A Teacher's Love Story

Chapter 1 - Monday

"Good morning mom! Wake up mom! Good morning mom, time to wake up mom! Good morning mom! Wake up mom! Good morning mom, time to wake up m—"

BOOM!

Her fist was slammed onto her alarm clock, the device stumbling to the floor in pieces. Emma grumbled a few curses under her breath, unable to stop the tears invading her eyes as she stood from the bed and began assembling the pieces back together.

Not only were early mornings her most grumpiest hours, but it was Monday today, and everyone knew Monday was the worst day of the week. However, this Monday in particular was the most horrifying one, because Emma was starting her new job teacher.

She had been hired in the Biology Department at Brigadier High, and high school in the town of Holland. It was almost an hour away, which meant she had to be awake extra early to arrive soon enough. She had met a few faculty members, and Principal Reese had been delightful, helping her with a tour of the school and running down the list of the faculty members apart of the Biology Department.

But Emma hadn't cared to even listen to one name; she wasn't there for them. She was there only because she needed a source of income, and figuring out something to do with the Biology diploma hanging in her bathroom wall. Strange place for her diploma one may think, but to Emma, it reminded her every day that she had done something in her life, and while she sat on the toilet, listened to music and glanced towards the diploma every so often, it unusually set her at ease.

Once in her life she thought she had conquered everything, but how naive was she to believe that nothing would be thrown in her direction and that her splendid life would crumble into ashes, all in a day.

Those weren't memories she spoke about, and whenever her frantic mother called to ask about her well-being, Emma always burst into flames, growling at her mother for perceiving her as weak, and promising that she was fine.

But Emma could not remember the last time she felt fine. Even this morning, she thought she would fight her mirror by the way she looked, and when she tipped her mug onto the floor, she kicked it and caused a tiny dent in the wall. There was nothing fine about Emma's life, it was just an attempt to live with such poisonous feeling tormenting her soul.

Emma knew she would be ridiculed by the way she dressed, but she did not care. Rather than those business outfits that most teachers wore, Emma wore jeans and a gray blouse, tucking the ends inside her pants. She brushed her chocolate curls into a ponytail, and moisturizer her face before she bolted from the door without anything to eat. Neither had she packed a lunch, but who cares, definitely not Emma.

It would not be the first time she didn't have a meal through the entire day.

Although the parking lot was quite empty, Emma knew it would be bombarded with cars and student cars in about an hour, and that ruined her mood even more. The moment she entered the school, she crossed path with another faculty member who raised an eyebrow at her, "Hi."

"Hello," Emma greeted with a forced smile before continuing her walk, heading to the third floor of the building. She was lucky enough to have received her own classroom, and it was even better that it was in the corner of the hallway that nobody ever went to except if it was to attend Biology courses.

The only downside was that she had to go all the way to the first floor for the teacher's lounge area, but she could definitely get used to that. Her class was quite boring, no decorations or posters on the wall. A periodic table would probably be helpful, and maybe the cell cycle or the life cycle of a fly may be interesting to look at during classes.

Regardless, with her notes prepared for today, she was ready to take on her students onto a challenging semester.

The moment the students began stepping in her classroom, the usual comments started being whispered, without them realizing she could hear them.

"Woah," one of the senior boys whispered to his friend, "she's super hot."

"Definitely cute."

"Damn, she's fine."

It was the immaturity of young men that obsessed over adult women that made them think of it that way, but in all honesty, Emma was an average Joe. Her chocolate brown curls reached the middle of her back, she had golden eyes, a tanned skin tone with dark freckles that covered her stubby nose. The only feature she admired on herself was the sharp jawline that many commented, and her plumped lips that were an exact replica of her mother's. Other than that, Emma didn't consider herself a one-in-a-lifetime beauty; there were many men that had rejected her and she understood why. Regardless, the students not only discomforted her, but she already wished for the class to be over.

When the bell rang, Emma standing in front of the chalkboard, she watched as the last sting of students quickly entered her classroom and took their seats. The national anthem played, followed by the announcements, and finally, she was able to start her class.

***

Emma never thought a morning with only two classes could tire her this much, but it must have been due to her missed breakfast and her growling stomach. She hurried to her car during lunch time, and drove to the nearest cafe in her area. She loved the smell that floated within cafes, the crisp air of coffee filling the restaurant, and the fatigue was slowly cured simply by the smell.

She was waiting in line, watching the customers order their request before stepping to the side, and it was almost her turn. But something diverted her attention; it was the obnoxious conversation happening behind her. There was a man standing only a few inches behind her, and she could feel the warmth from his body reaching her.

Not only was it making her feel a bit uncomfortable, but the conversation he was having on the phone was not one to have in public. "I know, that nightclub was awesome, Trevor's birthday was one of the best."

"I know, that one girl was trying so hard, but I'm not ready to move on yet. I should've, I kind of regret it."

"We could go again soon? Yea, that one girl Corey had was a baddie—"

"Excuse-me?" Emma had not expected herself to interrupt his conversation, but it was irritating her that he boldly said all these things out loud.

The man glanced in her direction, looked over his shoulder before narrowing his eyes, "Hold on a second..." he pulled the phone away from his ear, "...yes?"

She pointed to the space between them, "You're way too close to me for one. And for two, you really find it appropriate to have this conversation in front of a dozen of people?"

"What the..." the man snorted before putting the phone back to his ear, "...anyways, as I was saying, yes I'm down to do the same thing next weekend—"

"Are you kidding me?" Emma completed turned to face him at this point, her entire face narrowed in such disgust. "You heard me."

"She's causing a scene now, hold on," he met her gaze, "I heard you ma'am. What else would you like, do you want me to pay for your coffee so you can shut up?"

"What—"

"I get it, it's Monday. But just because you're in a grumpy mood, doesn't mean you have to ruin it for all of us," the man spat, folding his arms.

"That's not my intention, you were hauts too close—"

"My goodness, I'm so sorry let me stand by the door to make sure you have enough space. Would you like me to wipe your ass too?"

"Are you..." One minute Emma was dumbfounded, staring at him with widened eyes; it was the first time in a while anybody had spoken to her that way. It was only when her minded repeated those words a second time that she realized what he had said, and then the next minute, the man had an entire coffee cup spilled on his dress-shirt. Emma had taken one from another customer's table and dumped it all over that man, who stumbled backwards in shock, even his phone getting wet.

"Serves you right, jackass," she shouted before storming towards the exit, flipping him the finger.