Eli

He was angry and balled up in a knot when he came into class. I'm not a teacher, but I've seen this anger before. I don't know where the anger comes from- maybe because his mother is white and his father is black. He shouldn't be too angry at them though, because they gave him his angelic looks. At any rate, he was pissed at the world. I decided that he would be my special project, of course. So after I handed out assignments, I made a special point to compliment him, using his name each time. At first I got grunts and mostly ignored, but eventually, he met my eyes. Then he smiled at one of my lame jokes. By the end, he was just as excited as the rest of the students at being there. I got to talk to his grandmother. I told her how talented he was, and how much he belonged in Baldwin, the middle school for the arts here. She was so excited. She wanted to know if I had any pull with them. Of course I don't, but if I did Eli would be on my short list of kids. He has talent. Big talent. I've seen a few of them come through this class, but he has the most potential of all of them. He's smart, he's able to control his hands. He's just not able to control his temper. But if he had art- Oh if he had art all the time, he would be a different kid. I can see it. Goodbye Eli. I hope I see you again.