It was time to start my afternoon run on the school bus. I drove up to the elementary school, parked and opened the doors.
Usually I enjoyed 1 the kids as they climbed aboard. Today I kept my 2 fixed straight ahead. I'd just come from a(n) 3 family counseling (辅导) session with my oldest son, Shayn. He started consuming alcohol at 17. I felt 4 . How did we ever get here?
I thought. Shayn was intelligent and had been a 5 to raise. The two of us were close. The kids walked past me onto the bus. One or two said hi. A little girl 6 a small piece of paper on my lap gently. "This is for you!" she said.
I absent-mindedly 7 the folded paper and looked up just in time to see wisps (缕，束) of long blonde hair 8 down the aisle (过道).
I'd hoped family counseling would help Shayn quit drinking. 9 at today's session, Shayn was angry. He said kids his age drink10 and that his drinking was under control. What hope did we have 11 Shayn couldn't see that he needed help?
I moved to throw the note in the rubbish can near the driver's seat, then12 What if the little girl sees you throw her present away? I thought. So I 13 it. Inside was a four-leaf clover (四叶草), along with a message written in a child's hand: "This is filled with 14 ."
As I read the note, my whole body15 . My thinking changed. I couldn't control Shayn's drinking. There was still hope, even when I didn't know what to do.
I searched my rear-view mirror (后视镜) for the child who'd given me the note, but not a single one had long blonde hair.
