Dreaming of Spring (Rewrite)

Coffee, Home Room & Miss Kennedy

Too early for homeroom, but just the right time to visit London Retreat, the student run cafe at the end of the hall from the entrance foyer, one of the sights students see as they enter, besides the two grand staircases leading up on each side of the hall to office space and classes down their respective halls. The smell of coffee brewing drew Castor in its direction as an all too willing participant.

As Castor was distracted by the sight of what baked goods, which had been baked only hours prior, were on display, a familiar Scottish accented voice called out to him. "Good morning Castor, how did your summer treat you lad?" There stood Principal Beck, dressed as sharply as usual, in a slim cut 3-piece navy blue suit, recently shaven as evident by the overpowering smell of his aftershave, and freshly trimmed side-parted hair. Castor shook his head awake out of the cinnamon buns trance to answer "I didn't do a lot of anything over the break, sir." Principal Beck, looking over the menu himself, replied "That's alright Castor, it's better to do nothing and enjoy it than be busy and regret every minute of it." Principal Beck squinted his eyes to try and get a better look at the chalkboard menu hanging above the cleaning barista's head.

"I can't decide, go ahead Castor"

As if Castor would change from his usual order, a medium Maple macchiato and an apple cinnamon bun, made from apples picked from the school's grounds earlier in the week. All of which was already lovingly prepared and rung up. "Good morning Castor" Ava, the Barista called, that'll be $11.29". Castor paid and thanked her, saying to Principal Beck, "have a good morning sir!" and continued towards the seating area with large windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a distant B.C ferry heading south towards Vancouver in view. He wanted to enjoy his remaining time until homeroom, which, to Castor's surprise and delight, was in Miss Kennedy's, the faculty photography teacher, class and the delight came from Miss Kennedy being Castor's favourite teacher, and photography his favourite subject. In went Castor's earbuds and the start of his "Whitepine Mornings" playlist, full of indie folk music.

0830, time for homeroom. Miss Kennedy waited outside her classroom to greet the new year of students that she would be responsible for and to keep in line. Castor, as always, due to the time anxiety he inherited from his mother, was early and the first one to arrive. "Good morning Castor and welcome to homeroom!"

The look of Miss Kennedy's class was different from that of other teachers. While the majority kept their classes clean and minimalistic and allowed their offices, which every teacher is assigned once they are tenured, to fall into a maximalist disarray. Miss Kennedy felt different about the matter. "It's my life, why should I hide it?" She can be quoted saying if anyone would ask. Included was her Bachelor of Arts in Photography, Masters in Education, collages and her published prints from her time as a war photographer, assortments of cameras used in her travels, from cheap 35mm disposables to a restored daguerreotype from the 1800s and almost every format of film camera, enough to make any photographer blush.

Every teacher is given a budget to design their classroom, not funds for just a handful of posters and a little paint, but for full remodels and changes. So with Miss Kennedy, she modeled her classroom like her ideal quiet place, a photography darkroom. Not like a modern, sterile darkroom, but that of a photographer's darkroom of the 1920s-40s. Maybe not as a direct copy of one but the feeling and atmosphere is more Sherlock Holmes-esc mixed with a miniature museum with glass display boxes holding Miss Kennedy's artifacts. The rooms walls are covered in beautiful dark oak paneling, with the cabinets and door of the room to match. The smell of the room did match that of a darkroom, with no surprise to the smells of the chemicals she uses in her private darkroom, students are only allowed access with Miss Kennedy present, as she uses it for developing her own photos and after an incident that happened last year, where her negatives were damaged. A faint smell of luxury cigarettes emanated from the direction of her classroom balcony, even though smoking on school property is prohibited.

Her desk is a black metal square tube frame with the top being a half inch thick slab of black stained oak, covered with a 1950s banker's lamp and neat piles of paperwork. Along the front, are three different desk name plates that have decorated her desk in the years prior to teaching here. In the Royal Canadian Air Force, Captain Maggie Kennedy, Imagery Technician, Head Imagery Editor, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and her current, Miss Kennedy, Faculty Head, Visual Arts program. While Miss Kennedy has had enough experiences in her life that people could mistake her for someone two or three times her age, she is only in her mid thirties. Instead of teaching photography at one of the top universities in the province, where she could walk in and have a high paying job before she could blink, she chose to come back to Whitepine. Castor took a seat beside the window, having a gorgeous view of the square.

Soon enough, the remainder of students arrived, filling in the remaining twenty seats, till all were full but one, Miss Kennedy's. "Good morning everyone!" Miss Kennedy began "starting today, until the end of the year, I will have the pleasure of being your homeroom teacher. Which means I expect great things and tons of hard work from each and every one of you, and I will be the one that ensures it happens"