September 2021 - Philadelphia
When I woke up on the first Monday of my new job, I really thought I'd be more nervous. But I felt fine. This was totally something I was ready for.
"Mhm." A grunt came from the other side of the double bed I'd woken up in and an arm snaked over my waist. "It's too early."
"Go back to sleep." I giggled at Julian - my boyfriend of four months now. He'd stayed over last night even though I'd warned him I had an early start and he wouldn't like it. "I gotta get up, but you can stay as long as you want."
"Kay." Julian mumbled. "Have a good day babe."
I slipped out from under his arm and got up, stretching my limbs as I went off to the bathroom. I wasn't a big breakfast person but I made myself eat some toast as I leaned against the counter and sipped at a cup of coffee. I'd gotten a staff login to the school app so I had a scroll through that as I ate, looking at my schedule. I had four classes a day with one free period in different times of the day. Not bad at all. One class from each year level.
Once I'd eaten, I put my dishes away and went to get ready, brushing my teeth and tying my long wavy hair back into a ponytail. I went and got dressed into a long sleeve shirt and a flowy skirt before pulling on some doc boots and gathering my things up. I wanted to get there early so I could set things up.
The school was pretty basic and simple; just your average high school. The gentle start of fall breeze skimmed through the air as I locked my car and walked out of the staff carpark, assessing everything again as I moved. I'd been shown around by the principal a few weeks ago so I knew where everything was, but it looked a little different now that there were students and other people here. I smiled to myself as I walked to the arts block, so happy that this was my life now. Teaching art had always been my dream.
Walking up the stairs towards the classroom that was now mine, I unlocked the door and stepped through. It was perfect. The desks were all spacious and had little spaces for art supplies, there was a huge supply cupboard, and a good little area I had for my desk and my own work.
I didn't have a registration class so I had a little extra time to set up, which I used very second of. Cracking a few windows to get some air in, I logged onto my computer and connected it to my dual monitor before checking the daily staff notices. There was an assembly during my fourth period which I'd had free for that exact reason, and I knew I'd probably be introduced to the school as a new teacher then. Other than that, it looked pretty easy.
I had my senior class first and they all started trickling in at varying times, obviously having slept in and skipped registration. I just shook my head at them, knowing there wasn't anything I could do about it. At high school I'd been the exact same.
"Okay, this looks like about as much as we'll get for the first day." I stood up from my desk about ten past nine when no one had come in for a few minutes. Everyone glanced over, pausing their conversations, not subtly on their phones. "My name is Miss Swift." I introduced myself. "In the name of formality that's what I'd like you to call me outside of the classroom, but I like having connections with my classes so in here, you are more than welcome to call me Taylor." Looking around, I established that there was no point making a speech. Kids judged for themselves. "Okay, any questions?" I asked.
There was silence for a moment, and then one of the girls stuck up her hand. I smiled at her to let her know to go ahead.
"What did you do before you started here?" She asked.
"Freelance artist mostly." I sighed. "Just a normal office job on the side to pay the bills while I looked for something more like this, so I'm really happy to be here."
