Review Blog: LITTLE APRIL LITTLEAPRIL about the most recent story - about a man abandoned in the desert without water or food by a vindictive rancher - started, Hillary made it clear she not only had read the story, she enjoyed it. This seemed to surprise the boys in the class, who'd gotten used to conducting the discussion with me while she sat there looking bored.
When Hillary joined the discussion, her three classmates were so surprised they said little for a few minutes, but they finally got over their surprise and the class wound up being one of the most enjoyable I'd had during the summer session. The class time went by quickly and, before any of us knew it, end of class arrived.
I assigned the first five chapters of the book Conagher for their next assignment. "It has the usual L'Amour strong male protagonist," I noted. "But it also has a very strong female protagonist as well. When you're reading it, try to imagine what it was like for a woman in those days."
The four of them stood up and began leaving the room. Hillary made it a point to be the last one out. After the boys were out of sight, she turned, smiled, and winked at me. "See you later," she mouthed, then she was gone. For the first time since she'd walked into my classroom, I relaxed. Well, sort of.
My afternoon class, in European History, dragged. I was beginning to think the school clocks had broken and I'd be stuck there forever. When, the class was finally over, I hurriedly packed up my stuff, went out to my car, and headed for the grocery store. I was pretty much out of food at home and needed to restock, even if it meant I'd have to wait a bit longer before I saw Hillary.
