.  Apparently Miss Jackie likes this kid.  We’ll see.

Two hours later, Charles walked into Miss Carolyn’s classroom.  The first thing she noticed was the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.  Then she looked at the baby he held in his arms and saw the same eyes.  Charles stuck his hand out and introduced himself.  He was tall, well built, confident, and polite.  At least he has that going for him.  Miss Carolyn thought. 

“I wanted to come and talk to you.”  Charles said.  “But I don’t want to take that practice test today.  I want to practice at home with just Brittany watching me.”

“That’s fine.”  Miss Carolyn reassured him.  “You don’t have to worry about working with me.  I want you to be comfortable and I won’t ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

Brittany took the baby to another room, leaving Charles and Miss Carolyn alone.

During the next two hours Miss Carolyn visited with Charles.  He was an eighteen-year-old boy who had chosen to grow up fast when his girlfriend became pregnant.  There had been no male role model in his life and he didn’t want his daughter growing up the same way.  He wanted a GED so he could get a better job.  He assured Miss Carolyn several times that he would not quite.  He was determined to make a life for his girlfriend and the child he adored. 

“When we were at the doctor’s office the other day, I read two chapters of the Bible to Brittany.  I am determined to read that book, no matter how long it takes.  Do you have any other books I can read?   I didn’t want to read when I was in school.  Now I’m really trying to get into reading.  I know that some of my problem in school was because I just didn’t want to do it.  But now I have Brittany and Emily to care for.  I’ve got to have a good job to support them, so I need to learn to read.  Do you have any books that would help me?”

Miss Carolyn’s heart went out to this boy/man who was trying so hard to be the caretaker he needed to be for the girl and baby he loved.  “I don’t have any books that I think would be interesting to you.  Let’s look on the internet and find some things for you to read.”

“Thank you.  I really appreciate your help.”

“You are welcome.  Now let me send some links to your email so you can read at home.”

Brittany and Emily came back in the room.  Immediately Charles noticed that Emily had a band-aid on her thumb.  “What happened to her?”

“She got a paper cut playing with a book.  She didn’t even cry.  We just noticed the blood and saw the cut.”  Brittany explained.

Charles took his baby’s hand in his own and brought it gently to his mouth.  After several kisses on the boo-boo he let go of her hand.  It was obvious to Miss Carolyn that everything Miss Jackie had said about this boy was true.  He truly loved that baby.

On the drive home Miss Carolyn couldn’t get Charles out of her mind.  He was not at all what she had expected.  He was polite and personable.  He was more responsible for his baby than most men twice his age.  He was truly a good kid who had gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd.  Lucky for him, Brittany had loved him enough to intervene.  When he spoke it was obvious that he was intelligent.  Miss Carolyn noticed dyslexia tenancies as they talked.  She asked him about it and he admitted that he had been in a dyslexia program.  With that discovery, Miss Carolyn had more faith in his ability to master the GED test.  Experience had taught her that people with dyslexia are very intelligent.  Their brains just process written language in a different way.  If someone reads the material to them, they can learn it.

Over the weekend, Miss Carolyn told her husband about Charles.  “Well can you get him some books that he could read?”  Dwight asked.

“We would need to go to a large bookstore.  Most bookstores don’t carry those books.”

“There are special books?”

“Yes, they are called Hi-Lo books.  It stands for High Interest/Low Readability.”

“Well let’s go get some.”

They made a special trip to a large bookstore where Miss Carolyn spent almost an hour selecting books for Charles.  It was difficult to find books that he could read, but weren’t written for children.  Finally, books in tow, they left the bookstore.

The following week, Miss Carolyn sent Charles a message by way of email that she needed to see him.  He made arrangements with his boss to leave work early to see Miss Carolyn.  When he walked in the classroom, he had a quizzical look on his face.  “Did you want to see me?  Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. I have something for you.”  She brought out the books.  One by one she showed him the books.  They discussed each one.  “This one is called Treasure Island.  It is a classic. You are going to love it.”  Then she showed him two other books.  Finally, she looked at him and said, “I saw this one on the way out of the store and I couldn’t leave without it.”  She reached in the bag and pulled out a book called My First Book.  “This one is for Emily, but I want you to read it to her.  Research shows that children who are read to by their parents do better in school.”

The tears in his eyes showed his feelings.  “Thank you for getting these books for me.  Most of all, thank you for getting that book for Emily.  My parents didn’t read to me and I had a hard time in school.  I don’t want Emily to have a hard time.  I want her to be smart like Brittany.  I’ll do anything I can to help her.”

Over the next two months Charles and Miss Carolyn worked hard to help him achieve success on the GED.  After he received his diploma, he began applying for better jobs.  He was a good worker and it didn’t take long for him to land a job.  After a while, he and Brittany married and moved to a larger apartment.

It has been five years since Miss Carolyn taught Charles that with a little change in thinking, he could accomplish anything.  Or did Charles teach Miss Carolyn?