Ms Pierre [18+]

Prologue

[-IMANI POV-]

Monday

"Iman nena, time to get up. Don't you have to go to that school or sum?" I groan as I shove my face into my warm pillow that was partly covered in sweat and drool. I've been waiting for this day to come, but now that it's here, I'm wishing I could go back in time and stop myself from ever applying to this dumb school.

I feel the corner of my bed dip and I look up to find Ash taking a sip of my mug she found off my drawer from beside my bed. She cringes, probably because of the strong flavor of the tea. "Ginger girl?" I ignore her judgmental stare and swipe the cup from her hands to get a drink myself. I needed something sweet to bring my mood up.

"So, are you excited? Huh?" She speaks her eyes showing glints of joy but not the kind in which showed that she was excited for me. I know she's finding amusement in my situation. I scrunch my face up and begin to fake cry in hopes she would feel some sort of guilt for taunting me. "Oh, stop it, I told you not to fill out that damn application for the school, maybe this is gonna teach you to actually listen." She finishes by shoving my shoulder and I watch her exit my room. I wish I could pretend that she wasn't right, but I vividly remember the day I brought my laptop up to her with the application for Hillview Willow Elementary. That day I was desperate for a well-paying job that I could excel in. I didn't receive any email for an opening position, nor did I notice an ad online. I heard about the nearby private school from a tiktok video. It was a teacher responding to a comment about how much she makes in a year and all I can remember from watching was that I spit my drink out when I heard the numbers. I remember saying to Ash when I excitingly ran into her room, showing her the video and application, "All this just to teach a bunch of kids their ABC's?" I wish I could go back in time to stop myself because today was my first day at Hillview Willow Elementary as a fill in 2nd grade homeroom teacher.

I had to fill in for Mrs. Beatrice, when I went in for the interview she was there alongside the principal of the school. Beatrice was going to be on maternity leave and so my position was only temporary, still pays just as well.

I decide it was time to stop moping around and to take a shower so I could be on my way soon. I was gonna try to make the most of working there and try to connect well with the students that I'm going to be teaching. I wouldn't say I'm the best with kids, or even like them, which is ironic because I'm going to be working in an environment full of them. When I was younger, having children as an adult was never a thought to me. So the thought of kids running around in my vicinity rarely cross my mind. I would say for the most part, a lot of people trying to get jobs at elementary schools want those jobs because of their passion for teaching kids and would generally like being around them but I couldn't say the same. I grew up with 5 siblings, all younger then me. I had to grow up fast and be a fill in parent for all of them. So I vowed when I left my parents home that I would live a life of freedom before I ever settled down and have tiny dirty creatures running around my home.

After my warm shower, I enter my room and dry off, applying lotion and body oil to my skin. I put together an appropriate teacher attire, which was just a pencil skirt and a white blouse, and head outside to the kitchen to grab a snack. I enter and find Ash sitting on our countertop, her feet swinging while she munches on her cereal. "You look cute," She compliments and I give her a tight lip smile. I appreciated Ash for holding me accountable, if I didn't have this short tempered, red haired, tiny Dominican in my life, I would barley be able to get things done. She tosses me a mango that was sitting in our fruit basket behind her and I wink at her.

"Thank you love," She nods at my words as I exit the apartment.

___

I was about 40 minutes early, getting my bags out of my car to head to my class. After signing in and entering through the main office, I head towards classroom B-#209. I had to walk under a long pavilion that lead to the second building. To the left of me were students who I guess were dropped off early. They ran around the playground, screaming and shouting. There was a good handful of them and I watched as a few of them recklessly ran around the big slides and swings, one of them tripping over themselves. The small boy picks himself up and dust off his blue and white school uniform.