Castles in the Sand (Stephen Colbert)

Chapter 2

Stephen walked down the hall in front of me, stopping outside a door to open it; he politely let me pass in front of him. I entered a large room with several round tables surrounded by chairs. Along the far wall was a kitchen area more impressive than the one in my own apartment. I immediately mulled over the idea of living here in secret.

"This is the staff room, they all start to dribble in around 7, students too." He paused to check his watch again, "I have some things to take care of, first day of school is always hectic." He was almost out the door but popped his head back in, "I should mention Principal Evans will be here later and he might drop by your class, just a heads-up. Also my office is on the second floor, if you need anything." I nodded graciously, recalling the location as I had been up there for my interview, then with a smile and a wink he was gone.

Alone again with my thoughts and books, I promptly dumped the latter on the closest table, pulled out a chair and began to stare at the clock. Minute after minute ticked by while the anxiety tightened it's hold around my chest and throat. That was enough. I checked around to make sure I was alone and took a quick swig of the vodka that was hidden in my bag, followed by a couple breath mints. The warmth that spread through my body soothed my nerves somewhat and no one would be the wiser. I'd had plenty of practice sneaking drink over the years.

There was tea available so I busied myself making a cup, preferring the idea of being farther away from the door when the other teachers began to arrive. No sooner had the thought occurred when a few of them idled in, they were chatting with one another and didn't notice me right away. I slowly turned and rested against the counter, and finally one of them broke from their conversation to come over and greet me. A short, heavyset woman with a jovial personality. I was terrible with names and this was only the beginning, as more people wandered in. Walters, Hancock, Myers, I could already see before me the months of awkward, "Hey, you"'s that were to follow until I was absolutely certain I wasn't going to get anyone's name wrong. Stephen's was the only one I would be sure of, a tiny refuge among the chaos.

After everyone had said their hello's and their welcome's they all went back to chatting with one another about their holidays, and various other topics I didn't care much to join in with. I sat back at the table next to my teaching pile and dug around for the lesson plans I had thrown together, looking them over a final time. They would be refined as I went along, once I knew my students. I glanced at the clock again, it was just about 8am so I decided to move to my classroom and wait for my first students. I could feel the eyes of the other teachers on me as I silently stood to leave, but ignored them. I took a deep breath and stepped into the hall, I was on the second floor but there was a gauntlet to run between where I was and my destination. Now and then a group of students would stare or point, and whisper to each other. That was normal, I was new after all, though it didn't make the situation any more comfortable for me. I was glad to get to my assigned room to enjoy some solitude, however brief.

I placed my books on the desk at the front of the room and wrote my name in neat cursive on the board, with a satisfied nod. I turned with the intention of sitting down when I saw Stephen leaning against the door frame. How long had he been there? He smiled and gave an awkward wave as he moved towards me. I politely returned the gesture, though inside I was dying.

"All set are you?" He asked cheerily, checking the board behind me, "Lovely handwriting."

Really? He had interrupted my final moments of peace for some small talk? I suppressed a frustrated sigh.