13
MELATI TOOK THE BOYS back to the Learning Unit. They walked hand in hand and talked and giggled so much that she had to tell them to be quiet—finally, a good sign.
In the corridors they passed, the lessons of the A shift were in full swing. Behind the doors of units on either side, she could hear the voices of other teachers.
The boys were still talking by the time they arrived at the unit, and Melati set them to work. While they were doing their words, she updated the cohort log, a record of their development; but she spent more time thinking than writing. Her diary of events made for depressing reading.
Tika sat staring into the distance. She went to his table, and he quickly wiped whatever had been on his screen.
“What were you looking at? Is there anything you’d like to ask?” S
