Page 58 of An Irish Hope

He must be going crazy. Andy glanced back at the hall, while the student teacher he’d been assigned kept yabitty-yabitting on about all the sports he played. All of which he was apparently excellent in. Andy had met his type before, and suspected the kid’s self-promotion was designed to make himself feel better. Maybe he should take a leaf from the kid’s book because Andy could do with feeling better. For a second, he really thought he must be going crazy because he thought he’d seen Aisling out there in the hallway. Which was ridiculous. Impossible. She was in Kerry while he was here. It couldn’t be her. Besides, this redhead was more slender, and dressed in a professional suit. Yet there’d been something about her face and hair…

He rubbed his eyes, and turned back to the kid. Get your head into gear. “So, Miles, given all that, which of your many sports do you think you’d like to teach while here? We have some flexibility in the course, and I can save the doubles with the tenth graders to do a sport in which you’re more comfortable in. We can start with that then work our way through the others.”

Miles shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine with whatever you want.”

“Confident I see.”

“Only way to be.”

Okay. It was starting to sound less like confidence and more like arrogance but whatever. “Right, well, if you’re happy with whatever that’s exactly what we’ll do.” And he could keep to his usual structure. If Miles thought that he could do anything then Andy wasn’t going to go out of his way to change things.

He explained a little about the curriculum, what classes they’d teach on the days Miles was here, all of which earned him nods and assurance. Which was good in some ways, but would be interesting in others. Because in his years of experience, the only way to truly be a teacher was to learn.

It didn’t take too long before he started questioning why he’d agreed to take the supervisor role. Yes, he’d be paid a little extra, and have a helper in the classroom, but seriously. He hoped having a moment of compassion for poor Bryan wouldn’t be something he’d regret. Over the past hours it became increasingly apparent that Miles was addicted to his phone. Even simple instructions earned Andy a yawn.

“Am I boring you?” Andy asked him, in the staffroom during their lunch break.

“No. Just had a late one.”

Andy glanced at Stuart, his head teacher, who shook his head. Yeah, not the way to make a good impression.

Miles glanced at Andy. “Hey, someone said you almost went to the Olympics.”

“Yes.” He’d wondered how long before this would come up.

“Yeah, I could’ve gone too if I’d kept training,” Miles boasted.

“Okay.”

“No, Miles, I didn’t think you understand,” Stuart said. “Andy here actually was going to go to the Olympics. He had the best times going into the trials.”

That was generous, but he’d take it.

“What happened?” Miles asked, around a mouthful of sandwich, his eyes flicking back to his phone.

“Torn achilles,” Andy explained. “It got repaired but has never been the same since.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yes, it is.

The bell rang for the second half. Thank goodness. Day one and he was already growing tired of Miles. He stood. “I’m on playground duty now.”

“Oh, but I’m still eating.”

“You’ll learn to multitask. It’s okay, Miles. You finish your sandwich.” And checking your social media, or playing whatever game is on your phone. “I’m sure the others will point you in the right direction.” His co-worker nodded, and he escaped, relieving the other teacher.

The day had him a little agitated, so he took some time to breathe. Then noticed one of the humanities teachers passing by. “Hi Moira.” She was a super-teacher, one of the mentors who really knew her stuff. She might be able to give some tips on how to manage Miles and his cocky attitude.

“Andy.” She smiled. “I understand you have a student teacher too.”

“I’m covering for Bryan who got sick.” Silly him. He was regretting this already.

She nodded. “I thought this year I might take a break, but when the university called saying they needed another supervisor I put up my hand.”

“What’s yours like?”

“Oh, she’s a gem. I know this week is just supposed to be about observing, but already she’s been really helpful, takes initiative, and the kids seem to be warming to her. Which is just as well, because I find myself having a sad lack of patience for some students who don’t seem to understand this is a people person job. You know, those who seem to prefer to spend more time on their phone, than actually learning what the job is about.”