Chasing Starlight

Chapter 1 - Failing Into Place

The gentle buzz of lazy bees around the sky colored hydrangeas blended in with the eager chirping of birds in the morning air around the school gates.
"Royce Academy For Excellence" Adorned a heavy plaque on the cool stone walls, overhung by large maple trees that lined the wall from inside the grounds.

   A young woman stood anxiously clasping her hands in front of the open gates. A few straggling students in neat crimson uniforms walked by her chatting and giggling, only a few seeming to notice her without saying anything.
"This is it now Samia, just walk in and greet Mr. Tennison with all the confidence of someone who should be here." She muttered to herself wringing her hands. With a groan she sank into a crouch covering her head with her arms, "Aww my god, what am I doing, they're the strictest school in my college radius, they'll probably fire me in a week."
 
  A few students skirted around her with a wide birth, murmuring to themselves that a crazy lady was talking to herself in front of the school on the first day back. "Is she a former student maybe? She looks too young to be a parent here.." They passed quickly by, heading into the school grounds.

  Suddenly she jumped up, clenching her fists into a fighting stance that would've almost been threating if it wasn't posed by the lithe and petite woman who clearly has the same amount of power as a middle school child.

"Chin up Samia! This is no time for despair! The head of the education program recommended you personally here and this is the last step to complete your goals! All the hard work papa put in for you has come to this!"
 
   With that pep talk in mind, she beamed out at the school entrance in front of her, a smile that would growth warmth in the chest of anyone who it was aimed at. She grabbed her worn leather bookbag by her feet and started striding off towards the school, feeling confident again. In the distance a bell began to ring out, her heartbeat quickening at the sound. Suddenly her stomach dropped, "Oh shit... I'm late!" She shrieked out as she began furiously sprinting to the suddenly much too far off school building, which towered like a cathedral in front of her.

    Despite arriving early she had spent so much time worrying at the gate that she failed to realize what time it was and that students had stopped walking by. She cursed to herself as she flew up the steps of the school, taking two, three at a time as she rushed to her class.

  She had met the headmistress a week earlier who showed her where she would be starting to begin with Mr. Tennison, who wasn't able to meet her at the time. She was supposed to meet him and help begin the class by going over the syllabus and taking attendance. If she passed with a recommendation from him within the first month, she would be taking over several periods of class by herself. It was more rigorous than most high schools required of student teachers, most of her college peers only took over in the last half of their residency; but she accepted the challenge from the program director because if she survived the year here, she could work at any school she wanted easily.

   Now of course, I really might not last the week since I'm already late...I was warned that they've cruelly fired many student teachers if they don't hold the standards they expect..  Samia thought to herself glumly as she sped quickly through the empty and richly adorned walls of the school towards the second floor classroom of Mr. Tennison. She ran right past a figure in a doorway, who watched her make her way down the hall and around the corner.

   "Tsk.. that's two already. Something must be done." The door shut after those words.

   After what felt like ages and her legs and lungs were well past burning from exertion, she saw the classroom she was looking for, marked 2-9.
"Finally!" She exclaimed, and pulled the door open and slid inside. The whole class looked up on surprise at her haphazard arrival. The teacher stood at the front, looking bewildered at her. She took a deep breath before explaining.