Toby Who? -- A Toby "Tobuscus" Turner Fan Fiction

Chapter 3: Good Time

“Work, work all week long

Punchin' that clock from dusk til dawn.

Countin' the days til Friday night

That's when all the conditions are right.

For a good time

I need a good time.

Yeah, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time.”

BEPP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-!

My hand whacked the “off” button on my alarm clock that rested on my bedside table. The big day was finally here: My first day as a teacher. A wave of nerves rolled over me as I sat up in bed, heart racing and body shaking from head to toe. I wasn’t ready for this! I wasn’t prepared! I questioned my capability to handle this new job. 

It’d been 4 years since I’d done my semester of student teaching required for graduation, which was the last time I’d set foot in an elementary school classroom. And let’s face it, changing baby diapers and watching Dora the Explorer with toddlers at the day care I’d worked at ever since graduation was nothing like teaching a classroom full of 2nd graders for 5 days per week. Now the panic really set in. I sprinted into Nicole’s room, seeking out some advice from my “mom away from mom”. She was sitting calmly, already showered and doing her makeup using a lighted mirror at her desk.

“Nikki, I can’t do this!” I whined while slouching down onto the edge of her bed.

Nicole turned around in her swivel chair to face me and give me a frustrated look. “Emma Leigh, don’t be ridiculous. You’re a natural with kids; You were practically born for this. I shouldn’t even have to be telling you this right now. Pull yourself together, stop procrastinating, and go get your ass ready!” Nicole scolded me, getting out of her chair, yanking me off her bed, pushing me out of her room and slamming the door behind me. “Be ready to leave in one hour, and not a minute later!” I heard her muffled yell come through the closed door.

I blinked twice in disbelief. My best friend had basically just slapped me in the face with her words, which was somehow exactly what I needed right then. Before I knew it, I had gotten ready in record speed and found myself grabbing a quick cup of coffee dressed in my black and white tribal print maxi dress, comfy black sandals, and a black cardigan. Half of my curly blonde hair was pulled back into a clip, and the other half fell down onto my shoulders and down my back.

A few sips into my cup of coffee, Nicole emerged from her room looking stunning. Despite her small stature, which sometimes made her look much younger than her age, she looked mature and professional today.

“Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

We arrived at Warner Avenue Elementary School around 6am, giving us a little over an hour until the kids would start arriving. I hugged Nicole outside of her kindergarten classroom with a sign on the door reading “Ms. Sears,” wished her good luck, and headed down the hallway to my own classroom.

Wow, that felt weird to say. My classroom. It was strange to think about, and I felt like I was finally a real adult.

I entered my room with a sign on the door similar to Nicole’s, except mine read “Ms. Cameron”. Nicole and I had come up to the school on Saturday to spend the entire day decorating our rooms and arranging the desks. I admired the various educational posters I had hung up around the space, as well as the reading nook complete with a rocking chair surrounded by bookshelves filled with children’s books. For having such a short time to decorate it, I thought it looked pretty dang good. The areas that looked bare could always be filled with my students’ excellent work.