CHINESE WHISPER

 

Chinese Whisper

Hayley was in a real strop as she arrived home. The seven year old threw her school bag down in temper. Her mother glanced up from her book when she heard her daughter’s noisy entry.

“Goodness, Hayley, why are you in such a bad mood?”

“Cos I couldn’t do the lesson today.”

“Oh, I see! So you got ticked off by your teacher, then.”

Hayley blew her cheeks out and sighed deeply. Since late afternoon she’d held back tears. But now they streamed down her cheeks.

She sobbed, “It’s not fair! I didn’t understand what Miss Smith meant.”

“What was the lesson, Hayley?”

“It was horrid, mum. Teacher said we were going to learn about Miss Smiths leggins. I didn’t know why we needed to know about her leggins.”

Her mother was confused; why would she want to teach our children about her leggings? So many questions went through her mind.

“Now I’m curious; let’s find out what this is about.”

Miss Smith was busy, as tonight was parents’ evening. Hayley’s mother knocked the door.

“Come in. Oh, hello, Mrs Blake and Hayley, you’re very early.”

“Yes, my daughter came home extremely upset about the lesson you took today.”

“I knew something wasn’t right, as she stormed off close to tears.”

“Hayley said you wanted to teach the children about your leggings.”

Miss Smith sat down. “I’ve no idea what you mean. Mrs Blake.” She was thoughtful for a few minutes and then the penny dropped. “Hayley, I believe you have misinterpreted what I really said,”Miss Smith chuckled. “What I wanted them to hear about today, Mrs Blake, was Mysteries, Myths and Legends.”

The two women laughed. Hayley looked at them both and was about to take off again.

“Hey, don’t run off!” Mrs Blake picked her up and cuddled her.

“You’ve got it all wrong, Hayley. Miss Smith wanted to tell you stories about famous people and events.”

“It’s good that you’re early. I really want to speak to you about Hayley’s schoolwork. She’s fallen behind quite considerably,” Miss Smith said.

“Yes, I think she has a problem with her ears. Often I speak to her and she doesn’t respond.”

“I looked through her past work and she seemed to do so well, but then there’s a change.”

“Hayley was OK, until she fell off her bicycle without a helmet. Anyway, her problem seemed to stem from then.”

“I’m new at this school and I’ve noticed she’s been very stressed in lessons. It must have been terrible for her.”

“I have to take her to have her ears checked out tomorrow. Often I speak to her and she doesn’t answer.”

“Do you have a problem hearing me in class, Hayley?”

Hayley was reading a book. She didn’t look up.

Josephine Smith