This is a chapter from Candle Light Dreams..Celeste's abusive aunt has just sent her to first day of school in Lincoln. She sent her off alone with a map. This is one part-She is looking back on her day following school.
Book out this year. When? Undetermined. Ladette Randolph Sandhills Ballad editing. templeranch@wordpress.org
Chapter 35: Despairing
Her feet slid along the icy slick street. The new school was enormous and overwhelming, like a huge penitentiary with wire fences. Why hadn’t she thought about Lincoln and all the people compared to the country? She was made for a one-room school. All day long she’d watched hundreds of kids running up and down the halls like armies of ants, she a stranger among them. No one said hello which left her stranded and wondering what to do with her hands. She’d hung them to her sides, held them behind her back, used them to pull on her dress, ran them though her hair, still she was unable to get them to feel at home or comfortable. Out of options, she’d scratched herself then pulled on her nails, also biting them. The feet were good for drawing designs in the snow.
When the lunch hour came, Celeste took her tray wondering where she should sit. She felt self-conscious and alone in the big cafeteria. At UNION SHE would be sitting with Ginny and the other girls, each trying to get Miss England’s attention, asking her if she wanted something from their lunch pail. All Miss England ate was an apple and some cheese.
I love the part about the girl figuring out what to do with her hands. I can certainly relate to it and I will bet a whole lot of other people will too.
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