Page 36 of Crashing into Love

“This is Maxine Hazel. We’ve spoken before at Gia’s orientation.”

“Gia’s principal, yes. Is something wrong? I just left her. She was about to log in.”

“No, not wrong. We just need to have a chat. I was hoping to do it in person, but with all this snow, that’s been difficult.”

“About her behavioral issues?”

“Well, according to Gia’s tests and her teachers, she’s ready for at least seventh grade. Possibly eighth.”

“I know. But she’s only nine years old.”

“It can be scary, having a child skip any grade. And she’s already skipped a few, so I understand. Which is also why I was hoping to talk to you about doing something we do for a few of our exceptionally gifted students.”

“What’s that?” Selma asked.

“A more tailored program,” the principal explained. “It’s an individualized approach. She’d have curriculum in each subject appropriate for her level and would work with a specific teacher for each of those courses.”

“Oh,” Selma said. “Yeah, okay. If that’s best, let’s do that.”

“We can. The only issue is that Gia would essentially be on her own for most of her studies.”

“She wouldn’t be in a specific grade or class?”

“No. But we can work with you and come up with a plan to ensure she’s still socializing. There’s always lunch and recess. Plus, we have activities for her as well. She hasn’t joined anything yet, but we have a math club and an art club. She’s expressed interest in art, right?”

“Yes, a little,” Selma replied.

“Well, we don’t have to decide anything today, but when we’re able to get back to the school, I’d like to have you come in so that we can talk about it. Unfortunately, I don’t think keeping her where she is now can be an option for us.”

“I can get her to behave.”

“I’m sure you can. I just don’t think it’s what’s best for Gia in the long term. Let’s talk more in person. I wanted to call to set something up if you’re able right now.”

“Um…” Selma walked back to the front desk and set her phone on the counter. “Okay. Yeah.”

A few minutes later, she had a scheduled appointment at the school, and she was more anxious over what to do with her genius kid than she had been ever since she’d been told Gia was bored and acting out because she needed to go up a grade. The mountain would do her good.

Selma took the shuttle and breathed in the cold, fresh air when she got to the top. She felt incredibly lucky to live here because she had everything she needed for her sport at her disposal. There was a course for boardercross that she could use pretty much whenever she wanted, and she had slopes she could go down for fun, too. They even had a half-pipe here, along with other courses, if she were ever in the mood. As a member of the Canadian snowboarding team, she pretty much got dibs whenever she needed it, and while she didn’t need it today, she would soon.

Family had always come first to Selma, though, so when her grandma had gotten sick, her training had been the first thing to go. Her coach wasn’t all that happy with her, although he understood, but it was also a big year for her, and it was his job to understand that, too. Selma still tried to get out to work with him whenever she could, and now that her grandma was back, she hoped she’d have more time.

She took her first run slowly, letting the wind hit her more than anything else. Then, she took her second run a little faster, working on her turns. On her final run of the morning, she went all-out and did a couple of jumps that probably anyone could do, but they made her feel good about being back on a board again.

Since she didn’t have to rush back, she had lunch at the restaurant and enjoyed her hot chocolate and a panini before she sat outside in the snow and let her food settle a bit. After that, she went at the mountain again, attacking a more difficult slope with speed before returning to do it all over again because she hadn’t liked how she’d taken a turn. Then, after one last run, Selma decided she needed to head back to the lodge and relieve her grandmother, but when she got there, embarrassingly a little winded, knowing her hair looked terrible and her face was probably still red, she found her daughter sitting on the sofa, leaning over the table. Next to her was Drew, and they both had crayons in their hands. They were coloring together.

“How did I do?” Drew asked, holding up whatever she’d just made to Gia.

“That flower is wrong,” Gia replied.

“Gia!” Selma walked over. “It’s Drew’s drawing. It’s not wrong.”

“No, it is,” Gia replied. “Hi, Mom.”

“Honey, her–”

“She’s teaching me how to draw flowers. She’s right: I drew it wrong.” Drew nodded to Gia’s paper, where she’d drawn what looked like perfect flowers in all sorts of varieties. “I asked her to show me. It’s okay.”

“Where’s Grandma?” Selma asked before she sat down next to Gia and kissed the top of her head.

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