Chapter 18: Do You Understand?

*Samuel*

I settled into my office, setting my bag down and pulling a single sheet of paper out of it, setting it in the middle of the desk so that it would be ready for when Ellie arrived.

My student was originally going to come to my office right after class, but she wanted to grab a quick snack first so told me that she would be a few minutes late. A small part of me wondered if she was trying to stall, especially since she had been acting strangely since the gala, but I once again reminded myself that it was none of my business and that I was likely misreading her anyway. I didn’t know her.

And yet…

And yet, I was curious about her. Perhaps it was because her background was so different from that of her fellow classmates that she seemed so unique to me. She was probably forced to be more resourceful and creative due to her economic circumstances. Undoubtedly, she had to budget for her family or think of creative ways to help her mother put food on the table.