Memories of Autumn

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was quarter to seven and Anne, a kindergarten teacher was walking towards her grey minivan. She was a 27 year old woman, quite young looking for her age. She had shoulder width brown hair, green eyes, fair toned, wearing a black coat. She was on her way to the school where she was working, got in her car and drove away. After a 15 minute drive she found herself in front of a small building with a playground surrounded by a little white fence on the outskirts of London. It was her fourth year of teaching here and she was looking forward to another year. Just before she left her car, a golden-brown leaf flew at the windshield. "Autum just arrived." She mumbles in her head. She stared at it and smiled to herself when she remembered a scene from her teenage years.

 'I was looking at my new leather shoes. It was the first day of school on a cold September morning and autum just arrived. It had been a few minutes since I was sitting on the bench under an old oak tree just outside our school when a light brown leaf landed on the bench that I was sitting on then..darkness.

 "Guess who it is?~" A familiar voice echoes near my ear. I giggled and replied "I know it's you, John." John was my boyfriend. Though he was a senior and I was a sophomore, our hearts seemed to be for each other. I know it seems tacky but it really made sense. 

"Awh, what gave it away?" He replied as he released my eyes and sat beside me; a tall blond boy with blue eyes; hunky dressed in his jersey jacket and blue jeans; his perfume was a bit floral and chocolaty and I loved that smell; it was like having a cup of coffee in a flower shop, I know, I'm kind of weird.

 "I can smell your perfume a mile away." I replied with a smirk. 

"You know, that nose of your's is freaky~" He replied as he pinched my nose which made me sneeze. 

"Hay, you know my nose is sensitive." I said wiping my nose with a giggle. The two of us laughed then he silently held my hand. I looked at him and he gave me a sincere smile. I can tell that he was just...one of a kind. 

"Let's go, nosy. I know you don't want to be late for school." He said as he stood up and I followed then he planted a soft kiss on my forehead before walking towards the building.'

She suddenly woke up from her flashback, back to reality and noticed a tear on her cheek then quickly wiped it off, took a deep breath then went out of the car and walked towards the building. She took the key from her shoulder bag to open the room, turned the lock, went in and opened the lock. When she walked pass a mirror, she couldn't help but look at the light that the pendant of her necklace reflected. She felt it with her fingers, feeling the stone's smooth surface.

'It was two months before school started and I was at the basketball court watching John teach Nate how to play basketball. The court was outside the school building, surrounded by a fence with a couple of bleachers around it. I was sitting on the bleachers, watching them. The air was cold and misty, the sky was grey and the ground was damp from the fog and rain earlier. John easily shot a basket then gave Nate a pat on his back. Nate was John's best friend since pre-school. He was tall red headed, green eyes, pale; he was a bit skinny compared to John, considering that he doesn't work-out. It has always amazed me how close these two are yet they were so different. John was a bad-ass type of guy while you can say that Nate is a goody-two-shoe. John is sporty while Nate is nerdy. John is so confident that he is sometimes obnoxious while Nate can be very shy and gets easily nervous. Anyways, Nate fixed his glasses and looks at me from afar and I returned his gaze with a soft smile, he nervously smiled back at me. We looked like two kids making-up after a fight. John walks towards me, panting

 "Hey there, beautiful." He said as he sat beside me. 

"I'm teaching Nate how to play basketball. Don't tell him...he sucks" he added in a whisper which made me laugh.

 "Hay, don't say that. He is your best friend." I replied with a big grim on my face.

 "But it's true. He's a walking encyclopedia; good in every subject yet doesn't even know a single sport. I even heard he was invited to Harvard University but he turned it down saying he just wanted to study like a normal teenager." As he was talking, I noticed an earring pierced in his right ear.

 I frowned and said "Hay, didn't I tell you not to put an earring in your piercing ever again. I told you a thousand times, it doesn't look good." I just can't stand boys with earrings and it makes me furious if I see John wearing one. 

"Awh, come on, Anne. Just for today, I promise. I like having an earring." He refused while covering his ear to protect the erring. 

"Give it to me. I'll confiscate it." I said as I playfully reach for his earing. 

"Haha! Never!" He said while laughing.

The next day he approached me during lunch time. 

"Hey there, nosy." He said pinching my nose.

 "Oh hi." I replied. 

"You know what, babe, I decided not to put earrings anymore. Here, take this." He showed me a silver necklace with a diamond pendant. "I got it made into a pendant so you'll be sure I won't use it again." He added as he puts it on me. I gave him a proud smile.'

Anne came to her senses when a colleague approached her. 

"Good morning, ready for another year?" A middle aged woman, stout, dark toned with short black hair asked her. 

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She replied. 

"That's the spirit, darling. 'Say, I see that it's already your fourth year of teaching and I never once saw you with a young man. When are you gonna get married?"

 The woman asked her that made Anne laugh softly. 

"Oh Vicky, I have no plans for that." The woman frowned and replied

. "Well chop-chop. You're not getting any younger." She said jokingly as she left the room.