By: larrsfiaskid.near
Larry Tadafe
MarmaJ loves teaching. Not a thing could deter her from becoming a teacher. Nothing else made her happier than seeing the smiles of the teenagers in her class, especially during repertoires and recitals. Though their voices were classically disjointed, the sound always felt so good in her ears. The best part of her job was being able to hear the kids answer questions with so much joy and excitement. MarmaJ had received honours for being the best instructor/facilitator of the school and it became a recurring event; only Mr. Collins beat her to the award in the penultimate month.
It was the third week of the new session when a new boy was brought into the class by the administrator. Unlike the others, he wore a hoodie over a shirt and his laces were loosely tied. It took a very awkward silence for everyone in the class to hear him say his name.
“I am Rude Elf” was what some of the pupils in the class thought they heard him say. This caused a little bit of ruckus in the class as his classmates laughed loudly. MarmaJ checked his admissions form to ascertain his name. To keep the class quiet, she had to help him say it out loud.
“His name is Rudolph, Rudolph Jenkins”, she said, and immediately came the echoed response from the rest of the class, “Welcome to class, Rudolph”
Coincidentally, she was guiding the class on how to write an essay about themselves, and it was only fun if the kids took turns talking about themselves.
MarmaJ saw this as an opportunity to get some more details out of Rudolph and get him to loosen up some more.
She called out and asked him, ”Rudolph, would you like to say something about yourself?”. It was barely noticeable when he raised his head and shook it slightly. He wasn’t interested.
MarmaJ was quite worried. She would have wanted to hear from him especially when every other kid had so much to say. She had to cut short a few who had too much to say. It would have made her day if Rudolph could say a few words, but felt since it was his first time maybe all he needed was to acclimatize and warm up a little bit. However, this was not the case as Rudolph was practically indifferent to what was done in class.
“This can not continue,” MarmaJ thought to herself and then decided to press to find out what the problem was. She planned on meeting his guardian during school runs but unfortunately, no one came to pick him up. She noticed Rudolph walking home alone.
MarmaJ intentionally stood outside waiting for him to arrive the following morning to check if someone would accompany him. MarmaJ’s patience was almost wearing thin as it was only just a few minutes for classes to commence. She looked up and saw Rudolph approaching from a distance so she waited for him to get close and then led him to the class. Along the way, she asked why he came alone to school and he responded that no one else cared if he came or not. MarmaJ told him that she cared for all her pupils and Rudolph as well. At this point, she surmised that no one was going to come to pick him up after school so she politely asked him if he could wait behind after school to talk with him privately to which he nodded.
School ended early as it was a Friday. MarmaJ offered him a wafer snack and chocolate and then took a walk with him to the school’s playground. She playfully called him Rudy but noticed his eyes became teary. She became worried and quickly apologized but he interjected and told her it was okay.
“That’s what my mum used to call me but she is gone now, along with my dad. They died in a car accident 4 months ago,” Rudolph explained. MarmaJ was about to offer her condolences but noticed he was willing to share more. He went further on to explain that being the only child, he now lives with foster parents who do not care so much about his schooling and studies. He doesn’t have friends, nor anyone to talk to.
Filled with compassion, MarmaJ pulled him close and hugged him with tears in her eyes too. She told him she was always available whenever he needed to talk to someone. As the conversation continued she discovered that Rudolph was a fun-loving, kind, brutally honest, and smart kid who loves to play Chess.
“Oh wow!” exclaimed MarmaJ, “I also love to play chess. Myself and some of the kids in the class play chess at the park every weekend.”
“Would you love to come to test your skills?” she asked earnestly. He paused for some seconds and then nodded in affirmation.
MarmaJ offered to drop him off at home to which he obliged. As he left toward his home he quickly turned back and hugged MarmaJ for being kind and friendly to him. It had been a while since he had felt this way.
“See you tomorrow. I will come to pick you up by noon,” said Mama J excitedly.
It was the next day. MarmaJ, being punctual, was already waiting outside for Rudolph and soon they arrived at the park where other players were already sparing off. It took very little time for both of them to get settled.
“Would you love to play Blitz Chess?” asked MarmaJ and without hesitation, the game started and was won by Rudolph on his sixth move. He never really needed the full time he was allotted.
He played with other challengers in the park. He won all the games he played and had 2 stalemates. Rudolph was so excited, he had the most wins and didn’t lose to anyone. He even got the title “The Grandmaster”.
Rudolph became attentive and active in class. His grades improved and he made many good friends, all thanks to MarmaJ.