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The cafeteria was loud. Every round seat was filled with rough and haggard bodies, people wielding weapons with scornful faces. She felt unwelcome the moment she stepped in, the voices filling the air making her tremble. Anxiety shot through her veins as she joined the lunch line, gripping onto the cool metal table in front of her. It only took a few minutes to get her sandwich, then she bolted out the door and enjoyed her meal in the vacant halls.
Every movement seemed to echo, even the crunching of the food between her teeth. It was a simple piece of toast, she'd passed up the eggs and orange juice because she didn't want to have to sit down, and she wasn't allowed to bring plates out of the room. She scarfed down her breakfast then hurried down the arbitrary twists and turns, hoping to find some sort of exit. She wasn't sure just what time it was, but she had a deadline to meeting her new boss.
Soon enough she found an exit at the end of a corridor, the same one she'd tried to escape through the day prior. She fiddled with her fingers before pushing open the door, squinting from the harsh contrasting sun. In the distance she saw the barn, the vivid red, peeling walls.
She hurried over and tried to ignore the glancing faces. There were only a few, but the rest seemed accustomed to seeing new people. Quick on her feet she soon approached the doors and poked her head side to side, wondering whether or not to knock. Instead she entered without notice, revealing a bunch of rowdy children, some sitting quietly at their tables drawing with crayons.
She uncomfortably scoped the room for the teacher and it was clear when she saw her. An older woman in a raggedy blue dress, scribbling on a sheet of paper by her desk in the back. Her hair was a dark brown with streaks of grey, heavy bags under her eyes and wrinkling skin. She appeared to be at least sixty, the eldest in the room, with other's Winona's age helping around the class.
Approaching the woman's desk, she gave a short wave and quick smile. "You must be Judie," Winona started, causing her to look up, "I'm Winona. I was given a job here."
"Ah, Winona, yes? Hello, Simon has told me about you. You've babysat before all this, am I correct?" The older woman gave an amiable smile with flushed cheeks, but Winona figured it was just too much blush. Giving a quick nod, Winona held out her hand for her to grab.
"Just my neighbour, that's all. I don't have too much experience." Winona shook her hand then lowered it back to her side. She noticed a couple people her age and some kids glancing over.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be just fine here. Now, the kids have known the other workers here for a while now, but they'll get along with you just fine before you know it. Since we don't have enough room or teachers for multiple classrooms, we fill this room with kids from five to twelve. The ones older are trained physically if allowed by their guardians. Now, since we have such a large age gap you'll also be working separately with kids and I'll assign you a table to work at today - are you fine teaching age seven?"
