Reading Buddies, Part 2

Anubitu and Guragie walked over to the rug and waited patiently as the teacher explained their presence and what they would be doing, as well as going over the rules and expectations for each of the kindergarteners. "I'm going to split you into two groups. The first group will go with Anubitu. I'd like Aaeru, Yun, Alti, Limone, Morinas, and Paraietta in this group. The second group will go with Guragie. I'd like Neviril, Kaimu, Dominura, Mamiina, Rodoreamon, and Floe in this group." To each of the girls, she said, "Anubitu, you can take your group to the library center over there, and Guragie can keep her group here on the rug."

Each of the groups split up, Anubitu's group following her to the library. Each of the girls grabbed a bean bag and settled in. Anubitu sat in front of them, and placed the books off to the side. She picked up the first book, the one on farm animals, and turned to look at her group. Already, some of them had lost focus. Two of them were involved in a poking war of sorts. Another was laughing at the pair. A third was trying to get them to stop. "Hey guys, I'm going to read to you," began Anubitu nervously. She noticed the teacher nearby, and relaxed. If things got too bad, she could always get help.

Her heart sank when she heard a knock on the door, saw the teacher answer, and then promptly go into the hall, closing the door behind her. She looked back at her group, still only having two paying attention. Perhaps if she started reading, they'd begin to listen. "I have a book on farm animals. See the cover? It has a chicken on it." Immediately, one of the girls hopped up from her spot and pretended to be a chicken. She hopped about, clucking.

"Sit down, Aaeru," complained Paraietta.

Morinas reached up, and tugged Aaeru's shirt, pulling her back to her seat. Aaeru's arms swung freely, and her left arm, cast and all, smacked Alti on the back of the head. Alti began to cry, as did Aaeru.

Anubitu had no idea what to do. She didn't know how to handle kids, let alone crying ones. The teacher still hadn't returned, and she rapidly tried to think of something to do. "Don't cry…please…" she said, more begging than consoling. When that didn't work, she stood up. She looked over at Guragie's group, which was sitting quietly at the rug, listening to her story with rapt attention. Anubitu looked back at her group, quite the opposite of Guragie's. She caught Guragie's eye and mouthed "Help me".

Guragie caught Anubitu's message and spoke softly to her group. Then she quickly made her way off, noticing right away the many issues that had occurred. "What happened?"

"I don't know…I started to try and read and then one was a chicken and then another told her to sit down and another pulled the girl down and then they started to cry and I don't know what to do!" she finished, out of breath from all the run-on sentences she had strung together. Guragie had to know a way to fix the problem. Guragie always did.