10 Chapter 10

“I’m here about my essay,” he said. “I want to know how I can improve it. I got out of class a few minutes early and thought I’d try to catch you before you left for the day.”

“Good timing,” I said, noticing his hand shaking as he handed me his three-page stapled essay.

“How can I get better?” he asked, his eyes swimming with a spirit of curiosity.

I glanced down at the D scrawled at the top of the page in red ink and remembered why Robert was questioning his future in creative writing class. My thoughts drifted from the page, and I glimpsed my father’s worn face in the darkening shadows of his hospital room, feeling a pang of guilt chipping away at the edges of my mind.

The weight of my student’s voice reached the recesses of those obscure thoughts and yanked me out of the labyrinth maze in which I was imprisoned. “I’m sorry,” I said, apologizing to Robert who looked confused when I met his stare.