AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We both laugh and I turn toward my classroom, which is the first one in the corridor.
“Have a good morning,” I say, looking up at Russ.
“I’ll do my best. Maybe we can compare notes over a coffee later?” he says and I hesitate on the threshold. He’s tilted his head and is looking a little wistful, but I don’t want to commit to anything. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.
“I’ll see how it goes,” I say, and he nods his head, spinning around and heading further down the hall.
I feel my shoulders drop, and I wonder if I should duck out of that coffee somehow, when I hear the main door open. This can’t be the children arriving already, can it? I’m nowhere near ready yet, and I glance down the hall, letting out a sigh of relief when I see Margot rushing to toward me.
“I’m so sorry,” she says as she approaches, her cheeks flushed.
“Was your daughter unwell again?” I ask, smiling with relief.
“No. They’re all fine.” She stops right beside me, looking flustered, her short dark hair a little out of place, and her blouse not properly tucked into her skirt. “It’s just that my youngest is starting high school today, and anyone would have thought it was the first time any child had undergone such an event in their lives.” She rolls her eyes, pulling her cross-body bag over her head. “Honestly… the fuss.”
She waves her hand, letting me enter the classroom ahead of her, and I glance around, taking in the bare pale green walls, yet to be filled with paintings and artworks, and the window that overlooks one side of the school.
“Do you want to take your purse to the teachers’ lounge and freshen up?” I ask, glancing at her blouse.
She looks down, trying to tuck it in, and nods her head. “I won’t be a minute.”
I smile as she leaves, because now she’s in the building I feel a lot more relaxed, and I put the folder on the desk at the front, and wander around the classroom, taking in the small chairs, arranged around the square tables, each one seating eight.
One of the things Margot and I did together during the workshops was to make name tags and stick them on the tables, so the children would have a designated place to sit, rather than it being a free-for-all on the first day. It seemed like a good idea, although looking at them all now, I’m just glad I’ll be able to use the tags to remember all the children’s names, and hopefully put faces to them before long.
There are cabinets along one of the walls, and I open a few of them, finding books, papers, pencils, paints and all kinds of things that are supposed to help me inform the young minds in my care. The other long wall features hooks for the children to hang their coats and bags, and at the back of the room, there’s a bookcase, and an area with a huge multi-colored carpet on the floor, where the children can sit when we’re doing group reading.
“Ready to start the day?”
I turn at the sound of Margot’s voice and nod my head, even though I feel anything but ready. She’s looking much tidier now, her blouse properly tucked in and her hair combed into place, and while she’s still a little rosy-cheeked, it suits her.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, and she smiles.
“Don’t let them see your fear.” She nudges her elbow into me and leads the way through the door, stopping just outside. “We won’t need to stand on ceremony like this every day,” she says.
“I gathered that from Miss Montgomery.”
Margot rolls her eyes. “She likes the personal touch… just so long as it’s not her having to go the extra mile.”
I have to laugh, although my stomach churns when I see the door open beyond her, and watch the first child enter, holding her mother’s hand. Margot turns and right at that moment, Miss Montgomery appears by the reception, as if by magic, offering smiles and encouragement, as the little girl by-passes her and approaches us.
“Hello, Iris,” Margot says, leaning down, and the little girl smiles.
“Hello, Mrs. Ashton.” Iris looks kinda shy, but clearly knows Margot, who stands and turns toward me.
“This is Miss Howell,” she says. “She’s gonna be your new teacher.”
“Hi, Iris,” I say, and she nods her head at me.
“Do you wanna come see the classroom?” Margot suggests, and Iris looks up at her mom.
“Off you go, honey. Mrs. Ashton will look after you.”
I feel like I’m on the outside… the new kid in town, the stranger in their midst. But what can I say? I can hardly yell at her that Miss Howell will look after her, too. It’s more important that Iris should feel comfortable than that the locals should accept me, and I let Margot lead Iris into the classroom while her mom waits for a second or two and then turns and leaves, without saying a word to me.
I wonder if I should have introduced myself more formally. But she didn’t really give me a chance, and before I can ponder over that for too long, a little boy arrives with his mother.
“Are you the new teacher?” she says, and I take in her auburn hair, which is tied back in a neat bun behind her head, showing off her perfectly made-up face. Glancing down, I also spot her tight skirt and open-necked blouse, which do everything to enhance her figure. As for her heels, they’re enough to make my eyes water, although I have to say, she’s a very ‘together’ woman, to look that good at this time of the morning.
