Reading Buddies :) ----> :( ----> D :

On Tuesday 21st, 2015, I went to my first session of Reading Buddies, and actually read to a "little buddy".  I was a bit nervous, but I made it through.
When I first got there at 3:45, I spent 15 min, anxiously waiting for the kids to arrive.  Wouldn't it have been extremely awkward if you had a group of teens, sanding there, waiting for kids who never came?  Yes, it would.

At 4pm, they finally arrived.  Woo hoo!

But, when I saw the girl assigned to me, I started to reconsider how much I really wanted to do this.  My "buddy" was named Gillian, (currently in gr.2) and right from the start, I knew we were not going to be the best of friends. 

She didn't say anything bad, but she had this aura about her...sure she said "hi", and waved, she seemed innocent enough, but her body posture proved otherwise.  Her arms were crossed, and she shifted her weight onto one leg.  And she had these eyes...that could bore into mine, and it felt very uncomfortable.  It really gave me the impression of her not wanting to be here, and it just made me feel upset that she wasn't enjoying the experience.

Ah well, there's no turning back now.  She picked a book to read, and the reading began.  We had cupcakes and juice for snacks, but that's about it.

Halfway through, I saw two brothers who were my brother's friends from preschool.  They didn't recognize me, but their dad did.  Oh, how I wished I was paired with the brothers, (who actually enjoyed reading) instead of Gillian.

The reading was tedious.  Gillian constantly picked books that were too high for her reading level, and stubbornly, wouldn't take my advice on choosing easier books.  So she spent what felt like hours trying to read a page with two sentences...

Well, I guess I might be a bit unfair, since I've only met her once, (maybe she was just having a bad day) but that's just how I feel about this situation.  Now, I'm dreading my next session with this girl...please, please, please let the next session be better...