Page 19 of Minor Trouble
“Hey, Noah, come on in.” I smiled and gestured to the chair on the other side of my desk. Ideally, I would have preferred a more informal environment, a sofa or something, but it seemed Cali Cross High wasn’t able to provide that.
“Hi, Ms. Coren.” He didn’t look me directly in the eye and slumped down in the chair, dropping his rucksack on the floor next to him.
I closed his file and leant my elbows on the desk, steepling my fingers together. “How’s your Monday been?”
“Fine.” He lifted a shoulder.
His reaction was exactly as I’d expected, and I was prepared. What I had to tell him wouldn’t be easy, but I was there for him to make sure things worked out.
“I’m not sure that’s true, is it, Noah?” I kept my tone deliberately neutral, not wanting to accuse him of anything, trying to give him the opportunity to explain himself.
Slowly, he lifted his head, his blue eyes so similar to Seth’s. “What are the others saying?” His eyebrows knitted together.
There was no way to sugar coat it. “Sleeping in class, not turning in homework. I know it’s hard—”
“Hard?” he spat. “You know nothing about me or what I’m going through.”
“Then why don’t you tell me so I can help you?”
Noah tugged at a piece of skin around his thumbnail, worrying it until it came away in his fingers. “Why should I tell you anything?”
“Because maybe I can make it easier?”
He lowered his head again. “I miss my mom,” he mumbled so quietly I almost couldn’t hear him. “And Seth, my dad, he’s not…” Noah’s words tailed off as he struggled to explain.
I wished I could hug him and tell him everything would be okay. Switching off the emotion of the situation, I pulled myself together and started to broach some of the issues.
“I’m sure your dad wants to help too. Maybe we can work on this together,” I cajoled. “Tell me about your classes, which ones do you like best?”
He snorted, the earlier glimpse of sadness gone and the teenage apathy back. “None of them.”
“Really? Your science teacher says otherwise. He says you really got involved in the practical class last week.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s okay.”
I pulled his schedule out from his file. “History not going as well though? You didn’t turn in your homework, and your last test result was less than impressive.”
“I really hate history. I can’t remember all the dates and stuff.” Noah screwed up his face.
Trying to give him a positive before I went on to the next negative, I said, “Perhaps we can switch some things around, get you into a different class.” I made a note on his schedule, then looked at him once again. “Let’s talk about you sleeping in class. What time do you go to bed?”
“Dad normally goes to bed about eleven. Then I’ll play video games until about three or four. He wakes me up at six.” Noah chewed on his bottom lip.
“So he comes and checks on you before he goes to bed?”
“No. He’ll help me get the sofa ready, then goes to his room.”
“Wait, you’re sleeping on the couch?” My eyes widened as I connected the dots.
Noah nodded. “It’s only a small apartment. Above the garage where he works.”
I blew out a breath. That certainly went some way to explaining the problems. No wonder he wasn’t sleeping properly.
Seth wanted my help, but I wasn’t sure he was going to like what I had to say when I saw him later.
Nine
Seth
