She then chose to speak a few sentences herself.

When she finished, she didn’t wait to see whether everyone looked impressed.

She went to help a younger child whose poster had fallen from its stand.

I watched Desmond watching her.

The expression on his face was not the astonishment I had seen on that first day, when Pearl responded to my greeting.

This was pride without surprise.

He had learned to expect that his daughter had something worth saying.

Afterward, the teacher complimented both girls.