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Chapter 56, Strangers (Ep. 1: The Crawl)
Hawkins Elementary was the most unexpected place for Natalia Cortez to be working in.
Being a teacher's aide required patience, commitment, responsibility, and sacrifice. Dealing with screaming children, who many times were disrespectful beyond measure, left no room to venture into a possible door of adoration for the education field.
But Natalia needed a job.
Hawkins had been placed on a strict quarantine a week after the "earthquake," preventing anyone from entering or abandoning town. Her dream of working as a criminal defense lawyer had been cut short, so it was goodbye college and hello to no degree.
The job market was limited and the only places that offered a higher paying salary weren't taking any applications, especially for those without college degrees. That only left little to no options, and it just so happened that Hawkins Elementary was in desperate need for a teacher's aide.
A few days after applying, Natalia had been hired. She didn't find the job exciting nor dull, but it brought a sufficient amount of money to the house, so she couldn't complain much. But she did discover one thing about herself, and it was that she wasn't as mature as she believed.
Fourth graders were little demons on a sugar rush. Some listened, but others did whatever they pleased. She thought she could handle elementary school, but she was absolutely astounded when she had her first encounter with Derek Turnbow. Miss Harris had warned her about his behavior, but Natalia was not at all prepared for the words that came out of the kid's mouth.
When she stopped him from pulling on Ashley Klein's ponytail, she was left utterly speechless when he told her to 'suck a fat one.' She had received lots of insults in high school, but somehow, receiving them from a child was much more hurtful, especially when she was constantly getting called 'old.'
(Apparently to children, being 20 years old meant you were a senior citizen.)
Her only respite came from the sweet kids, and her favorite happened to be Holly Wheeler.
Upon having met the youngest Wheeler, Natalia had been astounded. Somehow, she considered Nancy as an only child and Mike as someone belonging to another family. To learn there was a younger Wheeler definitely left her at a loss for words, but it worked out in the end, because it meant getting to care for someone other than herself.
It seemed that without realizing it, she was starting to find a sense of fulfillment in this job. Whether she wanted to accept it or not, there was no use denying that change was unfolding.
Natalia was currently keeping Holly company while she waited for her mom to finish speaking with Miss Harris. The reason for this so-called meeting revolved around Holly's imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit. Miss Harris had grown concerned when seeing her speaking to no one, so she asked Natalia to give a phone call to Mrs. Wheeler, much to Holly's dismay.
