Chapter 9 - Ichi Rittoru No Namida (Part 8)

Changing to a school for the handicapped

Aya's high school requested that she leave the school because she was causing trouble for the whole class.

It was just what we had feared would happen. Bitterly disappointed, Aya's mother told me that her classmates were helping her go up and down the stairs when she moved to another classroom and saying. "It's no trouble, Aya!" We'll help you in the same way in the future."

I felt brighter when I heard that her classmates were supporting her.

Her mother told me that she was going to ask the school to let her daughter stay.

"If the teachers have any questions about Little Aya's disease," I said to her, "I'll be happy to explain.

Or I could go with you to the school."

But her mother replied that she would prefer to go by herself. She went to the school many times, despite her busy work schedule, and made a strong appeal to the school authorities for Aya to stay there. In the end, however, it was decided that Aya would move to a school for the handicapped. The grounds of that school are designed so that the students can freely move around in wheelchairs. It also has a rehabilitation facility where they can study while having treatment. But I think it was a big shock for Aya's mother who,

supported by many of Aya's classmates, had been fighting against the move. When she told me in a sad voice that Aya was going to move, I felt a lump in my throat.

I suppose that the high school administrators did not know how to deal with Aya. Their conclusion was that if there was a school designed for children like her, why shouldn't Aya go there? But I wonder if causing trouble was the only effect Aya had on the school. From what I heard, the desire to care for a disabled friend was emerging very naturally among her classmates. They could learn a lot from the serious attitude of a friend who was trying so hard to live. I was very disappointed with those evolved in her education.

They didn't even inquire about er disease. They just did things by the book. Today, the issue of bullying is talked about a great deal, but I believe there was no hint of a dark shadow over Aya's classmates.

Much later, when Aya entered the hospital again, I remember her saying to me happily, "Please give me permission to go out because I'm going to meet my high school friends."