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ideas. I ll give you forty-five minutes.
 Ms. Ragnar? For number three, do you want the
view of Scout as a six year old, or can we say what she
might think later on as an adult? Amanda asked.
 That ll depend on whose shoes you might see her
walking in. For example, after beating up the
Cunningham child, she might realize what it s like to
walk in his shoes. Or if she becomes a teacher, she may
realize what it was like for her teacher to have to break
up the fight she caused.
 Okay. We ve got it.
While they worked, Madison returned to her desk,
prior thoughts of leaving Colorado resurged. The
image of Seth at the end of the driveway, not sure
whether to chase her car as she made her way down
the road, crossed her mind. Fighting tears, Madison
had tried not to look in the rearview mirror. Seth was
as much her dog as Rick s, even if Rick would never
admit it. Madison fed him, bathed him when he
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Through Hazel Eyes
returned from a rainy day on a job site with Rick, and
took him for long walks.
Now she longed for the day when she could find a
rental that allowed dogs, or better yet, a home of her
own. She missed the quiet companionship, the gentle
push of a muzzle against her arm for attention, and the
unconditional acceptance that a dog like Seth offered.
Breaking Madison s thoughts, her students
announced they were done. She was impressed that
they finished the assignment within the forty-five
minutes. Each group gave entertaining presentations
that helped distract Madison s thoughts and refocused
her on the classroom. The rest of the period slipped by
as students stood up and related all they had learned in
their short teen-years from walking in someone else s
shoes.
Jonathan headed the first group.  Each of these
scenarios reflects an experience that one of us had, he
said pointing at their display.  We, as a group, rated
them on the chart. The rating reflects how far away the
situation took us from our normal lives. He took a
deep breath before continuing.  As you can see, Peter s
situation was rated the highest, meaning he
experienced something further from his normal
existence than the rest of ours did.
He continued on to explain the rest of the group s
place on the color coordinated chart they had
constructed.
Ginny was chosen for the lead of the second group
and delivered her presentation without flaw.  We
decided to write a story based on all of our experiences
combined from the perspective of one person. She
43
Through Hazel Eyes
read the story out loud to the entire class. It was from
the point of view of a teenage girl living in the ghetto
who was adopted by a family in the suburbs. Madison,
delighted with their creativity, clapped loudly along
with the other group when Ginny finished reading.
Madison noted that Eric sat in the back of the room
with his group physically, but not mentally. His return
to the classroom went unquestioned by the students.
They were accustomed to his reticence.
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Through Hazel Eyes
SEVEN
 C mon Madison, it ll be fun. It ll do you good to get
out and live beyond your students and your house,
Olivia pleaded.  Some of Gregory s friends will be
there, and I promise you can leave whenever you re
ready.
 Okay, okay. Just remember if there s too much
smoke I m leaving no matter what.
Madison held her phone to her ear while looking
desperately in her closet at the line-up of clothes, which
screamed  I m a Teacher! Gone were the days of her
mini skirts and fun, sexy tops. Rick had never taken her
anywhere that warranted dressing up, and on the rare
occasion when she went out with a friend during the
years they were together, he frowned upon her
wardrobe choice as she walked out the door. She
dreaded seeing that look on his face when she
returned. While her body was worthy of the outfits, the
ultimate price of wearing them in front of him was not.
 Over here! Olivia mouthed, waving from a booth
inside the brewery as Madison peeked in through the
window. She entered through a large door with
wooden handles carved into gargoyle heads, the kind
of door she hadn t opened since her teens when she last
attended church. The pair of black stretch pants and the
purple sleeveless turtleneck sweater she wore clung
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Through Hazel Eyes
snuggly to her frame. She had retouched her makeup,
yet still looked natural. Eyes followed her across the
room as she made her way through the crowd of thirty-
somethings. She ignored them, focusing only on the
booth ahead. Olivia, Gregory and a few unfamiliar
faces sat in a booth against the wall.
 Madison, this is Mark, Olivia announced. Mark
reached his hand across the table between beer mugs
and a half full pitcher of beer.  And, this is Phil. Phil
shuffled over in the booth to make room for her and
nodded a hello with a large, white, toothy smile.
Gregory called the waitress over to bring an
additional mug for Madison and nodded a hello.
 We were just talking about Phil s big trip this
summer. He s driving out to California, Olivia said.
 Oh. That should be a fun trip, Madison said.
 What s in California? She couldn t help but notice his
strong facial features and tried to not look too long.
 A grant to study oceanography. I ll be traveling
from San Diego up through Big Sur, Phil explained.
 But, I ve never driven cross country, so I m looking
forward to that.
Madison nodded and looked around for the
waitress, her mug.
 Olivia tells me you drove here from Colorado.
What was that like? Phil asked. He poured the last of
the beer from the pitcher to his empty mug.
Madison shot a glare at Olivia, who shrugged and
turned her attention back to Gregory.  Yeah, I drove
here. Took two twelve hour days, Madison replied,
hoping that would satisfy his curiosity. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]