Unwanted child - стр. 31

By and large Theodore was only given a little more attention than the others. He did not receive any special gift, except a few balloons, nor did he receive any privileges. The food he ate was the same as usual. In addition, one of his gifts did come loose from his chair and flew irretrievably to the ceiling. The rest of the balloons the teacher asked one of her assistants to take them to the teachers' lounge and leave them there. Theodore did not have a separate cot to which they could be tied, and going from one room to another, inadvertently could forget them or drop them. After all the lessons, the teacher planned to give the boy all his symbolic gifts. In fact, it was the first birthday party he had celebrated in five years, where everyone congratulated him together. For the first couple of years of his life, on Theodore's birthday, Lars carried him to the hospital to his mother's house to babysit her beloved baby. But her strength quickly waned, and by 743, when Ted was two years old, she had become infirm. After his mother's death, Lars became even more formalised in his treatment of the child, covering only basic matters concerning his upkeep so as not to become an ‘outcast’1 and lose all his possessions. Therefore, what kind of birthday celebration in the boy's family could we talk about?

Of course, even such a gesture from the tutor in the form of balloons delighted Theodore. After all, he had never received any presents before. It would seem that nothing could spoil the boy's cheerful and cheerful mood. The school day was coming to an end and the children were going home, which caused a small crush in the main hall on the ground floor. Parents were darting back and forth without stopping to pick up their children and take them out of the Children's Educational Centre. Theodore's own father had never taken much care of him, and Mrs Donova knew it, so it might have felt a little like she was patronising him, but it wasn't quite true. For example, today the tutor was merely helping to put on the boy's jacket. It was at that moment that she was called by the headmistress, inviting her into her office.

– Come, Theodore, let's go get your marbles and go back to wait for your father! – Mrs Donova said excitedly, leaning over to the boy's ear. Together they entered the principal's office, where, having already taken all the seats on the sofa, parents and their children were sitting with disgruntled expressions on their faces. The headmistress sat down at the desk and looking her employee straight in the eyes in a commanding voice said: ‘Miss Donova, there has been a complaint about your behaviour from several pupils in your group and their parents.’