A Hero For Rose

Rose was smart. She knew because in middle school she never read for tests or exams but always scored above average. 

It never mattered till one day. It might come as a shock but she dreaded mathematics above all subjects like it was the two faced friend that murdered her in her past life. Apart from Mr X that always lost his way and needed finding, she would have greater reasons to loathe the subject.

Her teacher was asking each of them their aspirations and when it got to Rose, she said she hoped to be a doctor. His sudden burst of laugher threw the entire class in gales of laugher. He wiped his eyes and told her to sit, that the only way she would succeed was in her dreams.

It wasn't just that. He never let her answer questions in class or solve equations on the board even if all others tried and failed. Sometimes she had the answer but she couldn't say anything for the fear of being wrong or mocked. He treated her that way because he never thought she belonged there. Her school was one for the children of politicians and ministers and she was no one.

 Her family wasn't renowned or bastard rich. But Rose's parents loved her. They didn't wear the clothes their peers wore, or drive the fanciest cars but they broke their backs to give her the best education. It hurt because the man would never understand their sacrifice. It made her sit long hours alone and cry. It made her ashamed of her roots and that was something he would never be forgiven for.

When her father abandoned them, she was torn. Her mother struggled alone and sank in debt till Rose had to change to a more affordable school. It wasn't till then that Rose discovered her creative genius and self-love. Two treasures no one would steal from her ever again.

In her final year, her grandmother saw all her efforts and invested her last dime to send her to the most famous finishing school at that time. To give her higher chances of hitting a scholarship with her dream university.

"You're intelligent. No one scores this high in the first test." That was her first conversation with Mr Miller, her maths and biology teacher who would later become her fairy godmother. 

He aroused the best efforts from his students, he was firm but merciful. He made long lectures into interesting conversations. Children should never feel that the gravity of your words will determine their future because that would be heavily daunting.

Mr Miller felt a responsibility for young Rose and tended to her till she thrived into a magnificent rose bush and didn't need him anymore.

 With her short timr there, she had grown to admire him severely. She was not used to being prioritized even at home and it felt like heaven. 

 "I see improvements. Big ones!" He said examining a score sheet. Keep it up and you won't just win the lavish cash prize for the best graduating student, but you'll find yourself studying among the best of the best at Princeton next year."

Oh dear! If only he would let her have a look!

"I get that chemistry isn't one of your favorite subject?" He asked, raising a brow.

"It's impossible!" She blurted before she could stop herself. "And Mr Cornelius is such a snore. What's more, he keeps trailing off to talk about his wife and children!"

Mr Miller took a sip of water to keep from laughing. "Now that's not very nice, is it?"

Rose flushed and looked away. 

"Tell you what. You can join the private lessons I hold with two of your mates after school. They paid good money for it so you'll have to tell them your parents paid for it too."

"Oh God!" Rose laughed, her eyes fogging up a little. Wasn't he just an angel! She wanted to damn the rules and run around the desk and give him a big fat hug. Apparently, it was not allowed. She showed him her most grateful and happy smile. He was smiling back. 

One evening, only Rose stayed back for the lesson and Mr Miller was moved. He poured out every bit of knowledge she would need to ace her papers and gave her a glimpse into college life. It was a precious moment, he advised her like a father would a daughter and tell her amusing stories.

Halfway through biology revisions, he asked her a question that shocked her.

"Rose, you know you can tell me anything. We're friends."

"Yes, Sir." She responded with a cautious smile. She wasn't sure what was going on.

There was a pause. "Are you scared of me?"

The question threw her off balance. Why would he think that? 

Rose smiled awkwardly, her eyes subconsciously falling to her knotted fingers again. "No Sir."

"Yes, you are." 

When Rose looked at him again she realized he wasn't joking as he usually did.

"Tell me if I look scary or act that way. Is it something I do? Tell me, I'll figure something out."

"You don't frighten me at all, Mr Miller" She explained, her fingers drumming nervously on the arm of the chair. What if he saw that he got transferred to another class? He would think it best! Rose's heart was thumping at the back of her throat and her head grew light.

Mr Miller's voice was cool and collected. "Yes, you are." He deadpanned. "That's why you are distracted in my classes. You fidget with your hands or pen while talking to me. You can't maintain eye contact when we are this close. There's a reason for that. What is it?" 

"It's nothing, Sir."

"You mean you're like this with other teachers?" He sounded worried.

Thinking back, she could only remember when her math teacher in her former school used to belittle before the entire class. That fear sank in over the years.

 She had grown a glowering hatred for the vast majority of men and with time it chewed into all her relationships. Mr Miller was the only man she admired. The one who helped her grow as a person. That's why she was devastated when she learned months after she graduated that he passed away during an appendix surgery. She never got to tell him how much he meant to her. He truly was her hero.

Before him, her trauma hung over her head like an angry cloud ready to destroy all the relationships she would ever have. But Mr Miller showed her there was still tenderness and kindness in the hearts of men.

 So anytime Rose felt uninspired or at an all time low, these thoughts were the driving force that turned her into the success Mr Miller had always trusted she would become.