Читать книгу Unwanted child - - Страница 6

It was the 18th of February, 746. Theodore's birthday. Of all the classmates studying at the CEC with him, he was the third oldest. Therefore, studying in his second year, he was already five years old. While many of the other kids were only four. On the one hand, he looked a bit bigger and older than the others, because he had finally started eating a lot of food, several times a day, and had gained a decent amount of weight. On the other hand, Ted was somewhat behind in intellectual development from the overwhelming majority of children due to the fact that in home conditions he was mostly left to himself, both before and after the CEC. Therefore, there was no consolidation of the knowledge the boy had learnt. That is why he was considered to be an average child with no predispositions to any knowledge.

Of course, Theodore had already learnt to read children's literature, specially selected by the tutors to suit his age, although his reading speed was almost the slowest in the course. He was also writing a little, although his handwriting was hard to recognise. Even though the CEC taught him to write in block letters, some of them, such as ‘G’, ‘W’ or ‘Z’, he could not reproduce on a piece of paper. In drawing classes he made some progress, but only in relation to his previous works. Such as ‘Family’, ‘Future Work’ and ‘Nature’. Now his drawings did not consist only in painting a rectangular sheet of paper in one colour. The boy learnt to draw little people, clouds, sun, moon, car and other simple associative images made up of simple lines and dots. It was difficult to call it masterpieces of children's painting, but in the attitude of the pupil himself obvious progress was present.

Theodore did not do well with dancing and singing. It even got to the point that the boy absolutely refused to participate in everything that was connected with these lessons and the teachers had to transfer him to another group for a while during the singing and dancing lessons. The obvious advantage was that Ted had an additional opportunity to socialise with other children while learning with other groups. Thus, he became more liberated and outgoing. Sometimes even too much so. In terms of communication, there was a feeling that he had no equal. The boy changed in front of my eyes, compared to how he came to the walls of this educational centre stiff and silent. And by the way, communication skills were one of the additional characteristics for admission to the school. That certainly added one point to Theodore's score.

As for other classroom activities, the preschooler did not have any high successes there. He was not uninterested in many of them, but he was not particularly fond of them either. Something he did something, for example, modelling from plasticine, and something – just to do. For example, in the lessons of constructor, the boy did not try to build some construction. But some of them turned out really unusual for their age structures. Ted most often chaotically picked up parts and connected them by putting them on top of each other. In the end, the result was a mess.

But what the second-year student was definitely addicted to was sports activities. He was one of the first to find a common language with the coach in the shortest possible time and understood exactly what he required from him. Despite the fact that fiddling with a football at the end of the lesson had a competitive effect, which added enthusiasm to the young pupil, Ted had no love for this sport. He behaved peculiarly on the court, and most often played not according to the rules, despite the large number of warnings and remarks from the coach and Mrs Donova. During the game, the boy always tried to be the first on the ball, forcefully pushing away his opponents and teammates. Yes, it still didn't look like a full-fledged football game, but the coach tried his best to instil the basic rules of football in the preschoolers. He explained to them how to act on the court is possible, and how categorically forbidden.

The situation was different for the boy when it came to playing in the red circle, which was in the centre of the sports hall. In order to instil in the pupils such useful qualities as perseverance, fighting to the very end, and endurance, there was a children's game that allowed to show and develop these strong-willed character traits. It consisted of the following:

The group was divided into three subgroups, each with an equal number of people, plus/minus one additional participant if the children could not be equally divided. Each member of the subgroup stood on the outline of the red circle in any free place and stayed there until the coach's signal, which was accompanied by a whistle or a loud clap of hands. After receiving this signal, the competition began. It consisted in keeping only one of its participants in the centre of the red circle. The permitted techniques were thrusts and arm grabs, with the help of which one could push his opponents out of the designated area. The circle was quite large and occupied almost 1/3 of the site, if we take into account its total internal area. Therefore, there was enough space for all the contestants. After the player's body completely left the red circle, the child was considered a loser and dropped out of the game. When trying to return and continue the competition, the coach or tutor would calm the child and explain to him that the game was over for him, so he had to wait until it was over so as not to disturb the other players.

Today, on Theodore's birthday, it happened to be the second day of physical education. It would be followed by a couple more classes, and then in the dining room Ted would have a little surprise prepared by Mrs Donova in honour of his birthday. In the meantime, the boy was focused on the upcoming competition, which had already become a routine for him. Theodore was most looking forward to this particular game, in which he outclassed everyone in strength and perseverance.

Ted's subgroup of three boys and two girls took their place around the red circle. Each of the children prepared in their own way for the start of the contest. Some simply stood erect, others bent forward a little and redistributed most of their weight onto their supporting leg. One of the girls looked around unhappily, clearly not understanding the meaning of the game and not really wanting to participate. Despite her very ordinary origin, she looked and behaved like a real princess. Therefore, she was extremely capricious and disobedient. She never did what she did not want to do at the moment, which many times upset her tutor, who tried hard to instil in her the desire and interest in various kinds of activities.

As soon as the coach's whistle sounded, simultaneously acting as an incorruptible and fair referee, the four boys (including Ted) rushed from their seats into the centre of the circle, simultaneously pushing and trying to pull each other by the arms beyond the permitted playing space. Only one girl remained standing in one place, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away contemptuously. Her teacher jumped up to her, offering her to join the common game, telling and explaining on her fingers how much fun she would have. The princess, however, would not listen. She turned her back to Mrs Donova and headed in the opposite direction, snorting her nose and rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, the confrontation on the court continued and tension was building. No one wanted to lose, but they were stretched to the limit. Ted stood exactly in the centre of the circle, holding the hand of the two boys on either side of him. Each of them was trying to pull the boy towards him, so that he would leave the place of the unqualified winner. From afar it looked as if they were about to tear him in two. But they were not strong enough to do that, and Theodore himself was much stronger than they were. Ted knelt down, continuing to hold back his opponents and forcing them to do the same to him. At the moment, he felt a pull both to one side and the other from himself. Suddenly, something happened that neither of them expected. Ted seized the hand of the boy in front of him and began to pull him towards him. The result was an irresistible force that he could not resist. All three moved from their seats. The boy who was behind Ted was outside the circle and instantly became a loser. Theodore himself fell on his back, lying half inside and half outside the circle. And the boy who had been standing in front of him, thanks to the power of the joint pull, left the playing field, doing a couple of somersaults, like a brave acrobat. Thus there remained two contenders for victory. Theodore and another girl, whom he had completely forgotten about, concentrating on the stern male rivalry.

Satisfied but tired, the boy began to rise, looking at the spectators, coach and tutor sitting opposite him. Many of them started waving their hands and actively showing something. The little wrestler caught himself thinking that he had won, and that he would soon be facing the finals, including himself and the two other winners of the other subgroups. Suddenly Theodore felt a nudge directed at his back, which was enough to throw the boy off balance once again and cross this contestant's name off the list of future finalists. With an extremely surprised expression on his face, which was made even more comical by his wide-open mouth, which had taken the shape of an oval, and the scream he emitted from surprise, the kid flopped down on the soft rubber surface that cushioned his fall.

The coach loudly announced the winner of the current contest. Theodore fell over on his back and looked at the girl who had pushed him out with flapping eyes. She was jumping with joy on the spot and smiling, waving her little hand at him in a friendly manner.

– Lucy, let's go! You won! Wow, look at that…’ her friend said, walking over to the finalist and taking her hand. The two of them disappeared behind the backs of the children sitting on the floor. Ted continued to sit on the floor looking around. Mr Petrie came over to him and helped him up, saying: ‘It's all right Theodore. Losing happens. You can't win all the time. It's normal. Don't worry!’

For the rest of practice, Ted sat and watched the finals along with the rest of the eliminated boys. There were two boys in the finals and Lucy, who had somehow miraculously made it in because all the contestants had forgotten about her at the time of the fight. However, now that there was no crush in the circle and everyone could see each other well and clearly, there was no one to hide behind. The two boys quickly enough pushed the weak Lucy outside the circle and continued their confrontation. The coach helped her up and patted her on the head, praising her for her persistence and courage. The girl returned to the others, not feeling sad about the victory that had eluded her. Inwardly, she was proud of herself for just being in the finals for the first time in a while, and that was enough for her.

There was not much time left before the end of the class, but it had been calculated in advance by the trainer and the CEC teacher. Mrs Donova's assistants flew into the hall with quick seven-mile steps and began to prepare the washbasins for boys and girls. They were tall square folding screens with small entrances on one side and were placed at different ends of the gym. Each of the assistants sat down on a stool inside, taking with them antibacterial disposable baby wipes to wipe each child thoroughly after sports activities. They also had with them several sets of clean white clothes in the form of T-shirts and shorts to change the kids. There were exactly as many sets of clothes as there were children in each group. Improvised changing rooms, aka washrooms, for girls and boys were ready. The coach and the tutor lined up the children in two rows, according to their gender. Washing and changing clothes took some time, so in order not to let anyone run away during the waiting period, the adults kept the children busy talking and playing with them.

Finally, clean and tidy, the children were ready for the next class, which followed physical education. In a tight group of two, they went to another room prepared for a new lesson.

The last class before lunch was devoted to the study of plants. For each of the pupils there was an interactive book on the floor, each page of which had basic textual information about a particular plant, as well as a 3D model of it, attracting the children's attention with its beauty. The room was equipped with a spotlight projecting an informative cartoon about the plants mentioned in the book. Of course, the vast majority of the information provided was about those flower crops that existed in the area, but the textbooks also contained a fair amount of material about the most common plants that exist around the world. This was by no means the first or the last children's botany class. After all, nature was so diverse that it was difficult even for an adult to memorise everything at once. However, this did not mean that the class repeated the same material from time to time and watched the same cartoon film. The city authorities of large cities prepared a special development programme on this discipline in such a way that it was easy to be perceived by children's immature brains. At the same time, it was not boring and uninteresting. While watching the informative video material, the children admired flowers and trees, having fun and watching how animations that came to life on the wall talked to them and told them about themselves, explaining how they should be cared for and how they should not be treated. Children's zoology classes were held in a similar way. However, the course about animals and insects was not as long as the one about plants, because the former existed much more than the latter.

The afternoon lesson was over, and all the pupils of Mrs Donova's group lined up in rows of two. Theodore wanted to stand at the end of the row, as was his habit, but this time the teacher took him by the arm and placed him at the head of the group. The teacher's assistant closed the row, making sure that none of the children deviated from the planned course. The class began to slowly ascend the escalator upwards, which leisurely endeavoured to take Mrs Donova's group to the top floor of the building. Since Theodore was at the very beginning of the row, he happened to be one of the first to see the welcoming group of cafeteria workers holding yellow balloons. These helium-filled balloons had written in large white letters on one side, ‘Happy Birthday, Theodore!’ and on the other, ‘5 years old.’ Two lunchroom workers, dressed in white aprons, with sanitary disposable white caps on their heads, stood on either side of the escalator exit, holding the balloons with their fingers, eager to float up into the air and close to the ceiling under the influence of helium. Anticipating the boy's surprise in advance, bringing him to a standstill, the staff pressed the escalator button and temporarily stopped its movement to allow Ted to enjoy the moment his holiday began. The escalator steps instantly froze, and with them the entire children's group.

– Happy birthday, Theodore! Look what we've prepared for you today! Come on! – said one of the canteen staff, at the same time handing Ted a balloon and pulling him a little to the side, thus making way for the other children. Another staff member jabbed a button with his palm, setting the escalator in motion again. The kids slowly began to rise and spread out across the room. Theodore, clutching the ribbon with the balloon dangling at the far end, began to pull it down, running his hands over it and getting closer and closer to his goal. He wanted to take a closer look at the white text written on the balloon.

– Happy Birthday! I forgot you had one today…’ came the loud voice of a girl on the left, who stood next to the birthday boy and held out her hand to him. It was so unexpected that he flinched and the balloon slipped out of his hands, flying upwards towards the ceiling. Theodore's eyes bulged, trying to catch hold of the ribbon that was just as quickly slipping away from him. In one precise and sharp movement, the girl caught on the fly, seemingly already irretrievably missed Ted ribbon along with the balloon and holding out to him the saved thing moralisingly said: ‘Here. Don't lose it again!’

Theodore looked gratefully in the direction of the girl who was still reaching for his hand, wanting to congratulate the boy in person. It was Lucy. The same Lucy who had so unceremoniously taken advantage of the situation and pushed him out of the circle during the sports game. Now it wasn't a competitor standing in front of him, but just an ordinary, friendly girl wishing him a happy birthday. The birthday boy smiled and extended his hand to her in return, shaking it vigorously. His handshake was so strong and intense that Lucy began to release her palm from Theodore's steel grip.

– Ow! You're hurting me! What are you doing? – The girl whimpered pitifully. She whimpered and ran off in tears towards the dining-room. Mrs Donova came up to Ted, having heard Lucy's squeak and seen her reaction to the handshake.

– Theodore, you have to be more careful with girls. You're stronger than they are. Look how you scared her. They need to be protected. Come on, it's time to eat. – slowly, pausing at the end of each sentence, said the teacher, as if placing important accents in her words in order for the boy to understand their content. After a series of instructive words, the teacher took the pupil to his seat at one of the dining tables, which was visible even at a considerable distance.

Now, in the middle of the second year of the CEC, the children ate lunch sitting on full chairs, which consisted of four legs for stability, a seat and a backrest. In general, the chairs looked like normal chairs and were no different from the standard adult models, except that they were smaller in size. None of Theodore's classmates needed the auxiliary straps anymore.

Ted walked over to his chair, which was covered with yellow holiday balloons. On the table in front of him was a container of food tied with a golden ribbon in the shape of a bow, which the boy had to untie himself. The other children sitting around him gazed at the food box with interest, wondering about its inner contents. Slowly, Theodore climbed onto the chair, moved closer to the food and began to untie the intricately twisted bow by pulling one end of the golden ribbon. Then he opened the container, and all the neighbours on the dining table leaned forward, looking at the food inside. Inside lay a solid cooked piece of chicken fillet with rice on the side. To the right of the container, lay a napkin-wrapped sweet bun in the shape of an amused grimace. The same exact pastry awaited every child who came for lunch today. The glass to the left of the container was filled with apple sour cream, which was also expected by many, except for those to whom it was strongly contraindicated or disgusting. As it turned out, nothing special was provided for the birthday boy, which some of his classmates might have been excited about, feeling deprived.

Realising that Theodore's lunch did not merit any special interest, the children abruptly turned their attention to their containers and continued their meal. At the end of lunch, the group unintentionally sang the birthday boy a ‘Happy Birthday’ song at Mrs Donova's request. After the song was finished, the teacher brought Davel a small piece of colourful cake on a platter. There were exactly 15 such pieces for each child. Fortunately, no one in the group was allergic to confectionery. Everyone began to eat this culinary delicacy. Ted also took a small piece of his cake and put it in his mouth. The pleasant sweet fruity flavour filled the birthday boy with inexpressible feelings of joy and delight. He greedily began to work the spoon, trying to eat as quickly as possible all the contents of the saucer, before the whole piece disappeared from it to the last crumb. Of course, there were some children who could not get enough and demanded more. But they too had to accept the fact that there was no more to be had. So the little surprise in Ted's honour was over, and the children, cheered up by the dessert they had eaten, headed for the recreation room, which was scheduled for after lunchtime.

By and large Theodore was only given a little more attention than the others. He did not receive any special gift, except a few balloons, nor did he receive any privileges. The food he ate was the same as usual. In addition, one of his gifts did come loose from his chair and flew irretrievably to the ceiling. The rest of the balloons the teacher asked one of her assistants to take them to the teachers' lounge and leave them there. Theodore did not have a separate cot to which they could be tied, and going from one room to another, inadvertently could forget them or drop them. After all the lessons, the teacher planned to give the boy all his symbolic gifts. In fact, it was the first birthday party he had celebrated in five years, where everyone congratulated him together. For the first couple of years of his life, on Theodore's birthday, Lars carried him to the hospital to his mother's house to babysit her beloved baby. But her strength quickly waned, and by 743, when Ted was two years old, she had become infirm. After his mother's death, Lars became even more formalised in his treatment of the child, covering only basic matters concerning his upkeep so as not to become an ‘outcast’1 and lose all his possessions. Therefore, what kind of birthday celebration in the boy's family could we talk about?

Of course, even such a gesture from the tutor in the form of balloons delighted Theodore. After all, he had never received any presents before. It would seem that nothing could spoil the boy's cheerful and cheerful mood. The school day was coming to an end and the children were going home, which caused a small crush in the main hall on the ground floor. Parents were darting back and forth without stopping to pick up their children and take them out of the Children's Educational Centre. Theodore's own father had never taken much care of him, and Mrs Donova knew it, so it might have felt a little like she was patronising him, but it wasn't quite true. For example, today the tutor was merely helping to put on the boy's jacket. It was at that moment that she was called by the headmistress, inviting her into her office.

– Come, Theodore, let's go get your marbles and go back to wait for your father! – Mrs Donova said excitedly, leaning over to the boy's ear. Together they entered the principal's office, where, having already taken all the seats on the sofa, parents and their children were sitting with disgruntled expressions on their faces. The headmistress sat down at the desk and looking her employee straight in the eyes in a commanding voice said: ‘Miss Donova, there has been a complaint about your behaviour from several pupils in your group and their parents.’

The teacher and Theodore stood almost at the very door separating the principal's office from the corridor. A man and a woman were sitting on the sofa, and on their laps were Patricia and Derek, the offended children. The teacher looked puzzled at the group of seated disgruntled people and said in response, addressing everyone present: ‘I'm not quite sure what I could have done to deserve the displeasure directed at me. We had a normal class today and there were no incidents, just like always.’

– Actually, as it turns out, there was! – came the loud, indignant voice of Patricia's mother, addressed to Mrs Donova.

– I can't wait to find out exactly what happened and what I'm being accused of. – The teacher of the children's group said calmly, putting her hand on Theodore's shoulder.

– Did you think we wouldn't find out anything about your prank? And about the special attention you pay to some of your students? – The student's mum continued to press her, raising her tone every now and then. She shifted her displeased gaze to Theodore.

– Really! How can this be? Don't our children deserve the same attention from your side? – Derek's father supported him, quietly slapping his palm on the armrest of the sofa.

– Can you tell me what you think my fault is? – The teacher asked the question.

– It's your fault for making a public display of this boy's name today. You singled him out from all the other kids. Gave him presents, fed him a dinner party and had the other children sing you a song in honour of his birthday. No one had ever celebrated a personal holiday within the walls of this institution until that moment. And I'm guessing they never will. Anyway, we need to undo what you've done today, just as publicly. And from now on, I hope Mrs Director will see to it that this sort of thing is not repeated. – Patricia's mother arrogantly stated her grievances of the day.

– Well, either that or let's have a holiday for all the children. That would be fairer. – Derek's father supported his mother's monologue.

– And more costly… – summarised the headmistress.

Mrs Donova froze, as if she had lost her breath from the words spoken to her by the parents of the children, who were now looking at her as if she were an enemy of the people. Obviously, the woman had not expected such a reaction, both from the children, who had reported about the holiday in a distorted form to their parents on the same day, and from the parents themselves, who began to defend the truth, which was not the truth. After a few seconds of pause, the educator took the floor, trying to explain how things had really played out.

Ms Donova: ‘I apologise if in any way I have offended you Patricia, and you Derek. Indeed, I took the initiative to organise a small celebratory dinner in Theodore's honour with my own money, which only added up to…’

– Mrs Donova. We are very pleased that you admit your guilt, but we are not interested in your excuses, which you have so carefully prepared. What's done is done. The question is how to remedy the situation now. Please bring to this office the presents you gave this boy. -Patricia's mother interrupted the teacher.

– But why? What are you going to do with these poor balloons? – The teacher asked in an incomprehensible tone of voice.

– You are in no position to argue with me now, let alone raise your voice at me! Do what you are asked to do and don't argue. We are looking forward to seeing you… – a woman with a child in her arms answered the question dryly and imperiously. The teacher looked at the director of the education centre. The director nodded and pointed at the door, as if agreeing with the words of the disgruntled parent. It was understandable. No director needs a scandal, especially a scandal made out of nowhere. Mrs Donova lowered her head wistfully and left the office. Theodore felt guilty at that moment. His mood had plummeted. He froze in one place, staring at the floor and picking at it with the toe of his boot.

– Oh, my God! What shamelessness! Standing there and arguing with me. I hope you don't have all the teachers like that! – broke up mum, summing up another indictment.

However, she was politely and tactfully interrupted by the headmistress: ‘Believe me, Mrs Weinschein, our teachers are the best in their field and are specially selected. Mrs Donova is no exception.’

Patricia's mum: ‘I don't really believe it anymore. Considering that this is not the first time she's done something wrong…’

Headmistress: ‘I think we've dealt with the last situation. It was an accident. No one could have foreseen it. There's no need to put it all in one pile.’

The door to the office opened and a kindergarten teacher came in with two yellow balloons that belonged to Theodore. She handed them to the boy again. He grabbed the ribbons, looked at them and immediately let go, staring at the floor again. The balls scattered around the room in different directions and as if magnetised to the ceiling, which was quite high. So it would have been impossible to get the balloons without a ladder. This gift was already no fun for Ted. Who needs such surprises, which spoil his mood and make him feel heavy at heart?

– Wretched boy! What are you all looking at? Get those damn balls down at once! Now! – The mother became hysterical, jumping up from her seat and dropping her own daughter on the floor, forgetting that she had been sitting on her feet. The girl fell and hit herself, screaming at the top of her voice in pain. The teacher rushed to the child to check her condition and help her. But the mother pushed the teacher away with force and hatred that she could hardly stay on her feet. The mother's face changed. In an instant she turned from a fury and a witch into an angel, covering the fallen child with her wide snow-white wings. Mrs Weinstein began to comfort the girl and help her up.

– My favourite child! I'm sorry. Mummy was a little overexcited… Where's the bobo? Mummy will blow and everything will heal!’ she babbled fearfully looking at her daughter and worrying that nothing would happen to her little creature.

– It's all right, Mummy. – Theodore slowly approached Patricia and took a tissue from his pocket, handing it to the girl. Theodore slowly approached Patricia and took a napkin out of his pocket and handed it to the girl. Patricia smiled in response to the gesture and taking the napkin from the boy's hands, continued to use it to wipe away the tears running down her face. The headmistress rose from her seat and leaning on the table with both hands calmly said: ‘There he is! The act of a true gentleman of our time. Well done Theodore. That's the way to behave with young ladies. Mrs Donova, please take Theodore back to the corridor so that his father won't lose him. Otherwise, he might leave without him, like he did six months ago…’

The teacher nodded and together with Ted they left the office, closing the door behind them.

– What do you mean? Left without him? – Patricia's mother looked at the headmistress with a puzzled look in her eyes.

– You see, not everyone in this world, unfortunately, is as lucky to have parents as your children are lucky to have you. This boy, from birth, has been deprived of a full life with his family. His mother is dead, his father is taking her death hard, Ted has no grandparents. No one cares about him except you and me. And if we turn our backs on him and take our anger and our rage out on the boy, what will his life become? What will he become? Today's situation… it's such a small thing. And you've made such a big deal out of it. It's not worth it. Believe me. The joy Mrs Donova gave him today was like a glimmer of light in his grey family life. Considering that it was the first birthday in five years of his life that Theodore had ever been congratulated by anyone. – said the headmistress, encouraging parents and their children to sympathise and understand.

– It can't be! How? The first birthday in five years? That's just awful! – began the discussion between the children's father and mother.

– You should not judge the situation without fully understanding it… You heard something from your children, but as it turned out, the information was somewhat embellished. And now, let's finish discussing this topic and not come back to it again. – The headmistress summarised the conversation as she escorted the visitors and students to the exit.