Alice is an algebra teacher, and she loves what she does. She loves her students, their parents, and she works hard at being the best she can be at her job. When she finds out that she is pregnant, and the father decides that he does not want to participate the amount of stress that she undertakes is immeasurable. While wanting what's best for her daughter she also loses herself and doesn't realize it. After being put on bed rest her daughter Cassie is born and is the highlight of her life. But in the midst of not being able to connect with her daughter the way she wanted to she decides to go back to work early so that she can give her energy to her students. While she is at work, she has entrusted her next-door neighbors with watching her daughter. Because she is going through levels of PTSD Alice doesn't see the warning signs and repeats the idea that she was living her life with her eyes wide shut. It isn't until Cassie begins to digress in her growth that Alice begins to wonder why Cassie is all of the sudden afraid of the dark. Why is her three-year old so terrified to be left alone in her room? Why does she speak of the man in the closet and the man underneath her bed. Unfortunately, through this tragic experience what Alice comes to realize is that Cassie was not experiencing the exaggeration of a three-year old but rather a very real predator. A predator that was closer to home than Alice ever expected. This is a story that deals with the immense heaviness of guilt when a parent unintentionally opens the door and allows the devil to come in.
Supermom
(Alice, a woman in her late twenties stands at the board in her classroom writing. It is a mathematical equation; she steps back to double check her work then looks at her watch before she begins to speak to the audience.) Oh, my goodness I didn't realize how late it was getting. I think that's the life of an educator. We arrive before the sun comes up and we leave after the sun sets. (smiles) at least most of us do, but I am a mother and now my daughter would absolutely kill me if I did not make it home in time to cook her dinner every night. (she begins to gather her things) So that's what I do, I make sure that I leave my classroom prepared for the next day and then I go home and on the back side of being the best teacher by day I am the best Cape wearing mother by night. (smiles, beat) That's what my daughter called me she would call me Super Mom. (beat) But I have to be home before it gets dark. She’s almost in middle school now but… I think she was about three years old when I read her her first superhero story and it was about a mom who had a little girl, and the little girl was afraid of the dark but the mother came in every night and checked her closet and underneath the bed to make sure that there were no monsters. (beat) From then on, my daughter Cassie was never afraid of the dark because I would always check and that's when she started calling me super mom. Because she knew I would always keep her safe. (beat) And I almost did. But I'll let down my guard and let's just say I lost my Cape.