07-11-2022, 05:09 PM
The afternoon sun fell lazily on the mostly empty desks. Kate was resting her chin on her hand and staring at the dust the circling round in its rays. The buzzing of a fly against the glass made her eyes heavy.
"Miss Blacke. Are you listening?" Came Miss Bell's voice sharply.
Kate dropped her hand, jerked up, and apologized.
But it was hard to listen for the six scholars who had shown up for extra lessons during their summer break. It would still be about half a month before the schoolyear started again, and teaching did not feel as intimidating yet as it always did the night before.
And Kate was tired. All the problems in her family were weighing down on her and making it hard to sleep at night. Mam was a wreck lately, and Dad could only give her clichés or found ways to excuse himself. Ruth had her baby and her job and that creep of a husband who was apparently giving her trouble. Joe had been dumber than her Standard One students when he ran off with a Carrington. And John... Oh once she started thinking about John she could really lie awake with dread. What if he got into some fight with rebels and got shot? She knew what she had to do: Work hard at her own life and become a successful teacher, and never mind about her siblings' antics. But it was so very hard to think about her future when she was tired and the sun shone on her face so enticingly and the buzzing of that fly mixed with the buzzing of Miss Bell's lesson.
Miss Bell lectured her after class, and so Kate was the last of the pupil teachers to depart. She had kept herself big while Miss Bell spoke and had apologized as maturely as she could, but when she stepped out of the school building, she quickly wiped a tear. She didn't want her teacher to be disappointed in her. Really, she would try harder. But she wasn't sure it would have any effect. And so she dragged her feet as she left the schoolyard, pressing her books against her chest, and she looked at the ground in front of her. She had to find a way to work harder. She didn't want to disappoint her parents.
"Miss Blacke. Are you listening?" Came Miss Bell's voice sharply.
Kate dropped her hand, jerked up, and apologized.
But it was hard to listen for the six scholars who had shown up for extra lessons during their summer break. It would still be about half a month before the schoolyear started again, and teaching did not feel as intimidating yet as it always did the night before.
And Kate was tired. All the problems in her family were weighing down on her and making it hard to sleep at night. Mam was a wreck lately, and Dad could only give her clichés or found ways to excuse himself. Ruth had her baby and her job and that creep of a husband who was apparently giving her trouble. Joe had been dumber than her Standard One students when he ran off with a Carrington. And John... Oh once she started thinking about John she could really lie awake with dread. What if he got into some fight with rebels and got shot? She knew what she had to do: Work hard at her own life and become a successful teacher, and never mind about her siblings' antics. But it was so very hard to think about her future when she was tired and the sun shone on her face so enticingly and the buzzing of that fly mixed with the buzzing of Miss Bell's lesson.
Miss Bell lectured her after class, and so Kate was the last of the pupil teachers to depart. She had kept herself big while Miss Bell spoke and had apologized as maturely as she could, but when she stepped out of the school building, she quickly wiped a tear. She didn't want her teacher to be disappointed in her. Really, she would try harder. But she wasn't sure it would have any effect. And so she dragged her feet as she left the schoolyard, pressing her books against her chest, and she looked at the ground in front of her. She had to find a way to work harder. She didn't want to disappoint her parents.
