Was skipping classes because I was having a rough senior year (parents going through a divorce, bullied for being too smart, threatened by class mates etc). There were three awesome teachers who kept an eye out for me (I wasn’t a teacher’s pet kinda girl, but they saw I was going through a rough time).

One of those teachers saw me skip class once, and just hung out with me in the hall way. Listened. Didn’t tell anyone, only told his colleague to not mark me as absent because he had to see me about something.

Another teacher (languages) realised I needed an escape and gave me extra homework (creative writing) so I could “write everything off me”, get if off my chest to a piece of paper”.

The third spotted me skip a class too. Bought me a cup of cocoa and we chatted in the otherwise empty canteen. I later learned he stood up for me behind the scenes on two occassions where I was wrongfully accused (of things my bullies had done, trying to put the blame on me).

It was nice to have some people show interest (not that ‘fake’ only-for-show-concerned “how are you doing?” without wanting to know the real answer), and to be talking to someone as their equal, a human being.

If you’re a teacher reading this; if you see a student who has trouble at home and socially at school, you don’t need to do much. Just give them the opportunity to talk, listen and let them know they can reach out if need be.