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Ava going back to school was a decision she made on a whim but not one that she took lightly. She had done it all by herself; researching the best options for her, enrolling, and meeting with her advisor to schedule her classes.
Being in school was different for her this time around. She was glad she had chosen to do night in-person classes instead of online, and she was pleasantly surprised when she found herself eager to attend.
Barbara was more than amazing when Ava first told her she was going back to school. She worried at first that it was going to be another one of her many ‘interested for only a split second’ ideas, but when she caught Ava going to classes and doing her work she was more proud than anything.
Of course it got hard, Ava was still Ava. Some nights she struggled to focus with studying, but every time Barbara was there to hold her hand and give guidance and help her get focused. It was a system. Most nights they sat together, Barbara grading papers with one hand while the other served as a fidget device for Ava while she read through her chapters. When Ava had classes, Barbara made her dinner beforehand and was waiting for her in the bed when she returned.
Tonight had been the same, Barbara fixing Ava a quick meal before she went off to school, but Ava was a bit frustrated when she got home. Ava stomped through the house, throwing her bags down and trudging up to her and Barbara’s room. As usual Barbara was waiting, back against the headboard scrolling through Facebook.
“How was school, Ava?”
“Ugh.”
“What’s the matter, honey?” Barbara put her phone down and patted the space next to her, Ava following the clear directions and laying down.
“I didn’t really understand the lecture tonight.”
“Well did you ask your professor to clarify,” Barbara asks, rubbing soothing circles on Ava’s back.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“That’s embarrassing as hell, Lee!”
“From what Jacob told me, you did it in his class!”
“Yeah, cause I was able to play it off as me doin my job.”
“Well, did anybody else raise their hand and ask for clarification?”
“No. Nobody ever does. We sit, he talks, we take notes, then we go home.”
“Ah. I see,” Barbara shifts and lifts Ava’s head, moving so that she can put it back down in her lap. “Ava, as a teacher I deal with this all the time. Students in my class fall behind when they are too prideful to ask for help. They don’t see their friends asking questions, so they don’t want to ask questions. Sweetheart, you’ve just got to learn to put yourself out there because I guarantee at least two other people have the same question.”
“Then why can’t they ask?”
“I don’t know. But how about this: is there book material that goes with the lecture?”
“Yeah. He said it was in chapter 4.”
“Alright then,” Barbara taps Ava’s head gently, urging her to get up, “grab your book and let’s go make some sense of it then, hm?” Ava groans, but gets up anyway.
“Fine. But we’ve got a date with the tub afterwards.”
“I won’t argue with that!”