From first grade onward, she had always commuted to school alone. Whenever she saw other children being picked up and dropped off by their parents, or having umbrellas brought to them on rainy days, nothing but envy filled her eyes. She would then wait in quiet silence for the rain to stop before heading home.
Ruby Rowland remembered one time in second grade most vividly. A torrential downpour started after school and dragged on endlessly. The other students eventually left, leaving her completely alone in the cold, quiet classroom. The teacher finally called her parents, but the two simply passed the buck to each other. Ultimately, her mother came to pick her up just to save face.
Initially, she had been overjoyed that her mother came for her. However, she endured non-stop complaining for the entire ride home. She had been young at the time, but those words etched themselves so deeply into her heart that she could recall them perfectly even now.
