Chapter 38
Astrid
I guess the saying held true, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
As soon as I reach the school grounds and hear the synchronized giggles from the children waiting at the gate, I feel like I’ve arrived home. I honestly missed this place so much. As much as I respected Theo’s job now, it paled in comparison. I wasn’t born to work corporate 9-5’s, I was born to enrich small minds, to inspire, to be a teacher .
The idea of me being on a temporary suspension absolutely destroyed me. I certainly wasn’t blowing my own horn, but that was far from the reputation that I had here. I was a great bloody teacher, and I worked incredibly hard at what I did. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going to let Theo’s mistake tarnish the career that I’d studied years for. Heading over to the outbuilding where Willow class stood, I swipe my card, and walk through the door.
“Oh my god. Have you finally come to save me?!” A very bedraggled looking Yaz squeals from my desk, holding quite possibly the largest cup of coffee I’d ever seen. Yaz was gorgeous, and I truly meant this in the nicest way possible, but today she looked like she’d been dragged through a hedge backwards. Her thick Black hair wasn’t brushed, there were deep violet circles shadowing under her eyes, and she had a massive white stain down the front of her black dress, (which I’m hoping is toothpaste).
I immediately run up to her and engulf her in a hug. I didn’t even care if it was weird, I’d missed my friend so much.
She sports a confused smile before pulling away. “Seriously though, I thought you weren’t due back here for like another week? Did the big bad bitch finally decide to get off her high horse and let you come back earlier?”
I grimace, “…well, technically , no.”
“Then what are you doing here? Run…run for the hills whilst you still can!” She shouts in a crazy voice, pointing dramatically towards the door.
I yank her hand down and smile, “I just couldn’t wait any longer, Yaz. This job is my life . The last thing I want to do is end up in an…office.”
Yaz dramatically gasps in mock-horror.
“So I decided that if groveling is the only way of getting to do my observation and therefore, getting the job back sooner, then so be it. ”
Raising an eyebrow, she replies, “you’re brave.”
“Tell me about it.” I grin, “how’s everything been here? Any news on the parent’s reaction? Any pitchforks and angry mobs that I should be worried about? Do I need to sleep with one eye open from now on?”
She slaps me on the wrist playfully as she laughs, “ Stop!”
“But to answer your question. No. There have been zero parent complaints, Jonah obviously never repeated it to them and neither did the others, so you can sleep soundly tonight.” She winks, “ However , me on the other hand? I don’t think I’ve slept longer than 2 hours a night since you left, if you couldn’t already tell by the sasquatch/hobo look I’ve got going on.” She gestures to her appearance, making me chuckle.
“They never got a supply, so I’ve been the one playing teacher every day, and let me just say this-” She mimes taking off a hat, and bowing to me. “I admire you. This job is not for the faint hearted, my god. I thought being a TA was hard enough, but having to do all the paperwork on top of that? It’s like being back at bloody Uni again, but without all the drinking!”
I smirk, “I mean, I was looking at the size of that mug and questioning whether you may have snuck something a bit stronger in there.”
Taking a sip she replies, “trust me girl, after dealing with Jonah bloody Williams five days a week, I wish it was. I almost called him a little ginger shit myself.”
We both absolutely howl with laughter at this point and it felt so good, so normal. I was so lucky to be in a job that I loved, and worked with someone that wasn’t just a colleague, but that I could also call a friend. It was a rare combination these days and I wouldn’t take it for granted ever again.
Our laughter is instantly squashed by the sound of the door opening and the clip-clopping of heels, “Miss Singh, we’re doing a bulk order for stationery, I’m presuming that you’ll need more glue sti-”
Her mouth widens as she catches my eyes, Deborah .
“Miss Cartwright. I don’t believe that we’re expecting you for another week?”
I gulp. No. fuck being scared. Sometimes you have to go for what you want and risk the repercussions.
“Mrs. James.” I say, raising my chin up in the air and channeling my inner confidence, “I’m good at my job. You know it, and so does everyone else. This was one mistake. A terrible one, I know, and I regret it massively. But it’s the first time that I’ve ever done anything like that before. These children are my family. Everything I do is to ensure that they feel safe, supported, and encouraged when they come to school. I want them to enjoy learning, not just tolerate it. I feel like I’ve built up a really good rapport with their families too.”
“I can vouch for that! I went to take a bottle of prosecco from Harley Fisher’s mother at Christmas thinking it was a gift for me, but she told me that she’d actually bought it for Astrid. She bought her two!” Yaz interrupts, acting like my biggest cheerleader. That was actually true.
She looks unimpressed so far, I didn’t know what else I could do.
“Honestly Mrs. James, I work through my lunch, I barely get any time to spend with my partner when I get home because I’m constantly going above and beyond to do extra work. It actually started to affect our relationship massively, and I know I shouldn’t, but that’s how much I prioritize this job.”
I was genuinely ready to get down on my hands and knees and beg at her feet if that’s what I had to do, “Please. I’m begging you to let me do my observation today. I’ve brought my binder with me; it has every bit of planning in there that you’d need to see. I’m ready to do this. I’m ready to prove to you that I’m not my mistakes.”
She puffs out a sigh and it’s honestly anyone’s guess what her reaction will be .
“I’ve got some spare time for the next hour and then I’ve got meetings to attend to for the rest of the day.”
Oh my god. Is she letting me?
“When the children come in, whatever the first lesson was due to be, it’s now going to be changed to yours.” She looks between me and Yaz, before boring her eyes directly onto me. “You get one chance Astrid, one. Any more funny business, and you're done.”
She turns on her feet towards the door, “I’m going to make a cup of tea. Let the children in, do their morning registration, and then at 9:00am, I’m coming back down here, so be ready.”
As soon as she leaves, Yaz and I link arms and jump up and down like two schoolgirls.
“ Ahh!” I squeal, “I’m nervous!”
Yaz nudges me, “how many times Cartwright? You’ve got this.”
She must have been saying that to Theo when he came in. My heart twinged at the thought of how out of his depths he must have felt that day. I also felt guilty because the first time I’d actually allowed him to meet Yaz, was literally through me. Yaz had always spoken about meeting him, but I guess I was just embarrassed. I know, 7 years of being with him, nearly 3 years of being friends with her, and they still hadn’t met. There was literally no excuse. I mean, technically, she had met him, she just didn’t know it. I made a mental note to arrange a time for her to come over, so she can finally meet the real deal.
Letting go of Yaz’s hands, I march over to my desk, mentally praise her for keeping it so clean, (there were some teachers here who you could tell just by looking at their desk that they must have been the flat mates from hell at university), and open up my binder. I took a few deep breaths, and as I hear the chorus of little voices singing and squealing as they crowd into the cloakroom, I smile.
If I could cope with the absolute insanity of the past few months and still come out on the other side stronger than ever, then I knew that I could truly cope with anything.