Perfect English

"Dr. Langford," the teacher said as she shook her hand. "I am not even sure how to handle this, but thank you for coming up here so promptly. This is my student, Jennifer Harper. As you can see she is very upset." The teacher continued, "Jennifer is upset because she believes that one of the cadavers is her father, who has been missing for well over a year."

"I want to call my mother," Jennifer interrupted in a very demanding voice "I want her to come here and you’ll see that I’m not crazy or hysterical!"

"I’m sorry you’re so upset," was all Kathie could think to say to the young girl. She, too, couldn’t imagine it was true, but she instinctively felt that having the mother come was the only way to handle the situation. "Andy," Kathie called out, "let this young lady use the phone in the lounge, be available if her mother wants to talk to someone from here. You can have her meet you in Dr. Potter’s office." Turning to the teacher, as Andy led the young girl away, Kathie said, "Sometimes the cadavers are very upsetting to the students. Although we’ve never had a student get as upset as this, I am sure, the worst part for her will be the embarrassment of going back to school tomorrow."

"I’m not sure that this will be the case with Jennifer. She’s one of my brightest students and not one to get emotional or lose control as she did today. The way she carried on I almost believe her and that cadaver is her father. As I said, I do know her father has been missing for almost two years."

"I am sure she believes it was her father. I am sure it isn’t easy for her not knowing where her father is. Maybe the shock of seeing the cadavers was part of the reason for her emotional outburst, but perhaps when her mother gets here we’ll be able to calm her." Kathie looked to Dr. Potter for his assistance in assuring the teacher.

Dr. Potter got the hint and added, "We have had a handful of different reactions from our high school students in the past. But I can assure you that they have always been minor and in some cases those same students have even returned to complete the program."

"Dr. Potter, why don’t you and Ms. Sinclair join Jennifer in the lounge and find out if her mother is going to come to the campus," Kathie said walking them towards the lounge.

"What about the rest of my class? As their teacher, I need to see that they complete this part of their requirement. But with Jennifer reacting like she did, I’m not so sure they’ll want to continue today."

"Ms. Sinclair, it’s your decision whether or not to allow the rest of your group to continue with the class today. You and Dr. Potter can work that out, if not, we can make whatever financial adjustment is necessary or even reschedule your class at a later date." Kathie was sure everything would work out once the mother spoke to her daughter so she headed to her office.

Once in her office, she sat in her chair, looked out the window and took a deep breath. She looked at the picture of her twins on the desk and smiled to herself. She thought this week was going to be a piece of cake. She grabbed a cup of coffee and started her regular morning routine by checking her messages. It had been over an hour since she sat down so she decided to place a call to Andy for an update. He wasn’t answering. She just assumed that he was still dealing with the problem. The rest of the morning progressed normally. No meetings today, so at least she could work her way though the papers piled on her desk.

There was a tap on the door and Andy walked in without Kathie responding. "Sorry, Kathie," Andy said, as he closed the door behind him "That little problem from this morning has become a little more complicated."

"What do you mean by more complicated?"