She Makes Me - A Brian May Fan Fiction

Chapter 8: Fifty-Two

[Simone]

It was finally health teaching day and I'm feeling extremely nervous. Teaching an entire class, let alone four classes in a day, was a new challenge for me. However, teaching had always been my favorite aspect of being a nurse. At some point in my life, I had to debate with myself whether I wanted to become a human biology teacher one day. But nursing just kind of provides you with that experience apart from assisting and helping patients get better.

Truth be told, one thing that strongly deterred me from choosing education as a career was my intense fear of speaking in front of a crowd. It is the fact that one has to grapple with a whirlwind of fear and anxiety. Each time I had to do it, I could feel the crippling pressure to perform perfectly and I dreaded every second of it. Their gaze... I hated being observed and watched.

But I couldn't see myself in any other profession than nursing either. Nursing was where my heart belonged. I knew it was just part of the gig.

I clocked in an hour earlier to prepare the teaching material with Nurse Joanne.

"You know, secondary schoolers can be a tricky bunch," she warned me. "Primary kids are keen to learn and to please authority figures, but the secondary lot can be a bit... indifferent."

"Ah, very motivating, Jo!"

Nurse Joanne chuckled, appreciating the levity I brought to the situation. "You've got the right attitude, but be prepared for a few eye rolls and dramatic sighs," she shook her head.

Taking her advice to heart, I nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I've mastered the art of interpreting eye rolls. It's a secret language my best friend and I use all the time."

As Nurse Joanne and I approached the first Year 9 class, we peeked through the glass on the door and saw Brian engrossed in teaching something from the board.

"Alright, class, when dealing with fractions that have different denominators, finding the least common multiple is key. Let's dive into an example," Brian explained passionately, his voice somewhat muffled but audible from outside.

However, his students seemed quite puzzled, and I couldn't blame them. Even at 22, I would cry if someone presented me with any question involving numbers. I'd avoid any math problem like the plague.

It suddenly hit me that this was the class I was about to teach. "Nurse Jo, I don't think I can do this," I whispered, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea of addressing over twenty students at once.

"Simone, breathe." she rubbed my shoulder. "You can do this."

I held my chest to calm myself down and leaned my back against the wall adjacent to the door.

Just then, Nurse Jo knocked on the classroom door, catching Brian's attention. At first, he only stuck his head out, but she gestured for him to step fully outside.

"Hi!" He greeted with a grin, waving at Nurse Joanne. His face lit up as he saw me but his expression turned concerned as he noticed me visibly distressed.. "Simone? What happened, love?"

"She's feeling a bit nervous, just needs a moment," Nurse Joanne explained.

"You're my first health teaching class today, Bri," I reminded him gently.

He came closer, lifting my chin and giving me a reassuring look. "You'll be absolutely fine. I'm right here."

I nodded, feeling a bit more at ease. Brian wiped away a stray tear from my cheek. He just has this calming presence that makes you believe you can do anything.

It's strange.

My heart was racing before I saw him. It slowed down the moment he touched me. And yet, I could feel it race again at the thought of his gentle touch. At this moment, I just couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. I would've felt like some self-induced heart attack to meet his beautiful hazel eyes.