Fiction Writing Assignment 1: Beginnings in a short story

Teachers without Borders 1

Speeding away in a Ford F-150 pickup truck Sheena reflected on her mellow life; suddenly she felt a poke in her stomach and sat up upright. Her jute handbag lay on the passenger seat filled with heavily scribbled sheets of paper – biology tests, a new schedule, memos from Principal Rosa and a letter from Emma, her favorite student who graduated last summer.

The dazzling California sun made a pattern of stripes on Sheena’s arms; her bronze body radiated exuberance as she drove up Hwy 1 in her usual speedy-safe style. Her years at Mt Mary’s High School as a Science teacher were like a sundae of her favorite ice creams - rocky road and caramel delight. There was Sister Rosa, who gave Sheena complete freedom to structure classes in a way that suited her personality and her students’ appetite. Then there was the damp environment; Sheena had never felt inspired by any of her fellow teachers in all her two years.

During lunch breaks, Sheena avoided the teachers' lounge, she ate either with her class or under a shady oak tree in the yard. Quite the social bee, she knew all her colleagues in and out. She had all of them figured out in her first month: Mrs. Tyler liked to knit, her colorful yarn was strewn on the beige coffee table in the lounge; Mr. Bing was a coffee enthusiast and a computer geek - he lived for them; Mrs. Edwards was the only grapevine - if it were not for her there would be no personal details floating in the school.

Unlike her colleagues, whom Sheena thought of as the "Brady bunch", her students were an interesting challenge. It took her a good 6 months to understand the context in which they lived and how it affected their performance. By the end of the school year, Sheena knew what normal behavior was for every student in her class, which helped her identify anything different almost immediately. Sheena worked hard at constantly improving the quality of education in class while influencing students to raise the bar of expectation that they set for themselves. Most evenings she was the last teacher to leave the school - busy creating an exciting science project, assessing students' silly mistakes on their tests with critical scrutiny, tutoring a student who needed special help or writing notes to parents.

The heat was relenting as the sun went down, Sheena was a just mile from her exit but her mind was a collage of images - of Tim! Earlier today, Sister Rosa had introduced Tim as the new Math instructor at the staff meeting. Her body tightened as she felt seasick in her stomach, something she rarely felt. Sheena parked her truck in the garage, planned her evening for a minute – jog, cook, TV, handbag stuff, read, Tim!? By now she was struggling, what was so special about Tim, why was she flustered? Was it that he seemed passionate about his work, was it his charismatic speech or was it just a crush - she hadn’t had one of those in ages!

Alternate link: http://fictionwritingclass.blogspot.com/2007/07/beginnings.html