Click, click, click
The back of her heels echoed off the barren walls of the empty hall.
Click, click, click. The halls were empty and cold but she felt comfort in that, knowing that the students were tucked away safe and warm in their beds. She traced a painted finger over one of the many lines and cracks of paint over the walls.
She carried a clipboard in one hand and a chewed pen behind one ear. She continued down the hall on autopilot. She stared ahead until something caught in the corner of her eye and stopped. She turned and saw her reflection in the crystal clear window of the forever night sky. She walked over to her reflection and stared at herself.
She saw her auburn hair, faint crow lines around her eyes and mouth and the first of many gray hairs growing in. She reached out a hand and touched her reflections plump lips and high cheek bones and smiled to herself; proud. She soon looked past her reflection and out to the blanket of black sky with diamonds. She pressed a hand against the glass and it was cold to the touch. For some odd reason it gave her a sense of comfort to know that there was truly nothing on the other side but darkness and the occasional star that was light years away from the next one.
But her trance was broken when she heard giggles from around the next corner. She walked slowly over as not to be heard by the clicking of her heels. She was inches away from the corner and listened to the giggles for a moment longer before she rounded the corner. She stood before the two underage students for a few moments before they realized she was standing there.
She sighed heavily before she said, “What are you two doing out of bed?”
They quickly stood up, stared at her and tried to stammer some kind of explanation for them being out of bed. She held up her hand, “Don’t, just get back to your beds and don’t let me catch you two out of bed again or I won’t be so nice next time.” They ran down the hall where their thanks and apologizes for being out of bed echoed off the wall. She continued her rounds and pushing the thought of the young couple out of her mind.
Knowing her rounds would soon be over she headed to room 1853 to relive herself of duty. She knocked on the door and heard a muffled voice tell her to come in; she pushed through. She walked into a small but spacious room with bookshelves on either side of a desk with two chairs in front of the desk. At the desk was a man looking down grading papers; he didn’t look up when she entered. She walked over to one of the two chairs and sat.
“Jen,” he paused and a warm smile crossed his face as he pushed up the brim of his glasses. “What can I help you with?”
“It’s your turn to do the rounds.”
“Is that tonight? I completely forgot and I still have a lot of papers to grade. It’s late; you think any kids would be up now? I think I can skip it for one night.”
“Maybe you should do your rounds. I just caught two underclassmen out of bed not five minutes ago. I let them off with a warning but you never know with kids, they think they are invincible.” She took a heavy sigh.
“Well, if you’re done with your shift then you can always join me on mine. I like the company.” He shifted some papers around and stood up, walking toward the door.
“Yes, that sounds fine.” they walked down the corridor; she hugged her clipboard. They walked in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity but were only to the end of the hall. Finally Goshen spoke up,
“How are your classes going?”
“They’re good but I wish I could motivate the kids to try harder. To make them really want to learn.” They turned a corner and their pace slowed.
“Are they failing?”
“No, that’s the thing, no one is failing. I have no kid getting anything less than a B, which is amazing mind you but they don’t seem to give it much thought. I give them the course work and they go through the motions and pass but they don’t care. I’ve tried everything but they just..don’t. I don’t know what to do with them anymore.” She released a heavy sigh and stopped in her tracks. She leaned against a wall and slid to the polished ground. He too leaned against the wall but did not fall to the ground.
“Then get away from the work. Don’t try so hard for them to care about the work. You’ll just fail; instead work in some worldly aspects.”
“What?”
“Look at where we are.”
“In a hallway?”
“Not just a hallway. A hallway that’s in a ship millions of miles away from any planet, away from any real home. That’s why they’re not motivated not because they don’t care but because they miss home. This place is so…sterile. All of these kids are from different corners of the galaxy with nothing around them to remind them of home.” He soon fell to the ground beside her. “They don’t feel at home in this place.” He turned to her. “They feel trapped and..and contained. I know I do, that feeling of being trapped in a place like this.”
“I don’t feel that way, I like the repartition. I like to know what is going to happen next; I’ve never been one for surprises because they never turn out good. Just like when I caught the two students kissing, I didn’t need to see my students in that kind of position.” Her brow furled at her statement.
“It’s because you’re an adult, you’ve had time to run in the muck and the mire but these kids haven’t. We took these kids from their homes and stuck them in a school twenty-four-seven. Any kid would become dull and lifeless after a while.”
I would take dull to death any day. “I suppose you’re right. I’ve had a long day; can you finish the rounds by yourself?” she stood and straightened herself. He stayed where he was and nodded. “Goodnight then.” He didn’t return the parting but continued to stare out the window to millions of light years out. She rose and walked back to her cabin for the rest of the evening.
