"If you can't feed 100 people, then feed just one." - Mother Teresa

Dora turned away from the board to face her students.

Today she was filling in for the English teacher who called in sick.

She surveyed the students, making sure they were all paying attention.

Her eyes zeroed in on a student at the far back of the class. The student, who was a girl, looked pale. The girl's head slumped on her table and she seemed to shiver.

Immediately Dora swung into action, she precariously dropped the marker, which she held on the table, and scurried to the pale-looking child.

She crouched down at the side of the girl's chair and asked, "Olanna, what is wrong?" She rubbed the girl's back to gain her attention.

Olanna slightly raised her head and said with a weak voice, "I am hungry and thirsty."

Dora nodded and smiled in compassion; she looked around for her lunchbox; regardless of it not being break time, Dora decided not to let Olana starve. After not finding her lunchbox around, she asked Olanna where it was.

Olanna shook her head and said, "I didn't bring food or water."

Dora gasped in surprise and put her hand on her chest. She swallowed hard and asked, "Did you eat this morning?"

Olanna shook her head. She also added that she hadn't eaten since the afternoon the previous day.

Dora clutched her skirt to contain her anger at the girl's parents. However, she decided to give the parents the benefit of doubt. Maybe they have no food in the house.

She quickly thought of the next step to take.

Her expression was determined as she rose to her feet. 'Get up," she said to Olanna, "come with me."

She assisted Olanna to get up and held her hand as they walked to the front of the class

Dora sternly instructed the students left behind to finish their work and not leave the class.

Dora and Olana walked out of the class; they headed to the principal's office to resolve the situation.

Because of the weakness of Olanna, they walked slowly. Several minutes later, the proprietress's office came into view.

Dora knocked and opened the door after the principal called out, "Come in!"

Dora directed Olanna to enter first and then slipped in after her. 

The light-skinned lady, Mrs. Liana Soji, proprietress of Lily Scholars School, stood up. "What is going on?" Her eyes widened as they traveled to Olanna.

Dora put Olanna to sit down on the brown couch on the left side of the office.

She faced her boss with a grim stare. "Good morning, madam. This little girl has unfortunately not eaten since yesterday and she brought nothing to school. Hence, she is starving and can't concentrate in class. So, what should we do?"

Mrs. Liana shrugged noncommittally and sat down. "Call the parents and see what they have to say."

Dora raised a brow. She took a deep breath and silently asked God for guidance. "Okay, ma'am. That will be done. However, we can't leave her to starve till her parents get here."

"What do you suggest we do, Ms. Dora?" Mrs. Liana asked without looking up from the file she was reading.

Dora shuffled her feet. "Uh...we could get her something to eat."

Mrs. Liana closed the file and looked at her. A slight frown marred her face. "Our duty is to teach and not worry about the state of their stomachs. If the girl is hungry, she should wait for her parents to send food to her."

Dora gaped at her. Unwilling to give up, she rose to her full 5'4 feet and placed her hand on the proprietress's table, and declared, "I believe for the child's sake, we should get something from the snack shop to sustain her until her parents show up."

Her eyes flickered to Olanna, who sat hunched over on the couch. Seeing her that way made her heart bleed.

Mrs. Liana shook her head.  "Fine, Ms. Dora, do whatever you want. But make sure whatever action you take will not be detrimental to the reputation of the school." She glared at Dora."Otherwise, your punishment would be drastic."

Dora sighed in gladness. A smile cracked on her face." I will be careful, ma'am. I won't let anything go wrong," she said with determination.

Dora walked to Olanna and helped her to her feet.

She felt bad she wasn't a few years younger. She would have loved to carry her in her arms, to relieve her of walking in such a state.

On their way to the snack shop, an angel appeared as Miss Evelyn, the home economics teacher.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Dora. What brings you out here?" Her eyes darted to the figure at Dora's side and her eyes bulged open. "Oh my God, what happened to her?"

Dora grimaced and summarized the events of the past hour. Miss Evelyn's scowl deepened with every word.

Miss Evelyn bent and scooped Olanna into her arms. She took her place beside Dora. Dora grinned and thanked her. And they headed to the snack shop.

Five minutes later, they got to the snack shop and got a bottle of water and some packets of biscuits.

Dora left Evelyn and Olana at the shop to make the phone calls to Olanna's parents.

She set off to the secretary's office to use the phone there. On arriving there, she greeted the secretary and asked for the numbers of both parents.

Dora called the mother first. It rang with no answer. She left a message on the answering machine.

She dialed the father's number. After the third ring, she heard a male baritone voice.

"Hello!"

"Good afternoon, Sir, am I speaking to Mr. Samuel Adike?"

"Yes, you are. How can I help you?"

She introduced herself and went straight to the reason for the call.

"Olanna came to school hungry, and she also brought nothing to eat during the break. At the moment, she can barely stand because of hunger."

The father snorted. "How does that affect me? Her mother should be answerable to the matter."

Dora scowled in disgust. "Well, sir, we can't reach her mother on the phone. Could you please come over with something for her to eat?"

"No, I can't. I am on my way to a meeting. And I will not abandon it for a girl who has a mother. Her mother will be reachable when she is through with her frivolities. Goodbye." The line went dead.

Dora felt anger seeping through her body. The urge to punch someone or something rushed through her. She squeezed the phone and ran a hand through her hair.

She released her tight grip on the phone. She decided to try Olanna’s mother one last time.

After a few rings, a flighty voice filled the phone. "Hello, who is this?"

"Good afternoon. Is this Mrs. Quincy Adike?"

The woman answered with hesitation, "Yes. How may I help you?"

Dora repeated everything she said to the father.

The woman huffed. "Oh, I have been so busy with work and social events; I forgot to go shopping for groceries. I had to rush and drop her off at school this morning because I was headed to the airport. Anyway, presently, I just arrived, so I can't do much."

She popped the gum she was chewing and continued talking. "I believe my sister's hired help will pick her up when school is over, so she will eat when she gets home."

Loud voices filled the background on the other end.

"I gotta get off the phone. Bye." The woman didn't give Dora a chance to respond before cutting the call.

Dora was speechless. Her hand shook as she dropped the phone.

In all her over four decades of being on Earth, she hadn't witnessed a parent being heartless to their child.

Dora slowly retreated to the snack shop. When she reached there, tears felt like pouring out, but she held them in for the sake of the oblivious child.

She was sincerely joyful that some light had returned to Olana's eyes and some color to her cheeks. She patted the girl's hair fondly.

On noticing the deject in Dora's eyes, Miss Evelyn raised a questioning brow. Dora shook her head, signifying such conversation couldn't take place.

After settling Olanna in class, the two women walked a few distances from the classroom.

Dora told the painful story. While she spoke, her voice shook with unshed tears.

However, Miss Evelyn couldn't hold her own. Tears spilled down her face. She revealed to Dora that Olanna's story was quite similar to her own childhood story of parental neglect.

Right there, both women decided that for as long as they remained as teachers in the school, they will watch out for children who could use some love and care.

                    ★★★★★★

Phew! That was pretty intense.

Let's lose some tension 😁

Our question of the chapter is: What snack do you love to snack on?

Well, I love snacking on Pringles, coconut candy, and biscuits.

And You can show some love to Olanna and Dora by clicking on the star.⭐

Until next week. Enjoy snacking.