Notes on a Scandal

ONE €

Cate Blanchett is a normal person, with a normal husband and no children. Her husband Andrew is merely ten years older than her.

She decided to take a job as an art teacher at the local school. She's had her teacher's degree for years now but never used it. Her husband wanted her to stay home and conceive but she couldn't for natural reasons, leaving them childless.

She enters the school and walks to the deans office to get a tour of her new job. She knocks on the door and a man from inside says, "Come in."

She step into the office and close the door behind her, "Oh yes, Cate Blanchett." He says.

"I'm ready to start!" She says cheerfully. Slight wrinkles form at the corners of her eyes and her forehead. She is thirty-seven but looks twenty-five to the bare, unknowledgeable eye.

"Come, follow me, I will show you around." The man, she can't quite recall his name, says. He shows her around the school, the teachers lounge, the cafeteria, as well as her class.

It is a smaller room with easels and shelves covered in art supplies: paper, pens, pencils, paint, pottery clay, and more.

"This is perfect!" Cate says in excitement. She has come an hour early to make sure she'd be ready for her classes and the duties to come.

"I shall leave you to it." The Dean says, "You're first class starts in thirty minutes." He says after checking his silver watch. He walks out of the class and down the hall, leaving Cate alone.

She unpacks her bag of her own personal papers and items and sets a small clock on her table pointing towards her new chair.

The time passes quickly and the students flood the halls loudly, making no effort to respect the others. Approximately twenty-five students fill the class taking up all the seats at the tables around the class.

Cate goes through class slowly trying her best to quiet them down but her actions only seem to fail her. All the students want to do is argue or gossip, about useless nothings.

***

The bell rings signaling lunch time, the teenagers file out of the room in an unorderly manner. Cate lets out an exhausted sigh. She stands up and straightens out her simple but elegant suit before heading outside to the court yard where she will be on lunch duty for the first time.

The court yard is packed with girls and boys of all grades from nine to twelve. She watches some of the senior boys play basketball, while the senior girls play soccer.

There are two teams of girls playing against each other, skillfully moving their legs stealing the ball from one another.

There is this one girl that catches Cate's eye though, Elizabeth Aird. Short, red hair and an average body with larger breasts.

She steals the ball from another girl and kicks it into the goalie net. She and her team cheer in excitement as the goal sending them into the winning spot.

She jumps around and gets closer to Cate, she smiled in her way and whispers to her so no one else hears, "That one was for you." She says with a wink. Cate's cheeks turn a light shade of pink and try her best to hide it from all.

The young girl dances around and takes off her blazer revealing her tight, white blouse that hugs her figure perfectly. She swings the fabric around, above her head in happiness.

A teacher from the other side of the court yard fence yells at the young girl to put her shirt back on and that it was disrespectful and disappointing towards this institution.

She doesn't listen to the teacher and dances around even more. Cheering loudly making a scene for all. Cate playfully rolls her eyes at her antics. The bell rings again signaling the start of forth period.

She walks slowly back to her class behind all the students in no rush to get back since she has this period off.

Cate sits down in her chair and rests her head back, taking deep breaths to calm her flustered heart. She knows very little about this girl she just met, the only knowledge she has is that she's freshly eighteen.