Page 43 of Crashing into Love

Drew swallowed and pressed the phone icon, placing a call to Selma Driscoll for the very first time.

“Hey,” Selma greeted.

“Hi,” Drew replied with a smile she hoped Selma couldn’t hear from the other side of the phone. “So, busy day?”

“We had a massive group come in today. Forty people.”

“Whoa. You can fit a group that size in that place?”

“We can if they book well in advance and pay for a room block. It’s a group with a bunch of families, so it’s not all forty rooms, though.”

“And they all checked in around the same time?”

“Yup. Lots of fun,” Selma said sarcastically.

“How’s Gia?”

“She’s okay. A bit of a rough day after you left. I think her intelligence wars with her age and maturity sometimes. She understands logically that you don’t live here and that you were going to leave, but it’s hard for her little heart to say goodbye to people she cares about.”

“I didn’t like saying goodbye to her, either, if that helps.”

“How would that help?” Selma laughed a little.

“I don’t know. That’s just the expression.” Drew laughed a little, too, and rolled over onto her side. “Am I keeping you from anything?”

“No. It’s too early to sleep, and it turns out, I have no life when my kid, my grandmother, or this hotel don’t need me, so I’m just lying here.”

“I feel that. I don’t have the kid, the hotel, or the grandmother, but I know what you mean. I was going to watch lame TV until I fell asleep.”

“What were you going to watch?”

“No clue.”

“What to pick out something together? Then, we can both have something to do,” Selma suggested.

“That sounds great, actually.”

CHAPTER 14

“So, this would be more like tutoring than actual school?” Selma asked the principal.

“Sort of, yes. We find it’s most effective for students like Gia. She’s one of the brightest students we have. Based on her test scores, I’d put her in the top three, and the other two around here are already doing this. If you’d like, I can get you the email addresses of their parents so that you can reach out and ask them if they’ve found this experience beneficial for their child.”

“That would be great. Thank you. Would she still go to school during normal hours?”

“Yes, and no. She wouldn’t need to be here as long, most likely, but we’d need to build out her curriculum first to know for sure. And if she gets involved in some activities I’ve suggested as well, it’s possible that she could be here later, if you go that route. Typically, she’d start at the same time as the other students, and she’d work with her instructors. If she finishes before the end of the regular school day, she’d go to the library with the students on a similar schedule, and she’d do independent work until an activity that wouldn’t start until after the normal school day ends. If you choose not to have her in any activities, though, you could pick her up whenever her actual schedule ends.”

“I think I’d like her to be in something. She’s already so alone due to her age.”

“I would agree. We have several options. I can send you home with the catalog of everything we offer. There’s also the public school about a mile away, which we partner with for things like sports and other things we can’t offer here because of our size. We have a bus that takes the students there when school ends, but the parents are responsible for picking the students up at the end of their activities.”

“I remember that part from orientation. Okay.” Selma nodded. “This is really what’s best for her?”

“I believe so. And her teachers do as well. We can always try it, and if it doesn’t work well for Gia, we can put her in seventh or eighth grade, but we can’t put her back in sixth, Miss Driscoll. Gia means well. Her teachers love her enthusiasm. But she’s doing her homework during class and often helps the other students complete theirs by sharing the answers with them, which means they don’t learn the material, and she blurts out the answers ahead of everyone because she’s just so far ahead. On top of that, she’s talking in class at times. We understand why. We’ve had a lot of kids like Gia over the years.” The principal smiled. “She’s incredibly gifted, and we made this school to help nurture that kind of gift, so we’re in this with you, but we have other parents who are paying the same tuition you do for their kids to learn, and we need to respect that and the other students as well.”

“Of course. I understand. And I appreciate you being able to work with me. I honestly have no idea where this gift of hers came from.” Selma laughed lightly. “She didn’t get it from me. And I doubt she got it from her father.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter where it comes from – it’s here. And Gia deserves the best. So, let me work on a plan with her teachers, and I’ll email that over to you. If you agree, we can start as soon as you’re ready. Ideally, you’ll tell Gia about the plan first so that she’s aware of it and is not confused. Please make sure she knows that she’s not in trouble. This is just what’s right for her learning right now.”

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