Another High School Romance

one

Philadelphia, 2019
Taylor

"This will be your classroom." The principal opened the door we stopped in front of. "It's a little bare, I know, but that just means it's one big blank canvas for you."

"Thank you Mr Clarke." I smiled. This all suddenly felt so real. I was really excited to start, to finally take proper control of my life that hadn't felt like mine for so long.

"Please, you can call Tom." He shook his head, smiling. "We're all friends here Miss Swift."

"Taylor." I corrected him, and he winked to show he'd only been kidding. I smiled. Yeah, I'd be fine here.

"Well, Taylor." Tom motioned into the empty classroom. "Welcome to Richmond High. I'll leave you to get settled in." Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me. "That's just the roster of staff meetings and duty times this week. You're not going to be on it until next week so you can get used to how we do things, but I thought you might want to take a look to familiarize yourself."

"Thank you." I smiled with a nod as I took it. 

Tom left me to my new classroom and I walked inside, placing my tote bag down on what would be my desk from now on. The classroom was pretty standard of any high school; on the right wall there was a whiteboard and a projector screen just behind my desk, ahead was a big window looking out onto the field, along the wall to the left of the door was a row of shelves filled with things I'd explore later, and the desks were arranged into three rows and three columns. The pale cream walls were bare, inviting opportunity. I pressed my lips together as I looked around, thinking to myself.

It was almost the end of July, and I only had today to get settled before term three classes started tomorrow, so my options were a little limited. Everything had been a bit rushed since the job had opened up so abruptly at the sudden departure of the last English teacher. But I'd been desperate for a way out of my hometown, and this had sounded perfect. It was a great school, great pay, and they'd been very happy to welcome me in. Things had just fallen into place for me, so I'd gone for it. 

Reaching into my tote bag, I pulled out my sketchbook and pencil. I'd known I'd probably get to decorate the classroom and had decided to bring it along just in case. Flipping it open, I sketched the layout of the room and then tapped my pencil against my mouth, thinking. I'd never been one for extravagance, but I wanted to give my students a classroom they were interested in. One that didn't make them stare at the clock, wishing for it to go faster. I remembered how boring some classrooms could be. 

After about half an hour, I had a general idea of what I was going to do. Gathering my things, I quickly left campus after picking up my classroom key from the front desk. I chatted with the older woman behind the desk for a while; Ruth. She was incredibly sweet, telling me to come by for a chat whenever I had the time. I promised that I would. She had a sweet smile that reminded me of my grandmother.

It took me a little while in town to get what I needed, and I went home to pick up a few things as well before I came back with everything just under an hour later. Glancing at the clock, I frowned when I saw it was already midday. I'd have to work quickly to get everything ready before tomorrow; I was a perfectionist when it came to things like this, and that trait sometimes slowed me down.

Closing the classroom door behind me, I dumped everything I had over the desks, spreading it out so I knew where it all was. Grabbing my phone, I opened Spotify and put on some music, humming along as I made a start. 

It didn't take me as long as I thought, and an hour and a half later, I stood back, finished. I hadn't done an extraordinary amount of work since I figured I'd put things up on the wall that students had done as the year went on, but it was perfect for now. I had posters, books, lots of stationary that was already in the shelves, and had started to decorate the walls with pops of color how I'd seen fit. Then I turned to my desk, deciding to work out what was going on with that since I had time. There was a desktop computer, a keyboard, and a bunch of wires that looked like I'd be able to hook my laptop up and have two screens. I turned the computer on, logging in with my details that I'd been given yesterday and then fiddled around with the remotes for the speakers and projector for a while to get used to them.