by Lawrence Savell , Esq .
The Visitor
She faintly heard a voice saying her name . “ Annabelle , wake up , you have a visitor .”
Annabelle stirred on the couch , as yet another dream of her childhood faded from her mind . She slowly opened her eyes , confirming that she was in fact in the first-floor sitting room of the assisted living facility that had been her home for several years . “ Annabelle , Julie is here to see you .” Annabelle saw two people in front of her . The first she recognized by sight and sound as one of the heads of the facility , whom she believed was put on this earth for the sole purpose of constantly waking her up and interrupting her dreams .
The second person was more of a challenge . She appeared to be a teenager , but Annabelle did not recognize her as one of her granddaughters who were still in that age range . She felt that gnawing upset she experienced whenever she had trouble remembering the people who were in her life , and bafflement at how she could seemingly precisely recall things from decades ago but struggle with current information and reality .
“ Hi , Annabelle . I ’ m Julie from the high school .”
With that trigger , Annabelle remembered . From time to time , students of Julie ’ s age would appear at the facility to spend some time with them . Such visits had one of two origins . Some kids were among the top students , taking on a bit of extra “ community service ” to help put their Ivy college applications over the top . Others were at the other end of the academic or behavioral spectrum , who had been assigned to come there as the “ sentence ” for some misdeed at school . In both situations , Annabelle ’ s usual sense was that the person would rather be somewhere else .
Julie sat down on the couch with Annabelle , and the facility person walked away .
“ Nice to meet you ,” Annabelle said , turning toward the girl . “ So what brings you here today ?” She was usually pretty good at assessing rather quickly which category of visit she was experiencing , but this time she had some trouble .
Julie smiled mischievously . “ Well …,” she began , “ I got into a little trouble at school .”
A “ category two ,” Annabelle thought , but a little different than the others .
“ So what did you do ?” Annabelle asked directly .
Julie smiled again . “ I got into a fight with another girl .” “ What about ?” This meeting was already going differ- ently than Julie had expected . She had assumed she would be prompting the person she was visiting to answer questions , instead of the other way around . But she liked that someone was taking an interest in her .
“ She took something from me and I wanted it back .”
“ I see ,” Annabelle said . “ Did you think that was the best way to deal with that ?”
“ What else could I do ? I couldn ’ t just let her take it .”
“ I ’ m not saying you should have just let her do it , but weren ’ t there other ways to get it back than fighting ?
“ I asked her for it but she refused . She denied she had taken it .”
“ Doesn ’ t your school have some sort of code or rules of conduct , which say that taking other people ’ s stuff is a violation ?”
“ I don ’ t know ; I never thought about that .”
“ And maybe there ’ s a procedure for doing something about it that doesn ’ t involve getting physical .”
They talked a bit more , and Julie agreed to look into what Annabelle had mentioned . Julie said goodbye , and Annabelle smiled , closed her eyes , and drifted off again .
A Week Later
Julie showed up again , clutching a large envelope .
Annabelle , who this time had made sure she was awake in advance of Julie ’ s scheduled visit , smiled . “ What do you have there ?” Annabelle asked .
Julie opened the envelope and handed Annabelle an apparently unopened copy of the Centerville High School Student Handbook . Annabelle lifted into position the reading glasses that were suspended from the silver chain around her neck .
“ Let ’ s find the 10 Commandments first ,” she said , as she read the index . “ Here it is , ‘ Student Code of Conduct .’”
Annabelle ran her finger down the paragraphs . “ Here ’ s the reason we first met ,” she said . “ Under ‘ Unacceptable Behaviors ,’ item one is ‘ Fighting .’” Julie smiled guiltily . “ And here we go — ‘ Theft ’ — a . k . a . Thou shalt not steal . And the ‘ Range of Consequences ’ includes ‘ Parent / guardian contact , restricted participation in school activities , loss of privileges , suspension , restitution , referral to police and superintendent ’ s hearing .’”
“ Wow ,” Julie exclaimed , “ that ’ s a lot worse than getting beat up . How do we make that happen ?”
They were both getting into it . “ There ’ s got to be some kind of procedure spelled out somewhere ,” Annabelle suggested . She flipped through the pages . “ Here it is ,” Annabelle said . “ You have the right to bring violations to the attention of school authorities .” “ I ’ m not a tattle ,” Julie protested . “ You ’ re not tattling ,” Annabelle insisted . “ You ’ re merely sticking up for yourself and asserting your rights against someone who wronged you .”
Annabelle explained to Julie the steps outlined in the booklet . “ You should probably mention the fight you had , and that you realize it was not the appropriate way to try to get back what was taken from you .”
Julie agreed , took her booklet and said goodbye , with a more determined gait as she headed out the front door of the facility .
A No-show ?
Julie did not show up that next week , although Annabelle had put on her best outfit — and drank an entire cup of coffee — in anticipation of her arrival . She was disappointed , and she was surprised to sense that emotion . It had been some time since she had looked forward to anything , and thus it had been some time since she had been disappointed that something did not occur .
When Julie did not come the following week , Annabelle ’ s long-cultivated defense mechanisms kicked in . I guess she had a two-visit sentence , Annabelle silently concluded . Or maybe she just had something better to do . But the next week , Julie came again . “ I got my earbuds back from the girl that took them ,” she reported .
“ That ’ s great ,” Annabelle responded , not being completely sure what earbuds were .
Julie nodded but did not come across as very happy . Maybe she really does not want to be here , Annabelle wondered to herself . “ Is anything wrong ?” she bravely asked Julie . “ I don ’ t know …” Julie trailed off . “ You can tell me . Whatever happens in assisted living stays in assisted living .” The slightest sign of a smile appeared on
Julie ’ s face . “ I don ’ t know — I guess , I guess I don ’ t feel like I ’ m going anywhere .” “ What do you mean ?” www . vtbar . org THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2017 31
by Lawrence Savell, Esq.
The Visitor
She faintly heard a voice saying her
name. “Annabelle, wake up, you have a
visitor.”
Annabelle stirred on the couch, as yet an-
other dream of her childhood faded from
her mind. She slowly opened her eyes, con-
firming that she was in fact in the first-floor
sitting room of the assisted living facility
that had been her home for several years.
“Annabelle, Julie is here to see you.”
Annabelle saw two people in front of her.
The first she recognized by sight and sound
as one of the heads of the facility, whom
she believed was put on this earth for the
sole purpose of constantly waking her up
and interrupting her dreams.
The second person was more of a chal-
lenge. She appeared to be a teenager, but
Annabelle did not recognize her as one of
her granddaughters who were still in that
age range. She felt that gnawing upset
she experienced whenever she had trou-
ble remembering the people who were in
her life, and bafflement at how she could
seemingly precisely recall things from de-
cades ago but struggle with current infor-
mation and reality.
“Hi, Annabelle. I’m Julie from the high
school.”
With that trigger, Annabelle remem-
bered. From time to time, students of Ju-
lie’s age would appear at the facility to
spend some time with them. Such visits
had one of two origins. Some kids were
among the top students, taking on a bit of
extra “community service” to help put their
Ivy college applications over the top. Oth-
ers were at the other end of the academic
or behavioral spectrum, who had been as-
signed to come there as the “sentence” for
some misdeed at school. In both situations,
Annabelle’s usual sense was that the per-
son would rather be somewhere else.
Julie sat down on the couch with Anna-
belle, and the facility person walked away.
“Nice to meet you,” Annabelle said,
turning toward the girl. “So what brings
you here today?” She was usually pret-
ty good at assessing rather quickly which
category of visit she was experiencing, but
this time she had some trouble.
Julie smiled mischievously. “Well…,” she
began, “I got into a little trouble at school.”
A “category two,” Annabelle thought,
but a little different than the others.
“So what did you do?” Annabelle asked
directly.
Julie smiled again. “I got into a fight with
another girl.”
“What about?”
This meeting was already going differ-
www.vtbar.org
ently than Julie had expected. She had as-
sumed she would be prompting the per-
son she was visiting to answer questions,
instead of the other way around. But she
liked that someone was taking an interest
in her.
“She took something from me and I
wanted it back.”
“I see,” Annabelle said. “Did you think
that was the best way to deal with that?”
“What else could I do? I couldn’t just let
her take it.”
“I’m not saying you should have just let
her do it, but weren’t there other ways to
get it back than fighting?
“I asked her for it but she refused. She
denied she had taken it.”
“Doesn’t your school have some sort of
code or rules of conduct, which say that
taking other people’s stuff is a violation?”
“I don’t know; I never thought about
that.”
“And maybe there’s a procedure for do-
ing something about it that doesn’t involve
getting physical.”
They talked a bit more, and Julie agreed
to look into what Annabelle had men-
tioned. Julie said goodbye, and Annabelle
smiled, closed her eyes, and drifted off
again.
A Week Later
Julie showed up again, clutching a large
envelope.
Annabelle, who this time had made sure
she was awake in advance of Julie’s sched-
uled visit, smiled. “What do you have
there?” Annabelle asked.
Julie opened the envelope and handed
Annabelle an apparently unopened copy of
the Centerville High School Student Hand-
book. Annabelle lifted into position the
reading glasses that were suspended from
the silver chain around her neck.
“Let’s find the 10 Commandments first,”
she said, as she read the index. “Here it is,
‘Student Code of Conduct.’”
Annabelle ran her finger down the para-
graphs. “Here’s the reason we first met,”
she said. “Under ‘Unacceptable Behav-
iors,’ item one is ‘Fighting.’”
Julie smiled guiltily.
“And here we go — ‘Theft’ — a.k.a. Thou
shalt not steal. And the ‘Range of Conse-
quences’ includes ‘Parent/guardian con-
tact, restricted participation in school activ-
ities, loss of privileges, suspension, restitu-
tion, referral to police and superintendent’s
hearing.’”
“Wow,” Julie exclaimed, “that’s a lot
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2017
worse than getting beat up. How do we
make that happen?”
They were both getting into it. “There’s
got to be some kind of procedure spelled
out somewhere,” Annabelle suggested.
She flipped through the pages. “Here it
is,” Annabelle said. “You have the right to
bring violations to the attention of school
authorities.”
“I’m not a tattle,” Julie protested.
“You’re not tattling,” Annabelle insisted.
“You’re merely sticking up for yourself and
asserting your rights against someone who
wronged you.”
Annabelle explained to Julie the steps
outlined in the booklet. “You should proba-
bly mention the fight you had, and that you
realize it was not the appropriate way to try
to get back what was taken from you.”
Julie agreed, took her booklet and said
goodbye, with a more determined gait as
she headed out the front door of the fa-
cility.
A No-show?
Julie did not show up that next week, al-
though Annabelle had put on her best out-
fit — and drank an entire cup of coffee —
in anticipation of her arrival. She was dis-
appointed, and she was surprised to sense
that emotion. It had been some time since
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