It was the beginning of Year 12. Everyone was at their best behaviour. Everyone wanted to hit the ground running. Everyone was dreaming of getting into a Russel Group University or a Fortune 500 company's apprenticeship scheme. But the hustle and bustle of all the newcomers excited them nonetheless. They were all trying to figure each other out, trying to find somewhere to fit in and impress the teachers at the same time. After all, the first impression is the last impression.
But amongst all the newcomers, Alice Greenland shone the brightest. She was instantly the attention of almost every boy and the envy of almost every girl. Her fair brown skin, the natural brown highlights of her hair, unable to be recreated by the best hairstylists, her rare green eyes which gave her that captivating look. The look, which was only magnified by her childish innocence. And yet, they were all too nervous to talk to her.
For weeks, she had roamed around the corridors at lunchtime on her own, trying to hide the food she was eating for fear of being seen as a loner. When she stood in a corner in the canteen, trying to take up as little space as possible, the other kids just rushed past her and those who approached her gave her such a strong sense of pity that she could not bring herself to keep a conversation with them long enough to become friends. In her classes, to which she got as early as possible, no one tried to sit next to her.
Once, when doing her usual roaming around the corridor, she saw a familiar face. Her GCSE art teacher!
"Fancy seeing you here!" exclaimed Miss Cook, beaming from ear to ear at seeing a familiar face.
"I could say the same about you!" replied Alice. "I thought you only gave one-on-one lessons to homeschooled kids..."
"That is what I used to do until about two months ago." was her reply, "Now I teach here, at a proper school with hundreds of kids running around the corridors. Isn't it exciting?!" she exclaimed.
"For you, maybe." replied Alice, a dull look in her eyes, "All I have seen here so far is loneliness and rejection."
"These things take time." replied her teacher. "Trust me, soon enough, you will find yourself surrounded by kids not knowing who to listen to and who to reply to."
"Well, I hope you are right, Miss Cook!" replied Alice, reaching for the wooden windowsill, "Touch wood!" she said, her eyes gleaming with hope.
In the coming months, Alice found herself spending more and more time in Miss Cook's classroom, helping out to remove the exhibited paintings on the walls and putting up new ones, taking requests from several photography and art students to pose for their pictures and paintings as well as having nice long chats with Miss Cook. Several clubs had also started, which she joined as per her interests in science, languages and medecine.