The Teacher

ONE

I took a deep breath as I drove past the sign that displayed the name 'Red Oak High School' in huge off-white letters. The lot was filling up quickly and I ended up parking my lime green beetle a lot further away from the school entrance than I would have liked. It was my senior year and I was starting a new school. I considered the whole affair a complete disaster. I didn't want to be there.

Earlier that summer, my parents, sister and I had left the comfort of our beautiful home in Albuquerque to make the drive to Phoenix. Every summer my parents drove my sister and I to our Grandma's house. We were left there in Phoenix to spend the holiday with Grandma and also our aunt and cousins who lived nearby. Meanwhile, our parents worked or went on vacation. I was never entirely sure what they were up to. However, on the way to Phoenix this year, tragedy struck.

We were involved in an accident, colliding with a truck on the highway. My little sister Abby didn't make it; the rest of us escaped with only cuts and bruises. Everyone was saying it was a miracle that my parents and I were hardly hurt, but I just considered it a curse. I wish I had died too.

I'd never felt so helpless as I did in the moment I watched Abby take her last breath in the hospital. It broke me. Abby and I had been close. Being four years older, I looked after her and guided her through school dramas. She'd just become a teen. I was waiting to be there for her through all her boy trouble; she was going to be a true heart-breaker.

It had always been Abby and I against the world. My parents were never particularly attentive. They were career driven. My dad a CEO for an export company and my mother a solicitor. Abby and I had countless babysitters when we were young and as I've already expressed, we never spent the summer vacation with our parents. My grandma, aunt and cousins were my true family as far as I was concerned.

Upon Abby's death, my parents suddenly announced that they were going to have to work away from home for a while . As a result they shipped me off to live with Grandma which is why I had to begin my final year in a new school.

Honestly, I was relieved to be living with my Grandma rather than at home. Without Abby the house felt too lonely. The only consequence now that I hated about moving was having to start a new school. Starting a new school is always tough, but I knew that in senior year, in order to graduate with high grades as well as find myself new friends, it was going to be extremely hard. Nevertheless, I was ready to face it head on. Not for me, but for Abby. I knew Abby would want me to keep going; she had always been an optimist. She would want me to make the most of my life, and above all, to find happiness.

Strumming up enough courage, I stepped out of my car and strutted confidently across the parking lot and into the large entrance of the school. I had a few looks thrown at me as I did so. Although I could sense people's watchful eyes I tried my best to ignore them. I guess I stood out. I was clearly too old to be a freshman but yet I was a new face. It probably didn't help that I had dressed to impress. I'd worn my newest Armani mini skirt, coupled with a cute blouse; my long legs were highlighted by my heels. I'd left my brown wavy locks hanging naturally down my back. I'd tried to look my best because I'd decided that if I was going to have to suffer the attention of being the 'new kid,' that I may as well attract the right kind of attention. Start as you mean to go on, as they say.

I wasn't a high school newbie. I was only new to Red Oak. I'd embraced the high school environment in my old school; I liked to think I could do the same again. High school could be described as a dog eat dog world, but in my world, I was always part of the pack. 

Of course I was nervous. I didn't really want to be starting a new school in senior year. Nevertheless, I was stuck in my situation and I was determined to make the most of it.

"Hello. Name, please?" A sweet young woman's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Roxanne Anderson."

"Let me find your schedule Miss Anderson," she smiled nervously. She began to fumble through the large box of papers that occupied the table she and a few others were seated at. She was flustered. As the line of students queuing to collect their schedules began to get incredibly long, a line that consisted mainly of disorganised freshmen, I could understand why. The woman was clearly new to the job and looked only a little older than myself.

"Ah, there we are." A momentary look of relief shrouded her face until once again the panic returned to her eyes. 

"Thank you," I answered politely. I quickly removed myself to the corner of the large entrance hall, out of the way of the ever incoming students.

Red Oak was certainly a bigger school than my previous one back home in Albuquerque. I guess I began to feel a little intimidated when I glanced at the map that I had found in my 'welcome pack'. The only comfort I had was knowing that somewhere in the hoards of people was my cousin who was also a senior at the school. I'd met a few of her friends over the summers I'd spent in Phoenix too, though I didn't remember them too well. But I knew people; I could use that to my advantage. I could 'network' and quickly learn all the secrets there were to know about Red Oak and it's community.

"Umm, hey." I heard someone close to me speak.

I looked up from the map I was studying, trying to keep up my confident charade, probably failing miserably. Though something about my expression seemed to intimidate the guy that was stood in front of me.

"I... er... I noticed..." He began to stammer while pointing at the map in my hand. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Sorry." He paused again, blushing. "I saw you standing here in the corner and presumed you might be grateful for a little bit of help."

I smiled warmly in return. The guy was cute. Certainly shy and a little bit awkward, but very cute.

"It's quite a large school," I observed. "And the map isn't very clear."

He laughed then. He had a comforting laugh.

"That map never has been printed well," he commented, still chuckling. "The freshmen all stick together in hoards and the teachers hang around getting them where they need to be for the first week of the new year. However, I'm guessing..."

"I'm not a freshman?" I winked at him playfully and saw him swallow in response.

"Umm...well..." He began to stammer again and I felt a little bad for flirting with him when it seemed to make him uncomfortable. "You look older than they do." He flushed red, clearly embarrassed.

"It's okay," I reassured him as I didn't want him to feel more awkward than he already did. "I know I probably stand out."

"I just thought you might be Jenna's cousin?"

He said the statement as if it were a question and I froze momentarily with shock. I thought I knew all my cousin's friends at least by appearance, but apparently I was mistaken.

"Yes, I am Jenna's cousin. My name is Roxanne."

"Michael," he held out his hand. "Jenna's boyfriend."

I accepted his gesture while trying to conceal my surprise. Having spent every summer for as long as I could remember with my family in Phoenix, I had never once heard Jenna speak of Michael. My memories of Jenna never included her showing much interest in boys. She was always more focused on her sports as she loved to be active, always trying to get me to hike with her through national parks or go camping. I always enjoyed my trips with Jenna but she was certainly more dedicated to the outdoors and nature than I was. Probably because I hadn't really been raised to appreciate it.

"So," Michael said, once again clearing his throat. "Can I help you find your registration class?"

I turned the pages in my welcome pack until I found my schedule.

"I have Mrs White? Room 406?"

"Oh, she was my geometry teacher last year. I know where that is. Follow me."

With that, Michael turned and headed down a long corridor that lead out from the entrance hall. I took a deep breath, regained my confident posture and walked behind him, well aware of people staring, just like they had in the parking lot. At Red Oak High, I was determined to make an impression.