Die Without You - L.P

New Kid

Amy abhorred staff meetings with a fierce passion. Sitting in Joyless's stuffy, cramped office for what felt like days and listening to her drone on and on about trivial matters was not her cup of tea. The last meeting had been about how the coffee filters in the break room had been replaced with a new brand, and it had lasted an hour and a half.

She was extraordinarily unexcited to say the least. She picked at an imaginary speck of lint on her sleeve and stared at the door, willing it to open. So far, only seven of the twenty one teachers working at this school had arrived. The rest were probably loitering in the halls, gossiping about whatever snatches of information they could get their greedy little hands on.

She had already heard what they said about her and knew she didn't want to hear another word. They didn't understand; they couldn't. And so she ignored them, glancing at them with cool indifference while barely restrained anger bubbled within.

Mrs. Perez walked in, her chubby body passing over the threshold with little ease. She looked over at Amy briefly, and her face tightened, making the strain of middle age on her features even more obvious. It was clear that she disapproved of Amy and thought she was an incapable instructor.

Amy tried to tell herself that she didn't care. Mrs. Perez was borderline elderly, unnecessarily rude, and annoyingly bitter. But the worst part was that before this whole ordeal had begun, Mrs. Perez had been one of her best friends at this school. She'd taken her under her wing, given her advice, welcomed her overwhelmingly. But in the blink of an eye, she'd been thrust out, cast off as damaged goods. It was remarkable how quickly things could change and how flippant life could be.

After Mrs. Perez had seated herself as far away from Amy as possible, the rest of the staff began filtering in. They were all different ethnicities, personalities, and swiftly beating hearts; a diverse multitude of people. But they all wore the same bored, slightly exasperated look.

As always, Joyless methodically stalked in last. There was tension in every step she took and in the rigid set of her narrow shoulders even though nothing had happened yet. Amy wondered how she could stand being so perpetually angry, constantly mad at the world for hidden transgressions only she could glimpse.

"Good morning," she stated in a tone that suggested it was anything but. Half-hearted replies filled the room, somehow sounding dim.

"I've called you all here for something very important." Wasn't it always that?

"We have a new staff member."

Amy's brow shot up with intrigue. The last time they'd brought in a new employee was... well, her. Joyless's trust was difficult to earn. Who could have slipped past her iron defenses and gained her fickle approval?

"He's new and very inexperienced. But as you all know, Harvey is retiring-" she paused to gesture to the man sitting in the corner with skin like paper and veins that stood out like swirls of ink. He nodded back impassively. "And we require someone new to fill the counselor's position."

"Exactly who is this guy?" Dan yelled, even though he was situated near the front of the room.

"He's just graduated from the university in the next town over at the top of his class. I'd say he has a lot of potential."

Amy rolled her eyes. He sounded like a kiss ass by the reverent tone in which Joyless spoke of him. She'd always hated people like that back in school, and those feelings clearly hadn't changed.

"I hope you'll make him feel like a member of the team."

She gave a fake, uncharacteristic smile, and as if on cue, the door opened and he strolled in.