Barely Under Water: Lisandra’S Footprints Ii

By Kathy Mazyck

This is a sequel to Lisandras Footprints, with Lisandra as the first main character. Lisandra is now working in her profession as an educator while juggling the tasks of rearing two young sons as a single parent, as well as striving to take better care of herself by attending a local gym. Lisandra becomes involved with a man who showed promise and potential, but she didnt know what she was actually getting herself into. Will Lisandra be able to stand after the challenges she faces?

Nicolas is an addition to this series. He is a hardworking professor, a loving father, and a husband. When he discovers that his life was based on lies, he had to find an outlet to defuse the anger within.

This story also allows the reader to understand that you cant make life decisions without God. He must be first in every choice you make, or you would have to deal with the consequences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543425819

Kathy Mazyck

Kathy Mazyck is an author of fiction and nonfiction stories for anyone who can relate to the messages she desires to share. Kathy has always been fascinated with reading books, poetry and history that was published during the Renaissance era as well as the Civil Rights Movement. She believes the creativity was fresh and free during that time. Her favorite past time was always writing and sketching since childhood. Her literary inspirations include Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, Zora Neale Hurston and Countee Cullen. Kathy is presently an Educator in the Jersey City Public Schools for over eighteen years. One of the most significant part of her life is her personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Her beautiful daughters, Kristina and Monique are also the greatest loves and motivators in her life. Kathy is also an U.S. Army veteran and is very proud of serving her country. Her first published work is Lisandra’s Footprints, published in October, 2009.

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Copyright © 2017 by Kathy Mazyck.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2017908278

ISBN:             Hardcover                         978-1-5434-2583-3

                      Softcover                             978-1-5434-2582-6

                      eBook                                   978-1-5434-2581-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Zodhiates, S., Bake, W., (1991) Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, KJV, Chattanooga

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/26/2017

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Contents

Scripture

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 The Last Final

Chapter 2 Nicolas Douglas

Chapter 3 Lisandra’s Divorce Court

Chapter 4 Reminiscing Anger

Chapter 5 Conditional Love

Chapter 6 Intro to Quadir

Chapter 7 The Move

Chapter 8 Quadir the Master Manipulator

Chapter 9 Divorce Hearing

Chapter 10 Chaos at a Very High Level

Chapter 11 Divorce/Closure

Chapter 12 Quadir’s Eventful Return to New Jersey

Chapter 13 Nick’s on the Edge

Chapter 14 Church Encounter

Chapter 15 Chaotic Visits

Chapter 16 Work vs. Rage Surprise Visit

Chapter 17 Skeletons, a Truckload of Them!

Chapter 18 Lisa’s Deliverance

Chapter 19 Group Get-Together

Chapter 20 Staying Busy

Chapter 21 He That Findeth

I

dedicate this book to the memory of my father, Arthur Mazyck, a hardworking man who was very stern but made sure he took care of his family. He might not have expressed his love verbally, but his love was shown through his presence and concern for our well-being.

I especially give honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for keeping me in the midst of my mess. This book is to give praise for saving, delivering, and setting me free. I was out to self-destruct, and he saved me from myself.

I thank God for my daughters, Kristina and Monique, for their beautiful presence. I’m proud to be your mother because you make me proud of the women you have grown to be.

Finally, I dedicate this book to those who are loving to others but struggle to love themselves.

Scripture

¹But now thus saith the Lord that create thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name: thou art mine. ²When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

—Isaiah 43: 1, 2

Ye shall make no idols nor graven image neither rear you up a standing image neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.

—Leviticus 26:1

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge my mother, Betty Mazyck, for always encouraging me to keep reaching for the top—socially, spiritually, or academically. I’m forever grateful for you instilling in your children independence and a hardworking ethic, as well as giving sound advice. I love you so much, Mommy.

I would also like to acknowledge family (my siblings, Kim, Sandy, Shawn, and Quentin), my nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as my friends, for always believing in me. Mr. Garnes, thank you for being a great big brother to me. My pastor, Bishop Anthony W. Gilyard, as well as my church family, Bethlehem Judah Christian Fellowship COGIC, Elizabeth, New Jersey, for being so instrumental to my continued spiritual growth. I thank the Lord for you all and love you very much.

Chapter 1

The Last Final

The time had finally paid off, as most would say, but all this hard work was determined on the final exam. The internship was one thing, having a teacher who was in the position to mentor a potential teacher and to also give hands-on experience. But this mentor tried to create a roadblock since she felt the mentee’s skills were inadequate. After all the hard work, research, and the building of a close rapport with the students, Lisa truly thought she had done an excellent job. Even the teacher next door, Mrs. Daniel, commended her for all the progress she saw in the students’ academic and social developmental skills.

The teacher Lisandra was assigned to, Mrs. Talo, was a resource English teacher. Mainly students that were struggling with basic language arts and mathematics skills and/or classified as learning disabled were assigned to her and Mrs. Daniel’s class. In the beginning of Lisa’s internship, Ms. T showed her how to record the basics of the students’ classwork in her grade book. She had to learn how to fill out the attendance card and keep a grade book updated with the students’ class and homework. The class participation, along with rubrics of writing assignments, had to also be included. All this new information wasn’t really thought of. Yes, it was reviewed and continually addressed in our educational challenge and other major courses, but to actually put what you were taught into action was surreal and exciting at the same time.

Lisandra’s first day to teach was nerve-racking! Lisandra felt as though she was hyperventilating while talking to the students! She was so nervous that she finished the lesson within ten minutes. The students looked at her, in confusion.

Mrs. Dean, is that it? asked Stephen while looking at the other students. The other students were bewildered as well, but luckily, they liked Ms. Dean. So they didn’t laugh, and they understood that she was truly nervous. To assist Mrs. Dean, the students started asking her questions.

Mrs. Dean, what is haiku, and what are the rules of creating that again? Shaleana asked.

Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry. Its theme is basically centered on nature. One of the rules of creating a haiku is that the poem is only three lines, and it must have seventeen syllables. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven, and finally, the last line must have five syllables. The way we can determine if you are creating and putting it down correctly is by counting the rhythm of each line, as well as making sure our haiku relates to nature.

Lisa then was able to loosen up to complete the lesson. She gave the students examples of actual haikus, and the students were able to create one together as a class. The students were actually having fun. They were sharing their poems, writing about the sun, roses, water, and fire. By the time the lesson was done, they were thinking of new ideas for their next poem. This time, the students had to either sketch a picture of what their poem would be about or find a picture from the Internet or a magazine. This lesson she would never forget, because not only did she realize that it was not so easy to teach, but she also had to be humble, realizing that there was nothing wrong with making mistakes. She was also open to receiving insight, allowing herself to continue in building her gift in teaching.

After completing two weeks of the internship, she began to get the hang of the scheduling and daily routines. There were times that she had to assist other classes because it was around the time the students had to take the standardized assessments. The eighth graders had to take the NJ GEPA. The class that Lisa had to cover was for the students who came in late for the test. That group was a great challenge because they were mainly boys with behavioral problems. The boys were very disruptive and disrespectful. By the end of the day, the boys had already climbed over shelves and desks and had at least two fights. It was not good to either call the main office or security because it meant that you lacked classroom management skills. During a statewide assessment, usually an official from the board of education would visit to ensure that everything was running smoothly. Bribing the students with treats if they stayed busy and quiet helped a little. At the end of the day, you would see the tough crew outside, smoking cigarettes as if they had a stressful day.

One of the substitutes in