Hold a Smile (Demi Lovato) COMPLETE

One: The New Teacher

Avery's POV

"Come on, wake up," my mom said as she nudged me. "You have to get ready for school." I got up quickly. I knew that if I took too long, I'd get in trouble. I got dressed in one of my few outfits. Mom says I don't need more than three because I do laundry every three days. I have to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts. If not, I wear a sweater. I brush my hair and make my way to the kitchen. On the way there, I pass my Mom's room. She's already drinking. I keep walking. If she sees me staring, I'll get in trouble. Once I'm in the kitchen, I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. That's the only stuff she buys for my lunch. "You don't have time for breakfast," Mom says as she enters the kitchen.

"Can I eat in the car?" I ask. I really didn't want to skip breakfast this morning. I didn't have dinner last night, and I was really hungry.

"You think I'd let you eat in my car?" Mom sneers.

"But you do it all the time."

SLAP! My face stings from the sudden impact.

"You do NOT talk back to me, do you understand?!" My mom screams at me. I nod quickly while holding my cheek. "Now go brush your teeth. We need to leave soon."

I run to the bathroom and close the door, careful not to slam it. I felt the tears stream down my face, and I quickly wiped them away. After I brushed my teeth, I washed my face. If my mom saw me crying right before going to school, she'd freak out. I probably wouldn't be going that day.

"What do you say?" My mom calmly asks.

"Sorry," I whisper.

"I can't hear you."

"I'm sorry, Momma," I say a little louder.

We walk out the door and to the car.

Demi's POV

I woke up plenty early so I had enough time to get ready for school. That's right, I'm going to school. Not to be a student, but to be a teacher.

I had a great music career, and I plan to continue a little later on, but on my last tour, I had a strange urge to educate. I don't know where it came from, but it just wasn't going away. I put a hold on my career and went to college, just to see if this is what I really wanted to do. And I realized that it was! I stayed for four years, and got a degree in education.

And here I am, a year later, getting ready for my first day of teaching second grade.

I get dressed, do my hair, eat breakfast, then brush my teeth. As I got closer and closer to the school, my stomach was turning. What if the kids don't like me? What if I couldn't handle all of them at once?

I walked into the school building and looked around. Kids ranging from preschoolers to fifth graders were walking around, trying to find their classrooms. The younger ones were with their parents. I walked into my classroom, and there were some students talking with their parents. I introduced myself as I made my way to my desk. I put down all of my stuff and looked around again. So many kids.

As the start of school came closer, the parents started to say their goodbyes to their kids.

The bell rang and I got up in front of the classroom and introduced myself.

"Hi, my name is Ms. Lovato, and I'm very excited for this school year."

Just then, a little girl came through the door. She was very timid. "Come on in, sweetie." She continued to walk in and her face turned red at the realization that all eyes were on her. "We are just getting started, so go ahead and find a seat." The only seat available was in the back next to my desk. Another girl in the seat next to it waved with a huge smile on her face. They must be friends.

"So what we are going to do is one by one, stand up, state your name, and something you like to do."

I smiled at each kid as they spoke. I tried to remember the face with the name. The little girl who waved stood up and stated, "My name is Jasmine, and I like to sing."

Now it was the last little girl, the one who came in late. She timidly stood up and started to talk softly, just loud enough for the class to hear. "My name is Avery, and, um..." She trailed off.

"She doesn't do anything!" A boy named Caleb yelled. The class sniggered as Avery's face turned red. "Settle down, settle down," I said. "Thank you Avery, you can sit down if you'd like." She quickly sat down and kept her head low. "Okay, next I want you to fill out this Get-to-Know-Me paper, and we will show the class. I'm doing one as well." I handed out the paper with questions asking about favorite colors, animals, etc.

I sat at my own desk and filled it out quickly. I couldn't help but look over at Avery. Her shoes looked two sizes too small, her jeans were worn out and looked a little big, and her sweater had holes in it. What was she doing wearing jeans and a sweater in August? It was still summer.

Even in her raggedy clothes, she was probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Her brown hair was perfect with her bright green eyes. I wish I could see more of her face, but her hair hid it as she was filling out her paper. Something about her was so different from the other kids, but I couldn't quite figure it out.