CHAPTER 14

“So, this would be more like tutoring than actual school?” Selma asked the principal.

“Sort of, yes. We find it’s most effective for students like Gia. She’s one of the brightest students we have. Based on her test scores, I’d put her in the top three, and the other two around here are already doing this. If you’d like, I can get you the email addresses of their parents so that you can reach out and ask them if they’ve found this experience beneficial for their child.”

“That would be great. Thank you. Would she still go to school during normal hours?”

“Yes, and no. She wouldn’t need to be here as long, most likely, but we’d need to build out her curriculum first to know for sure. And if she gets involved in some activities I’ve suggested as well, it’s possible that she could be here later, if you go that route. Typically, she’d start at the same time as the other students, and she’d work with her instructors. If she finishes before the end of the regular school day, she’d go to the library with the students on a similar schedule, and she’d do independent work until an activity that wouldn’t start until after the normal school day ends. If you choose not to have her in any activities, though, you could pick her up whenever her actual schedule ends.”

“I think I’d like her to be in something. She’s already so alone due to her age.”

“I would agree. We have several options. I can send you home with the catalog of everything we offer. There’s also the public school about a mile away, which we partner with for things like sports and other things we can’t offer here because of our size. We have a bus that takes the students there when school ends, but the parents are responsible for picking the students up at the end of their activities.”

“I remember that part from orientation. Okay.” Selma nodded. “This is really what’s best for her?”

“I believe so. And her teachers do as well. We can always try it, and if it doesn’t work well for Gia, we can put her in seventh or eighth grade, but we can’t put her back in sixth, Miss Driscoll. Gia means well. Her teachers love her enthusiasm. But she’s doing her homework during class and often helps the other students complete theirs by sharing the answers with them, which means they don’t learn the material, and she blurts out the answers ahead of everyone because she’s just so far ahead. On top of that, she’s talking in class at times. We understand why. We’ve had a lot of kids like Gia over the years.” The principal smiled. “She’s incredibly gifted, and we made this school to help nurture that kind of gift, so we’re in this with you, but we have other parents who are paying the same tuition you do for their kids to learn, and we need to respect that and the other students as well.”

“Of course. I understand. And I appreciate you being able to work with me. I honestly have no idea where this gift of hers came from.” Selma laughed lightly. “She didn’t get it from me. And I doubt she got it from her father.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter where it comes from – it’s here. And Gia deserves the best. So, let me work on a plan with her teachers, and I’ll email that over to you. If you agree, we can start as soon as you’re ready. Ideally, you’ll tell Gia about the plan first so that she’s aware of it and is not confused. Please make sure she knows that she’s not in trouble. This is just what’s right for her learning right now.”

“I will. Thank you,” she replied.

Selma took the brochure she was handed and headed out to the hallway, where Gia was sitting at a desk there, doing her homework.

“Are you ready?” Selma asked.

“Am I in trouble again?” Gia asked without looking up.

“No, honey. Come on. I’ll tell you why I was here in the car, okay?”

Gia packed up her things without another word, and they got into the car. Selma pulled out of the lot and got them onto the street.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, honey?”

“Can I talk to Drew tonight? You told me that she said it would be okay.”

“I’ll text her and ask, okay? No promises, Gia. Drew is a very busy person. You know she and I are about to find out about something very important.”

“I know. You started training again. Grandma told me that since she’s back, you can snowboard more.”

“I was training all day today before I came to pick you up. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I raced my fastest time ever on the course.”

“You did?” Gia asked excitedly.

“I did. And I’m supposed to get a phone call tonight telling me that I’ve been called up. Do you know what that means?”

“No.”

“It means that the team has selected me to compete, and if I do well and stay healthy, I’ll be going to the Olympics again. Would you like that?”

“Yeah, that would be cool. You won’t fall this time, though, right?”

Selma had walked herself right into that one.

“I hope not.”

“Will Drew be there?” Gia asked.

Selma let out an exasperated sigh then. Drew hadn’t even been gone that long, but Gia had asked if she could talk to the woman just about every day. Selma had held off on saying yes, coming up with all sorts of excuses because she’d been hoping Gia would find something else that was bright and shiny to cling on to. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had any luck on that so far. Drew, for her part, had asked if she could talk to Gia, too, and Selma had made excuses to her as well. They’d talked on the phone a few times after Gia had gone to bed, which surprised Selma because she hadn’t expected them to keep up any connection outside of their sport. Even though Drew had asked if she could talk to Gia, Selma had honestly expected her to back out of it, which was one of the reasons she hadn’t connected them so far.

“I don’t know, baby. Maybe. She has to make her own team.”

“USA.”

“Yup.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah, Gia?”

“Are you and Drew going to race against each other again?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. You know how it works… We get put in heats.”

“And she could be in another one?”

“Right. So, if we’re put in the same one or we make it to a certain point, we’ll race against each other.”

“I want you to win.”

Selma chuckled and said, “Thanks, baby.”

“But I want Drew to win, too, so I don’t know what to do,” Gia added, letting out a sigh that rivaled the one Selma had just managed, which made Selma smile.

“Well, I’m sure Drew will appreciate your support as much as I do.”

“So, am I in trouble at school, and you didn’t tell me?”

“No, Gia. You’re not in trouble. You already know I’m not happy about you picking on the other kids in class, but this isn’t about that. You’re doing so well in class that your principal and teachers think it’s best that you get some special kind of classes.”

“Like eighth grade?”

“No, more like you’d be with a teacher by yourself, and they would teach you what you need to learn in math before you’d go to another one for English, or science, or another class so that you’re learning at the right level for each class. Does that make sense?”

“So, I won’t be in sixth grade anymore?”

“No.”

“Thank God.”

Selma laughed at that and said, “This is a trial, okay? If it doesn’t work, we’ll do something else, but everyone tells me this is for the best. And I was thinking about having you pick out an activity or two to do after school so that you still get to spend time with the other kids.”

“Snowboarding!” Gia said excitedly.

“The school doesn’t have snowboarding. What about math club?”

“Mom!”

“Okay. Okay. Painting?”

“No, I can paint at home.”

“Basketball? Cheerleading? Soccer?”

“Snowboarding, Mom.”

“Gia, they don’t offer snowboarding.”

“I saw a class on the mountain when you took me.”

“That was a coach, honey.”

“Can I get a coach?”

“The point is that you’re around other kids.”

“There were a bunch of kids there,” Gia argued.

“I don’t know if I can get you there all the time, Gia. You know I’m about to be going away every so often again, so Grandma will be picking you up from school or one of your babysitters, like Kelly. They need to be able to just get you from school, not have to take you up the mountain, wait, and then bring you back. What if you do a school activity for me, and I’ll take you up at least once a week whenever I’m at home so that you can practice?”

“Do you promise?”

There was that word again.

“I promise,” she said, determined to keep it this time.

When they got home, she helped Gia out of the car, and they went up to their room without Selma checking on the front desk or checking in on her grandmother. She needed to get Gia something to eat first before getting her to a table to work on something, and then, into the bathtub before she would work on something else, tire herself out, and Selma would carry her to bed. As she watched her daughter play a learning video game on her computer, though, she saw the familiar look of boredom in Gia’s eyes.

Selma Driscoll: Are you free right now by chance?

Seconds later, she had her answer.

“Mom? Someone is on the video thing, but it’s not Grandma.”

“You can answer,” she told her kid with a smile.

Gia must have accepted the video call because her face lit up.

“Drew!”

“Hey, Gia. What are you doing?”

“I was playing a game. What are you doing?”

“I just got back to my room. I was training all day.”

“Mom did that today, too. She said she raced her fastest time ever.”

“Yeah? That’s great news.”

“But she’s racing against you,” Gia reminded. “Don’t you want her to be bad?”

Selma’s ears perked up at that question.

“You know? I think I’d like your mom to race well and be on the podium with me. Is she there?”

“She’s in the kitchen, making dinner. Mom!”

“Hey, Drew!” Selma yelled from where she was mixing ground turkey in a skillet with a taco seasoning mix that Gia liked.

“Hey. Can I see you?”

Gia picked up the computer and turned it toward her, which Selma had not been expecting. And Selma looked terrible, too. Her hair was all over the place; her face was probably still half-red because she’d forgotten to put on sunscreen today; and she was wearing sweats.

“Hi,” Drew said with a wide smile, though, when she saw Selma.

“Hey. Thanks, by the way.”

“No problem. Have you heard yet?”

“They’re supposed to call today, but nothing yet,” Selma replied. “So, I don’t know what to think.”

“What are you talking about?” Gia asked as she carried the computer over to the counter and set it down, still facing Selma.

“The team, remember?” Selma said as Gia sat down on the stool.

“Oh, right. Drew, Mom said I get to get out of sixth grade.” The girl turned the computer screen back toward herself.

“She did?”

Selma’s phone rang then, so she looked down at the screen, recognizing the number.

“Gia, I’m turning the stove off. Don’t touch it.”

“Why would I touch it?” she asked.

Selma picked up the phone and hurried into her bedroom to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Selma, hey. How are you?”

“I’m… Nervous.” She laughed anxiously, as if to prove her point.

“I’m sure you are. I get it. I’m sorry this call is so late, but is now a good time to talk?”

“Yes, definitely.” She sat on the edge of her bed and immediately started tapping her right foot.

“I know you had to take some time away from the team. How is your family situation now?”

“All good. Everything’s all good now,” she replied quickly.

“That’s great to hear. And we’d love to have you back with us.”

Selma smiled wide and said, “Yeah? Really?”

“Really. We’ve got training coming up. You’d have to be there.”

“I know. I can be,” she said.

“Okay. Then, I’ll have all the details sent to you, as always. We’re excited to have you back.”

“Thank you. Me too.”

They hung up, but Selma continued to sit there on the bed, trying to pull herself together in the best way because she was back on the Canadian snowboarding team. Assuming nothing bad happened between now and then, she’d be getting another call or having a meeting closer to the Games, telling her that she was going. After a minute, though, she heard Gia laughing loudly, which made her own smile grow even wider, and she made her way back out to the kitchen, where she turned the stove back on and stirred the ground turkey, listening to Drew and Gia talk about the plan for school and what activity Gia should choose.

“Gia, can you maybe let me talk to your mom for a second?” Drew asked.

“Okay.”

“Gia, can you go wash your hands?” Selma requested. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Okay,” the girl said again, turned the computer around, and hurried off to the bathroom.

“I think she’s going to choose art,” Drew said.

“For her activity?”

“Yeah. She said you mentioned painting to her, but she’s not a big fan of painting. She said she likes to draw, so there’s a drawing class or something.”

“Yeah, there is.”

“Well, now that that’s settled, want to tell me what they said?”

Selma smiled.

“You made it, didn’t you?” Drew guessed.

She nodded.

“Congrats! That’s amazing!”

“When do you find out?”

“Supposedly, tomorrow. I’m not as optimistic about my chances, though. Either way, it’s not about me right now. Selma, congratulations! You need to celebrate somehow.”

“I have a nine-year-old that I need to finish making dinner for and then get her through the rest of the night.”

“Then, something tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” she said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“Well, enjoy it when it does. Want me to let you go so that you can have dinner?”

“Have dinner with us,” Selma suggested.

“Huh?”

“She loves talking to you; I can tell. And she eats fast. You’ve seen her. If you can spare another fifteen minutes, I could put the computer on the table, and you two could chat. If not, though, that’s totally okay.”

“I can spare fifteen minutes for her.”

Selma smiled and felt a blush creep up her cheeks.