Weird Girl Read Online Free PDF

children
discover themselves has long been a passion of mine, and I like to believe that
my hand has guided many a young person to a higher state of enlightenment
throughout my eighteen years of service.
     
                Your daughter is brilliant, Mrs. Gardener.
However, Lucy seems to have little practical knowledge of social etiquette,
interpersonal relations, or boundaries. In fact, she has no friends, never
socializes with anyone, and is, quite frankly, the creepiest child that has
ever been enrolled at this institution. She has no concept of what is
appropriate for a child her age, and I have my doubts that you have any concept
of this, either.
     
                Given the paper that your child submitted to
her tutor today, I am not only shocked, but very concerned about Lucy’s home
environment. Clearly, you allow her to be exposed to things that nobody under
the age of thirty should see (if even then). I am putting Lucy, and you, on
probation, Mrs. Gardener. She will be under close observation for the
foreseeable future, and if at any time I suspect that her caretakers (meaning
you and your husband) are not providing an appropriately regulated environment
for an eight year old, I will have no choice but to contact DSS on Lucy’s
behalf. She is, after all, only a child.
     
                I expect that you will wish to discuss this
further. My home number is 590-8876, and I will be in my office all day
tomorrow. I look forward to continuing this dialogue.
     
    Sincerely,
    Pamela Heinz
    Principal
    New Bridge Elementary School
     
    Cleo scowled and unfolded the other letter. This one was
from Mrs. Harrison.
     
    Mrs. Gardener,
                As Mrs. Heinz is currently waiting for her
CAT scan, I act on her behalf by informing you that your child, Lucy Gardener,
is hereby suspended from school for a period of two weeks. She will be expected
to keep up with her assignments during this time. This will be on her permanent
record. If you have any questions, please contact me at the school.
     
     Your child is a menace. If I could have her arrested, I
would.
     
    Sincerely,
    Marjory Harrison
     
    Suspended! But she was being persecuted! Her freedom of
speech was being violated! She briefly considered composing a scathing letter
about censorship and the fall of civilization, but decided that there were more
important things to consider, such as how to tell her parents that she was
suspended from school.
    She lay back on Achillea’s bed and watched two spiders
carefully constructing webs on the ceiling (Helen would not allow spiders or
insects to be killed, as it may disrupt the ecological balance). There were
three options: 1. Tell them everything, and take the consequences; 2. Tell them
nothing, and find something to do with her time after she was dropped off at
school every morning; or 3. Lie.
     
    Cleo mentally ran through the meeting with Mrs. Heinz. The
woman was really out of line. The memory of her slowly tearing each page in
half was infuriating. But, as Cleo remembered the stapler flying through the
air, the thunk of metal meeting flesh and bone, the stapler arcing sideways to
shatter the aquarium, the look of surprise on Mrs. Heinz’s face as the blood
ran down, the three goldfish flopping helplessly on the floor, their gills
pumping—there was a real chance that Helen and Darwin would not be supportive.
She scowled again. Everybody always sided with the person who bled. Nobody ever
cared about the invisible injuries of intellectual repression. It was abuse!
     
    If she continued to go to school, there was a chance of
someone seeing her while Vera was still around. So, Cleo decided that the only
recourse was to lie.
     
    That evening, when Cleo went downstairs for dinner, she had
a crisp, sealed envelope with the school’s logo on the outside. Her parents
were surprised, as they had both managed to forget that Cleo was enrolled in a
public school.
     
    Dear Dr. St.