This is a story I started and have been working on S L O W L Y.
"What the?" She muttered softly from where she was seated in the classroom as she listened to the weather report on the old clock radio. The pre-schoolers were all running around, it was their "wild time", time to shake out the sillies before their parents came to collect them. Nadia, the teachers-aid to a preschool class full of 3-4 year olds, had just come to Chicago a few months ago from Michigan so she was semi-used to quirky weather, Michigan was the Queen of Quirky. Chicago was not much different, only a day or so later in the Michigan weather pattern, and the meteorologist on the radio was announcing unseasonably cold temperature that had rolled in, along with grey skies and torrential winds the likes of which they had never seen. The weatherman went on to assure the listeners that there was no cause for alarm, that weather was cyclical and what they were seeing was surely part of whichever cycle the season was in the midst of. He promised that he would update as more information came in. He also mentioned that this came unexpectedly out of nowhere but,”hahaha, that’s weather for ya, folks.”
Crap. Crap. Crap.
This morning when Nadia got ready for work, she chose what she figured to be the appropriate ensemble for typical sweltering July weather in Chicago, made even more sweltering by the concrete of the city mixed with tall buildings keeping the heat and humidity at ground level. A pretty little black sundress that she had picked up on the sale rack at Macy's a couple of weeks ago; one that she wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford on her hourly pay if it hadn’t been 50% off. Even then it was a stretch but she decided to go for it anyways and she bought a pair of strappy sandals to match. Most of her closet was made up of work clothes, appropriate for spending the day in a preschool with drool, paint and poop, nothing that a new to “fresh out of the parents house and trying to make it on my own” would ever wear to any after-work event. People would get the impression that Nadia was all work and no play. Which was mostly the case. There was nothing Nadia loved doing more after work than grabbing food, going home, changing into comfy clothes and curling up with her favorite books about mythology. But, with the purchase of the dress and shoes, she was hoping to change that, become more social, hang out with her friends more. Baby steps in high heels.
A great outfit to wear to work (it was washable) and hopefully play, especially when it's close to 100 degrees in the city. But when the temperature dropped close to 70 degrees in a few hours...in JULY...and she was supposed to walk home in this weather; she became absolutely certain that this was not the best clothing choice. She thought longingly of all her sweater sets and jeans hanging in her closet in her tiny studio apartment. Warm, comfy and a little more weather appropriate than a thin black sundress and high heels.
There had been no way to predict this drastic weather change though because, according to the 11pm news the night before, we weren't expecting anything other than hot and humid for the next few days. A completely typical, bland weather forecast for this time of year in Chicago.
Nadia stood up and walked toward one of the big windows that took up most of the classroom, which happened to face Lake Michigan. Despite being tucked away in a classroom with little kids most of the day, Nadia felt lucky that she could stare out past the busy street over to Lake Michigan. She loved to gaze out the window and admire the vastness of the lake and the park along its shore. She loved when they lined the kids up, buddy system style, and marched them across the street to a darling playground in a grassy area across the bike path from the lake. The teachers and aids had to keep double and triple eyes on the kids so that they didn't wander off to play in the sand or worse, the water. But it was worth it and the kids were usually very well behaved, despite the temptation of the huge sandbox that was the beach.
