Work Text:
The few years of peace had finally seemed to create a new sense of normalcy in Draag. The changes seemed to be doing good. People were out again, doing their business, following the new decrees, keeping order. In towns such as this one, life prevailed alongside the order. Children played in the same streets soldiers lazily patrolled, all of them either certain nothing subversive would occur in a place like this, or too bored to care if there was.
This day was a particularly busy day, the town having as much bustle as it was able to muster. At that moment, Marianne was more focused on keeping up with her mother, who was practically dragging her along as she hurried down the street. Marianne knew they were supposed to be meeting a lady at the school, but her mother had been particularly stressed about it. They had been at the school some time ago to register her for kindergarten, and Marianne knew they had been talking about her at that meeting, something about extra tests. The lady they were meeting was from the city. Most of it all seemed like something the adults were more concerned about than she was.
“You’re walking too fast,” she complained.
“I’m sorry, love,” her mother said, not stopping. “We’re not late but if we don’t hurry, we will be. I can carry you,” she suggested.
“No!” Marianne said, scrunching her nose in indignation. “I’ll keep up.”
“If you say so,” her mother said. “We are nearly there, so it won’t be long.”
Soon enough, they arrived at the school. Despite her earlier insistence, Marianne was glad to let her mother scoop her up and carry her once they arrived at the school gates. Her mother walked up the steps and into the building, finding the office, where the receptionist recognized her instantly.
“Ah, good,” the woman said. “Right on time. I’ll let the headmaster and Miss (think of surname later) know you are here.”
“Is that the lady with the tests?” Marianne whispered into her mothers ear.
“Yes,” her mother said as the receptionist went to the office to announce their arrival.
The receptionist ushered the pair in, and Marianne’s mother followed.
The headmaster's office was not as stern or imposing as such a name would suggest. There were no dark oak bookshelves or grand, heavy desks. The school had been newly built, just a few years ago to keep up with reforms. The headmaster was still somewhat new to everything, having been sent from the capital when construction completed, young, with just enough administrative experience and a good education degree for the job. He sat behind a shiny, modern desk, a young woman in sharp business attire off to the side beside him. “Good afternoon Mrs. Solovyova,” he said, gesturing for her and Marianne to sit.
Marianne’s mother plopped her in a chair before taking the one beside her across from the headmaster. “Good afternoon, sir,” she said.
“And this must be Marianne,” he added. “She’s quite a lovely little girl.”
“Thank you,” Marianne said, growing nervous with the importance of what was coming next. She swung her feet in the chair and folded her hands tightly.
The headmaster turned back to Marianne’s mother. “And you have the required medical forms?” He asked.
“Yes,” she said, handing them over for inspection. “There should be both documents for the required examinations for enrollment, as well as the documentation about her condition.”
Looking it over briefly, the headmaster said, “very well. I’m sorry if this was an inconvenience, but I’m afraid it all is quite required. I have to be very thorough for the board, as I’m sure you know we’ve not yet had any handicapped students to enroll. They’re going to be very scrutinous that things are done right the first time.”
“Oh it was no problem at all,” Mrs. Solovyova said. “It’s important to me that I do what I can to help Marianne.”
“Well that’s good. I know it’s a lot of formality. I’ve known since you came for registration that it was incredibly unlikely Marianne would be exempt from enrollment. I’ve read about her condition in journals. The board just requires proof that she only suffers from blindness.”
“And what after that?”
“That is what Miss Nowińska is here for. She has to assess Marianne’s capabilities as well as areas where she requires assistance. She will also serve as Marianne’s specialized instructor following board approval.”
“I see,” Mr. Solovyova said.
“If everything is in order, I’ll let Miss Nowińska take it from here.”
Miss Nowińska stood up, and moved to the other side of the desk. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Solovyova. You can follow me to the classroom in which we’ll do the testing.”
Mrs. Solovyova scooped her back up, following Miss Nowińska out of the office. “Where will we be going?” She asked.
“The test will be taken in my prospective classroom. It’s currently set up for examination only, but pending Marianne’s enrollment it will likely be where most of her instruction will take place.”
As they moved down the few hallways of the school, Mrs. Solovyova caught the glimpses of the other classrooms. They were being quickly set up for the impending term. Maps and charts took up much of the walls. Flags were not up yet, but their posts were awaiting them. The same rules and slogans were emblazoned above each chalkboard, and desks were perfectly aligned.
“You seem quite certain of things. How long have you been doing this?” Marianne’s mother asked.
“This is actually my first assignment,” Miss Nowińska admitted. “I just completed my specialized certification this year.”
“And they sent you out here first?”
“People always suppose us new graduates would stick around the capital for some time, but really, there’s just more openings out here in these outer industrial areas. Schools like this one were hit harder by the reforms than capital ones. I wasn’t even particularly enthusiastic about working in the city near here. When I received word there was a blind girl who needed evaluation here, I jumped on the opportunity.”
“Oh,” Marianne’s mother said, relieved. “Are you particularly interested in blind education?”
Miss Nowińska nodded slightly. “It’s something we’ve had to study much more as of late. Marianne’s condition, though it may have seemed so when it was discovered, is not nearly as rare as anticipated. Even smaller locales in the distant provinces are beginning to have incidences of it.”
Marianne’s mother hummed in agreement. “I hear the treatments have improved for new cases, though.”
“Science is always improving. Especially when they know to look for it. I’ve been told Marianne’s vision loss is profound, yes?”
“Right,” said Mrs. Solovyova. “The disease had hardly been studied. I believe Marianne was only about the tenth case they had identified. There was nothing for her. She suffered terribly until she could be approved for surgery. She was six months old, then. I could never understand what exactly it was they did, but I know it wasn’t even about her sight anymore, but just stopping the progression and inflammation. Something with her nerves. None of the doctors ever explained it simply.”
Miss Nowińska shook her head. “It really is a shame. I’ve not studied much of the medical side of it, I’m just an instructor. I’ve just learned what it is and the simple facts about it since I’m most likely going to be dealing with students who are affected.”
The short conversation ended as they reached what would become Miss Nowińska’s classroom. It was mostly empty, no student desks, nor a typical teachers desk. A large, semicircular table sat front and center before the chalkboard. There were short, empty bookshelves and some filing cabinets. Mrs Solovyova looked around in trepidation.
“I have to await approval before I can fully set up the room.” Miss Nowińska explained. “I’m anticipating that Marianne will likely receive a ‘modified instruction’ enrollment, so she’ll be mostly taught in this classroom, but allowed with her peers for certain activities. I still have to assess her, to ensure that my assumption is correct. Once everything goes through, I’ll be able to furnish the room with the necessary materials and equipment.”
Mrs Solovyova set Marianne down. “I see. How long will this take?”
“Not long at all. Marianne will have to be assessed alone, however. Parental presence has a chance to affect results,” Miss Nowińska said. “There are forms you can make out in the office while you wait.”
Nodding, Mrs Solovyova looked down at Marianne. “I have to go now, love. I know you can be good for Miss Nowińska, right?” She asked.
“I’ll be good.” Marianne said.
“That’s my girl,” Mrs. Solovyova said, giving her daughter a kiss on the top of the head before leaving down the hall again.
Miss Nowińska stooped down slightly to look at Marianne. “Hello, Marianne. Are you ready for the test? All you have to do is answer a few questions and tell me about yourself.”
Marianne nodded solemnly. “I am.” She said, before reaching up one of her hands, expecting it to be taken.
Taking the girl's hand, Miss Nowińska led Marianne into the classroom and directed her to the smaller chair on the curved side of the semicircle table. Miss Nowińska found her seat across from Marianne in a small section cut out of the semicircle, so the two sat face to face. “Shall we begin?”
“Yes.”
“Great! So, can you tell me your full name?”
“Marianne Solovyova.”
“That’s a good start.”
“My mommy found the name in a book, that’s why it’s so different,” Marianne said, unprompted. She’d heard the explanation enough times to know it just as well as her name.
“That’s very interesting,” Miss Nowińska said as she scribbled something onto a pad. “And how old are you?”
“I’m five.”
This line of questioning continued, who she lived with, her home address, the name of her town and province. They were all simple enough for Marianne to answer, even if they did take some thought.
“And what do you do at home? Do you spend time with your mother and father?”
“Papa works all day. He’s a supervisor at the foundry,” Marianne said, sounding out the word ‘supervisor.’ I do practice school with mommy when he’s gone. We do my letters and my numbers, and sometimes we even try doing the pluses and minuses.”
“Are you good at it?”
“Uh huh. I can say all the letters and I can count to ten by myself. If mommy helps I can go to twenty. Usually after that I go play.”
“What do you play?”
“I like to play pretend. Or dolls. Sometimes my friend Natalia’s mommy comes over and I get to play with her. We make up stories with our dolls.”
“Can you tell me about Natalia?”
“She’s my best friend. Our mommies have been friends since forever, and she’s also five just like me, so I’ve known her since forever too.”
“That’s very nice.”
“I’m gonna walk to school with her if you let me go,” said Marianne. “Her big brother Sasha is gonna watch us.”
“You sound very excited about school.”
“I am. When will you tell my mommy if I’m allowed?”
“It won’t take long, sweetie. I’ve still got questions to ask you.”
“Okay,” said Marianne, growing restless.
“Are there other things you practice with your mom? Things she helps you with?”
“Sometimes she helps me by not helping me. I practiced walking around our apartment by myself til I knew it. We practice things together and then I do it by myself.”
“That’s very good.”
“I wanna do it more sometimes but she gets nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“I think she’s scared I’ll do something wrong and get hurt. She’s always scared I’ll get hurt since I’m always touching things.”
“Mothers worry like that.”
“Can we talk about Papa now? I do things with Papa when he comes home.”
“Like what?”
“When he comes home from work, and after supper, and after when we have to watch the television, he plays his piano. I like listening to the piano. We sing together when he sings songs. I know all the songs we sing. It’s my favorite.”
“That’s very nice. It’s good to have an appreciation for music. In the upper school, all the students take a music class of some sort. If you do well, I’m sure that we can make that a part of your education, too.”
“Really?” Asked Marianne, who began to perk up.
“Certainly,” said Miss Nowińska.
Once all the questions about her home life were finished, the final set of questions began.
“Is there anything you have that helps you or that you need because of your eyes?”
Marianne giggled. “Aren’t you supposed to know?” She asked. “That's what my glasses are for. Every grownup ever knows that.”
“I just have to make sure you know. Can you tell me what they’re for?”
“Yeah. Even though I can’t see it, the lights hurt my eyes. I can’t tell where my eyes are going so I can’t just move ‘em away. They’re extra dark because I’m sensitive.”
“I see. You’ve answered my questions very well. You’re quite the bright girl.”
“Thank you,” said Marianne. “Is it over?”
Miss Nowińska stood up and nodded. “We are done, yes.” With that, she walked back around the table and took Marianne’s hand.
“So now what?” Marianne asked as they left the room.
“I’ll talk to your mother, and then the headmaster. After that we have to talk to the important people that run the schools. They’ll make the decision.”
“Okay,” said Marianne. “Will it take long?”
“A few days.”
Marianne didn’t respond, but nodded thoughtfully. She didn’t converse any further as she was led back to the office.
Mrs. Solovyova noticed their return immediately and scooped Marianne back up as soon as they arrived. “Did it go well?” She asked.
“I did good,” said Marianne.
“Yes,” Miss Nowińska agreed. “The examination went well. You’ve done a very good job with her. I assume all the paperwork is in order as well?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, then you are free to go,” the headmaster said. “Results will come by mail shortly. I hope we see each other again.”
“Thank you so much,” Mrs. Solovyova said, setting off with Marianne in her arms.
The headmaster watched as they left. “Are you pleased with the results?” He asked.
Miss Nowińska nodded. “I am pleased. She’s an exceptionally bright girl. Perhaps even particularly intelligent. She is simply just blind.”
“Completely blind,” the headmaster added.
“Yes, I am aware,” Miss Nowińska said. “For that reason I’m going to recommend her for modified instruction. She can receive the standard curriculum, it will just have to be in a format she will understand. She’s young and receptive. If she’s accepted, I will be able to order braille workbooks and the like. It should not be much of a strain to fund this.”
The headmaster folded his hands on the desk. “That is all well and good that you have this plan. I’m glad you think it will not be an expensive one. It is all well and good that she is an intelligent girl. I can understand quite well that Marianne could be educated. The board is going to need a reason as to why she should. What will you say that can prove that? It will not be enough to say that she wants to or that she’s especially smart. They are going to want to know why it will be worthwhile to spend any time and resources on her. What good will this education do her? What will she ever be able to do, with or without it?”
Miss Nowińska sat with that thought for a moment. “I’m sure I can think of something based on my notes. I’ll go over them tonight. But I think we have a good chance regardless of pleading her case. They can’t use how things are today as reason for barring her. I imagine things must change in time, with all the blind children the country will have entering school now.”
“You can hope,” the headmaster said, “but remember, you can’t predict the future.”
“No one can.”