The week flew by. A mentally draining week of general high school bureaucracy.

On top of the Year 8s finishing their advertising exam, and the Year 10s handing in essay drafts, Harry had the added demands of showing the school's progress since she'd taken over. She got to do this the only way that education knew how: presentation of analysis of multiple sets of data.

Between Monday and Wednesday, when Harry's supervisor, Janeen, had advised was going to be doing a last minute drop in, Harry had spent hours reading over student grades, as well as attendance and suspension rates. Even in her enhanced physical condition, she had found herself nodding over her laptop by Tuesday night.

Harry was suprisingly thankful that the students' aloofness had remained. While they acted much more like mindless zombies than the bubbly and eccentric individuals she had been gently trying to foster, at least they hadn't been smashing classroom windows or toturing the primary school's guinea pig (which were both events she'd been told had occurred during Rachel Lindley's tenure).

Still, by the end of Tuesday's classes, some of their attitudes towards Harry had definitely improved since the previous Friday. Annelisse and a couple of her friends were warming back up to her being their teacher, as long as she didn't move close to them. Every time she moved too close, they contorted their bodies as if trying to avoid contact with a leper. She tried not to let it get to her, but being treated that way by kids she thought she had been building a relationship with hurt.

She was not one of those teachers who needed kids to like her. She was paid to educated them not be their friend, but a basic relationship where her students felt safe was a must have in pretty much every book on education she'd ever read. The way they avoided her made it clear they did not feel safe when she was near. The most upsetting thing for Harry was she knew their fears were valid. If only she knew the specifcs as to why. On top of the drain she felt dealing with her Assistant Regional Director, the cold shoulder she experienced from the majority of the senior class left her feeling more isolated than ever. David may have frequently commented about how he was jealous of her interactions with adults, yet she had never felt lonelier than she had since starting at Mercy's Creek State School.

Harry returned to the classroom Thursday after entertaining Janeen the previous day. The Year 10s were finishing off their essay drafts which she would provide feedback upon that night before returning them the following day.

Troy say in class absently staring at his blank computer screen.

"You got this, Troy!" she said softly, giving him a small smile of encouragement, "You know this stuff. Let me help you get started. What do you think is more powerful in Romeo and Juliet, the characters' actions or fate?" She moved her hands towards his keyboard. He watched her do so, and though she saw a faint twitch as his muscles tensed, he didn't pull away.

His reply was barely a whisper, "I was always thought that fate was just something God had imposed on us to try to scare us, a construct not reality, but now I'm not so sure. I think Romeo and Juliet may have been the lucky ones; at least they got to die together. What happens to those of us who don't have anyone? Do we all just turn to dust and that's it?" Troy's blue eyes blazed as they stared into Harriet's soul. She had never expected so much raw emotion from this kid. He was clearly hurting bad, but she didn't  have a clue how to help him.

Harry hadn't grown up in a religious home by any means. She had no idea how to deal with a 16 year old who appeared to be having a crisis of faith. She didn't have all the facts, and she hated presenting information or giving advice when she didn't know all the details.

She tried for universal wisdom, "I can't answer that for you, mate, but on the topic of Romeo and Juliet, I don't think anyone can see them as lucky, even Shakespeare named it a tragedy. Nothing that sees the death of two innocent teens because of the folly of their parents could possibly be viewed as anything other than tragic."

Troy looked up at her in suprise, like what she'd said related directly to his statements. She didn't know, maybe they did. With a smile and a slight nod, he began typing.

Still a day off thirty and already wise, she thought to herself as she continued moving around the room.

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Sorry this one is short. There was more to this chapter but lesson planning got in the way of me finishing it so I've broken it into two. As a result, chapter 31 will now be entitled 'Thirty', and I was so proud of having her thirtieth birthday fall in chapter thirty (especially since it was a coincidence). Oh well, it wasn't meant to be.
I will get 31 out asap, and a bit more insight into what is going on with Troy.

Thanks again for sticking with me.
Xxx