It was our first day back at the school since the leak and the second I reached my classroom and put my back down, I heard little footsteps rush into the room. I turned around, only for a small body to crash into the side of my leg. I looked down to see Lily looking up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong, Lily?" I asked her, only to get no response other than her tugging on my shirt.

I knelt down and then she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. The principal rushed into the room, and I wondered what on earth was going on.

"What happened?" I asked the principal.

"I have no idea, she just came bursting through the school and ran here." The principal said.

The principal and I were equally worried about poor Lily. We were both suspicious that something at home wasn't quite right.

"Will you handle her? I'll have your class visit the breakfast corner and get seated in the talking circle, then I'll read them some stories until you return." The principal said to me.

I nodded and picked the poor kid up, carrying her to the little resource centre where some kids went to develop their reading and writing skills a little better. There was a cute little couch and reading corner and I thought Lily would appreciate that environment a lot more than anywhere else in the school.

"Lily, what's wrong, Sweetheart?" I asked her.

She continued to cry as she held onto me, never responding to anything I asked or said to her. I let her latch onto me and tried to think of what would calm her down.

"Why don't you and I go to the library and find a book for you to read today?" I asked her.

She shook her head vigorously, tightening her grip on my shirt.

"Ok. It's ok. We'll stay here for a little longer." I said to her.

I tried to think what could possibly be wrong. All I could think of is how she usually came to me for breakfast in the mornings.

"Are you hungry, Lily?" I asked her.

I felt her nodding slightly and I got up, going back to my classroom and grabbing some strawberries, some blackberries and a few granola bars. The other kids stared at me as I grabbed the food, but I just told them to go sit with the principal for now.

I grabbed Lily's new book and took it with us. When we returned to the resource centre, I pulled Lily off me and handed her the plate of food. She sat in my lap, one of my hoodie strings wrapped up in her hand as she ate with the other. She slowly calmed down and then I showed her the new book.

"You want to read it?" I asked her.

She hid her head in my sweater and didn't respond.

"How about I read it to you while you eat?" I asked her.

She looked up at me and then she nodded.

I opened up the book and began reading to her about the little fox in the story. She sat in my lap, listening to the story with the string of my hoodie still tightly clasped between her little fingers. She slowly started to fall asleep, and I took her back to my classroom, setting her down on my chair and putting the book down in front of her on my desk.

I let the principal go after that, going back to teaching my class, but when Lily woke up, there was no stopping her tears anymore.

I was sitting in the talking circle when she ran at me again and jumped into my lap, wrapping her arms around me. The other kids were as confused as me, but I just decided it was best to get the attention off Lily.

I continued with the lesson, letting Lily hang onto me for dear life and trying to comfort her as she cried. Eventually, I sent them off to their desks to draw something and I sat in my chair with Lily.

"Lily, I need you to tell me what happened, ok? Please, Sweetheart... tell me why you're upset." I said to her.

"Why couldn't I come here everyday?" She asked me.

"You mean after the day we stayed in the gym and everyone went home early?" I asked her.

She nodded her head.

"There was a gas leak, and it was dangerous to be here. So we couldn't come to school until everything was fixed." I explained to her.

"But I wanted to come." She said to me.

"You're here right now." I said to her.

She nodded, holding onto my hoodie strings again as if she was afraid of being separated from me.

"I love you." She whispered to me, placing her head on my shoulder as she hugged me yet again.

"Aw, Lily... is something going on, Sweetheart?" I asked her. "Is there something you want to tell me about? You know you can trust me, right?" I asked her.

"I missed you." She said to me.

"That's it?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She lied, it was so obvious that she was lying to me, but I just let it slide for now. It clearly wasn't out of her attachment to me that she was crying and clinging to me like this.

"How are your parents?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"When was the last time you saw your mom, Lily?" I asked her.

"Today before I came here." She said to me.

"You got on the bus?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Good. Now, are you going to go to class and come back in fifteen minutes for lunchtime?" I asked her.

"I wanna stay." She said.

"No, Lily. We talked about this, remember?" I asked her. "I'm always here for you, no matter what. But sometimes, you have to go to your class. I have to teach these little guys."

"No. I want you only." She said to me.

"And guess what? I'm always here, you can come see me in the mornings for breakfast, and at lunchtime for lunch and our math lesson, and then after school at the program." I said to her.

"It's not fair." Lily objected.

"Lily, come on, Sweetheart. You have to go to class so you can learn stuff." I said to her.

"I don't wanna." She said, her eyes filling with tears.

"I know you don't. Don't cry though, Lily. It's ok. You'll be back in fifteen minutes." I said to her.

"Hugs?" She asked me.

"Yes. One last hug and then you'll go to class and come back at lunchtime, deal?" I asked her.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. She reluctantly allowed me to lift her off my lap and onto the ground and then she walked out of the room looking sad. Fifteen minutes later, it was time for lunch and Lily came running back into my lap.

I sighed, wishing I could do more for this kid. I got her some food and she ate it happily, then she fell asleep on me again.

The principal came in to see the progress during lunch. She was already asleep, so I just placed her in my chair and walked off to talk to the principal, Mrs. Ford.

"How is she?" She asked me.

"I don't know. Super clingy. I asked her about her home life, but all I'm getting is brief answers that have no depth. She's saying that everything is ok and that she only missed me, but there's something else. She ate her breakfast like a starved kid, she fell asleep for the second time today right now... I think she's sleep deprived and she's not fed enough. That's enough of a reason to investigate, right?" I asked.

"Relax, Gabriel." Mrs. Ford said to me.

"She's not ok. Actually she is. She is ok and that's exactly the problem. The kid is smart, she doesn't mind talking to people once she gets to know them, but something is going on that's scaring her, making her so antisocial and so clingy with me... we need to fix this." I said.

"Ok. We will fix it. I'm working on the family thing. I'll work on it some more, but I want you to relax and focus on her passing grade two." Mrs. Ford told me.

"Alright." I nodded.

"Alright. Now just allow her to spend the rest of the day with you, but tomorrow, she needs to go to class. Just until the end of the month, then we'll start the resource centre plan." Mrs. Ford said.

"Sounds good." I nodded.

We were nearing the end of the semester. It was almost the start of their Christmas break. I couldn't imagine how Lily would act after that break when she couldn't even handle one week away. My question was why she hated breaks. There must be something that she has to experience at home that she's able to avoid by coming to school. Otherwise, what would warrant such a reaction to a week off from school? Most other kids were thrilled about their time off. But this girl never seemed to want to go home.

"Alright, Lily. It's time to head home." I said to her at the end of the day.

"No. I don't want to." She said to me.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I like school." She said to me.

"Then how come you never go to class?" I asked her.

"Because my teacher is mean. I only like you, Mr. Morelli." She said to me.

I sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"If anything bad happens at home, Lily. You can tell me so that I can help you, ok?" I said to her.

She nodded her head.

"Alright. Now it's time to go home." I told her.

She nodded and sighed.

"Can I have hugs until the bus comes?" She asked me, making me look up at Mrs. Ford who was a meter away from us, listening in on the conversation.

Mrs. Ford nodded, letting me know I could give this sweet girl the hugs she wanted.

"Come here." I said to her, letting her hug me tightly.

I was so scared that something was going to happen to this kid. In that moment, sending her home felt like a sin. If only she would tell me something, anything. She never even spoke of her parents, when most kids told me about what their parents bought for them or the stories they read to them, or what their parents made for dinner. Lily said absolutely nothing.

This return to school after my week with Ava and her parents was a hassle. Luckily, I was able to see Nora and give her her blueberries, but Lily was taking up most of my time. The little girl controlled my life without even meaning to. I was printing things, typing, editing and planning all for this one little girl. And Ava always asked about her. Somehow, Ava had developed a special place for Lily in her heart. Probably because I couldn't stop talking about this adorable little girl.

I just hoped that one day, very, very soon, Lily would open up and tell me what on earth was going on in her life. Until then, all I could do is be her favourite teacher, and continue being trustworthy.