3
The first time Jackson defended Lily was in
English class.
We were all fluent in English. We had tutors
since age two.
The teacher called on Lily to read. As soon as
she started, the class started to chatter, then
someone laughed.
Her grades were excellent, but her
pronunciation was awful.
The laughter spread until Lily stopped.
The teacher tried to change the subject.
After class, Sophia mocked Lily’s ”
pronunciation.
Lily sat with her head down.
Jackson, usually aloof, stood up, banged his
Harry Potter book on the desk.
He coldly looked at Sophia, “Shut up, you’re
<
disturbing everyone.”
The class fell silent.
I looked at Jackson, then at Sophia, “Sophia,
it’s almost time for class.”
Sophia nodded, “Okay.”
I looked at Lily; she looked at Jackson,
whispering.
She was probably thanking him.
Jackson showed no emotion.
Later, I saw Lily in the library practicing her
pronunciation with a small player.
I almost fell asleep until I saw Jackson.
He walked over to her, and sat down.
He pointed to a sentence in his book, “Read
this.”
Lily, encouraged by him, nervously read. “Mr.
Dursley might have been drifting into an
uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside
was showing no sign of sleepiness.”
“”
Jackson pointed to “drifting,” patiently
<
correcting her pronunciation.
The library was quiet. Sunlight streamed
through the windows.
Lily looked at Jackson, her face slightly red.
“I’m so envious of Willow.”
It was obvious what she envied.
From that moment, I disliked Lily.
