Feeling: not-evil
Listening to: Better Off Dad - Not Talking to You
Reading/Watching: Sandman comics... finally, a break from homework!

Saturday morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to get to school by 6:30 to pick up the one girl I have who made it into the Region choir.

Her father dropped her off, and when I asked if he and his wife would be coming to the concert to see her perform this afternoon, it was a tactful "does she need a ride" question wrapped around a "do you give a crap about seeing your daughter's concert" question.

He said no, they wouldn't be going. I replied all right, I'll drop her back at the school around four.

All day, she sat in her row and quietly rehearsed, not talking to the singers on either side of her, occasionally shooting me a glance, as if to make sure I was still there. At lunch, she sat alone, and rather that go to the directors' room to eat with adults, I sat down across from her. My old friend from St. Moo, Kiki (who now teaches at a neighboring school in the district), sat next to her, and we spent the lunch break trying to make her laugh.

Then I dared her to start a conversation with someone she doesn't know. She said "what if they think I'm a freak?" and I countered with "what if they're worried you'll think they're a freak?"

Kiki double-dared her, and we had a conversation about how neither of us believed she would do it. I lamented, saying "it would be so cool to have friends from other schools that you could wave to at stuff like UIL competition, and I'd even let her pick a prize from the box at school if she had the guts to try, but she's just too scared."

My student looked at me doubtfully, and I threw in that she could open the lid of the "treasure chest" (my little prize box full of pencils and stickers and buttons) and pick a prize, rather than do the usual grab-bag selection. She agreed.

Then we spent the rest of lunch on her theory that I'm a vampire (because I watch Buffy and read Stephanie Meyer... yeah, I don't understand either).

About an hour later, though, I saw her walking into the concert hall, chatting with the girl who sits behind her. She caught my eye, and gave me a meaningful look.

In the car on the way home, she admitted that the day was fun. The concert was "awesome," she couldn't wait to hear the recording, and she'd had a good time singing in such a talented choir.

"So did you get any numbers from the girls you hung out with?" I asked, unable to hide a smirk.

"No, but it was easy... I just walked into the room and asked, 'Has anybody read Twilight?'"

I burst out laughing.

Later on in the conversation, I was invited to join a group of the girls who are going to see the movie later this month. I may have been invited to give them a ride; I'm not entirely sure. But when I said I'd think about it, my student grinned and said "Cool."

Hee hee. The tide continues to turn in my favor.

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