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Bey groaned at the stack of papers she had half a mind to stuff in her bag and just grade "later"still sitting on her desk
She loved teaching
Exploring the minds of others had always been something she was passionate about
Seeing the students eyes light up when they finally connected the dots and experienced clarity after weeks of confusion and failing grades
Watching them leave her class for the last time as seniors made her feel like a proud mother to hundreds of high school students she's taught for the last four years
But probably the most rewarding was finding students like Shawn who started off like a diamond in a rough
A class clown who would rather have people laugh with him than laugh at him when they realized he wasn't failing to be cool
He genuinely needed help but was afraid to raise his hand or turn in his work when his friends were watching him
It wasn't until she convinced him by calling his mother to start coming early in the morning for one on one tutoring in a much more relaxed setting
One where he could ask questions and not be judged for his ignorance
One where she could reason with him without interruptions from the chaotic noise of desk moving , students chatting , and students playing music on their phones
When other teachers asked her if it was worth it she simply nodded
Since he started tutoring his grades had climbed and his homework that he would turn into her in private had less red marks from him choosing the wrong answer and more thought out responses from him
The only inconvenience she could think of was the fact that she had to sacrifice sleeping in and had to bring her homework to eat at her desk while he worked on whatever problems she had on the board until she was done
When she heard the door open she didn't even bother to lift her head
Maybe she should have , but this routine was so familiar to her that she felt more comfortable grading her papers and taking sips of her coffee than trying to see who just entered her classroom
It was 6 am in the damn morning
If anyone was at school at this time it would surprise the hell out of her
Without looking at who's paper was next she reached over and grabbed the only fruit she had left in her emergency snack kit and began to unpeel the banana bottom to top just like her mom taught her before biting the tip
"Is it good?" She heard scaring the shit out of her as she made a mistake and swallowed too early
"What the hell Shawn ? Why didn't you say anything when you walked in ? You can't just be sneaking up on people when they're eating" She argued grabbing a napkin to spit the rest of her banana out
