There were five shirts, one for every day of the week. Each one of them was white, with buttons down the front and a folded collar. The blouses were to be worn with one of the three straight plaid skirts, which ran to just above the knees. The pine green and navy blue of the skirt matched the two lightweight dark green jackets that were to be worn over the shirt. Carrie was just glad that footwear wasnt part of the uniform. She was free to choose between sneakers and shoes, and socks and stockings. But it didnt feel like much, because the noticeable part of the outfit would be the uniforms that every other student would be wearing.
The high school was an old brick building, located on the outskirts of the downtown. It had originally been one grey, castle-like structure, complete with two towers on both ends, and an arched doorway in the front. But as the town grew, so did the student population, and the castle was added on to several times over. Fifty years later, the majority of the school was a mixture of plaster and cement, billowing up behind the castle. Most of the classes and daily events took place in the newer sections of the school. The only things the castle section was used for was the front lobby, where privileged study hall students could relax, and the main offices. The towers were locked, as they had been since the mid-seventies, but Carrie always felt like someone was watching from behind the dusty brown windows high above.
She stood on the sidewalk outside, looking up at the school with a blur of contempt and relief. The first day of school was always confusing. Nobody could figure out if they were happy to be reunited with friends, or angry that summer vacation was over. This particular first day was especially strange because of the new uniform policy. Carrie felt awkward in the jacket and skirt, like she was getting ready for Sunday school or church. Nobody else was on the sidewalk with her, and the emptiness just made her paranoid that she would be the only one actually wearing the uniform.
A breeze picked up, oddly chilling for early September. Carrie tugged at the bottom of her skirt to make sure it was straight, and then at her hair, which was straightened and hanging loose around her neck. Taking a deep breath and then a long sigh, she made her way up the ancient stone steps to the archway, and entered the building that she had refused to look at since June.
Seven o'clock meant that there were still twenty minutes before school started, and most students took advantage of the extra time. Most buses didnt arrive until around seven-ten, so the halls were pretty empty. Carrie didnt really care, because she didnt feel as uncomfortable when there were fewer eyes to scrutinize her. Just walking by the windows of the attendance office, with the red-eyed secretary glaring right behind the glass, made her paranoid.
Carrie had stopped using her locker halfway through her sophomore year, as everyone did. But the first day was always an exception, just because the teachers didnt mind if students were late on the first day. She checked her combination even though she knew it hadnt changed since last December, and then continued to her first period class.
Honors English, Carrie remembered mapping her daily paths the day before. English was in the older section of the new building, which looked exactly like every other section except that the walls were slightly yellowish. Like a runny nose, she thought, disgusted at herself for even thinking to relate the walls to nose mucus. The newest section, where the science and math classes took place, had pristine white walls. Unless you went in the bathrooms, and then the walls were grey from smoke and cigarette ash. The slightly newer section was for history and humanities, classes like child development or cooking, and the walls were slightly off-white. Upstairs, where the foreign languages and art classes were held, had smooth beige walls. And the older new section, for the English and technology classes, was yellowish.
Carries classroom was large, which was the good part about the yellow section. The rooms were all spacious and had high ceilings since the second floor wasnt over them. The desks were arranged in the traditional rows, running across and back. The teacher wasnt there yet, and the desks were empty. Sometimes, the teachers prepared for the students and set out nametags or even seating charts for the kids to check. But the room was practically empty, so Carrie took a seat in the second row near the door.
Students began to drift into the room, looking miserable in the stiff green uniforms. Carrie watched them sympathetically, feeling just as strange in the skirt and jacket. The girls kept nervously smoothing their skirts, and the boys tugged at their collars uncomfortably. Nobody spoke besides the occasional back-to-school greetings, and everyone seemed relieved once the teacher took his place in front of the room.
A guy? Ive never been in a guys English class before. Carrie thought back to elementary school, which was the only place her male teachers had ever taught English, and that was probably only because the classes didnt switch for different subjects like they did in middle and high school. She only vaguely recognized the teacher, but she didnt remember him being at the high school before. Where had she heard his name? Even his face looked familiar, but she knew she had never seen him around the school. Still, his face was posed in her memory, from some scene that was completely blank. Carrie silently wondered why.
"So how long is this whole trial thing?" he asked. Carrie thought he sounded like a basketball player.
"A year." Replied one girl in the middle of the room.
"Oh man." The teacher flipped open his planner to hide his smirk. "That sucks. Well, Im new this year. Ive been an assistant teacher at an elementary school north of here for two years, and I just got my masters in secondary education with a minor in Englishum, I grew up in this area, but I didnt go to this high school, I went to the other one."
"Traitor." Said a tired looking boy in the front row.
The teacher grinned. "But this one pays better. Plus this was the only school with a job opening for an English teacher. Um, I am twenty-eight years old, my astrological sign is Gemini, and I have a four-year-old dog named Bruno. And Bruno is part German Shepherd and part Husky, and hes trained to guard my house with his life, so it probably would be in your best interest to stay away from my house. Do you have any questions for me?"
"Is this your first teaching job by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Are you a good teacher?"
"We'll find out together, wont we?"
"How do you pronounce your name?"
"It's Merange. Like the pie. Mur-aynge. And now I have some questions for you."
Carrie winced and slowly shank back into her seat. She had just figured out why she recognized the new teacher.
