The First Day: Day One

Fourth block. My last class of the day. All that stood between me and freedom was an hour and a half. Only ninety minutes, and then I would be free from my first day of my last year.
I inched my way slowly into the classroom, weary of who would be my classmates for the year to come. As I scanned the area quickly, I realized that I knew most of them from last year's chemistry class. There were a few unfamiliar faces, but that just couldn't be helped.

I quickly found a seat near the back. It was isolated from everyone else and left me all alone. I waited see if anyone would decide to join me in my little corner, but as the bell tolled, it became apparent that I was to be a solitary student.

Surrounded in a forlorn cloud, I began to search out our biology teacher.

My schedule read that her name was Potterf. Everyone I had talked to had said that she was great, but I had yet, in my three years of high school, to meet her.

As I sought her out in the small jumble of students, I registered that she was not who I had originally thought she was. I had initially perceived that she was an older woman that I had seen wondering the school, but as I spotted her dark glossy hair, I was proved wrong.

She was standing behind her desk, her stature just slightly above my own short one. A lightly red haired man was standing beside her, and as he chatted freely with the other students, I realized that Mrs. Potterf was holding a...doll (?) gently in her arms.

But as it squirmed around and cooed softly, I was proved wrong once again. It was a very small baby! She was so tiny!

And, as the class finally started, my teacher kindly informed us that the tiny baby was her newest child at only two weeks old. We were then told that the little girl would be present in the classroom for the first few weeks until she was little older.

After that small introduction, Mrs. Potterf informed us that we would be moved into alphabetical order and would be sitting that way for the beginning of the year so that she could easily learn each of our names.

As she called off our last names from the role, I was happy to find that maybe I wouldn't be so isolated after all!

I was seated at the very end of a row of desks with a red haired boy to my right who I remembered from Chemistry. He was only familiar to me because of a few mutual friends that we shared.

Speaking of which, one of those mutual friends happened to be seated right in front of me! She would most certainly make this year entertaining.

I was isolated no more!

After everyone was finally arranged, the teacher continued her small introduction of herself and the strange, sarcastic man with her.

But to call it a small introduction was a huge understatement. Their introduction was so elaborate that they both had taken out the time to create a professional grade power point complete with loving pictures of them and their three other young children.

The man whose second language seemed to be sarcasm turned out to be her husband and would be a stand in for her for the first week or so while she adjusted to life with her young daughter.

At one point, the lengthy class syllabus was handed out. And by lengthy, I mean it was a solid four pages front and back.

The teacher then went on to explain our course of study: biology in depth and what was expected of each and every one of us. It was explained thoroughly to us just exactly how rigorous of a course Advanced Placement Biology was. We even had to sign a contract stating that we and our parents knew what we were getting ourselves into with this class.

I liked to think of it as a warning sign to stock up on lots of tissues. I had a nagging feeling that I would need them.

And around that time that I had this thought, I started to started to question what I had gotten myself into. Why exactly had I signed up for this class again?

At the beginning of this class, I truly did think that after surviving the daunting AP Chemistry last year, that I had a chance at surviving Biology, but I was starting to have major doubts.

What if I couldn't do this after all? Did I truly think that I was smart enough to take on Great AP Biology?

Since time doesn't stop for anyone's internal struggles, the class wore on, and as the teacher continued dissecting the multi page syllabus, I thought that maybe, just maybe, after all of my stressful thinking, that I might be able to actually enjoy myself and have some fun in this class.

Mrs. Potterf was so easygoing and nice, and I could easily see myself learning in the hilarious environment that she so effortlessly created. Her classroom was a breath of fresh air compared to the other classes I had to endure that day.

I somehow managed to convince myself before that final bell rang to leave, that I would try my very best in biology, and that, even if I failed, I would know, deep down in the darkest reaches of my heart, that I had tried as hard as was humanly possible, for me at least.

This would not be a repeat of my laziness in Chemistry. It would not be a contagion that followed me here. I would not allow it to pass.

I would not fail Mrs. Potterf, and most importantly, I would not fail myself.

The bell echoed throughout the school and rang around my head, but I did not care. I gathered my books with a newfound purpose and marched my way out of that classroom.

There was a light bounce to my step as I made my way out of the building and into the blazing sunlight of mid August.

A Few Days Later: Day Four

With a sigh, I slumped into my assigned seat and leisurely began to unpack my bag. My eyes skimmed around the room, seeking out our teacher, or more specifically, teachers.

But, sadly, neither Mrs. Potterf's dark head of hair or Mr. Potterf's flaming red locks were not to be seen.

I sighed and continued pulling things from my backpack.

The red haired boy from the first day arrived barely a second after me and preceded to unceremoniously dump his stuff on the desk next to mine. With a quick glance in my direction, he headed off to talk to his friends.

I stayed quiet, mentally prepping myself for the class to come, and for the teachers to make themselves known. Whenever that would be.

The bell jingled loudly as my classmates rushed to their seats. Many began the short process of pulling out binders and other necessary classroom equipment that would prepare them for class.

Finally, after a very few short minutes that involved me coaching myself into thinking that I was not an imposter pretending to be smart, and that I did indeed belong in this rigorous class, our loyal stand in and substitute, Mr. Potterf made his grand (or as grand as a teacher's can get)entrance.

A few minutes later, after role had been called and everyone was all situated, he enlightened us about how we would be spending our next ninety minutes doing, or at least, part of the time.

We were told that we would be going on a small field trip, one that didn't even require any permission slip. I was perplexed, until I figured out just how small this trip was actually going to be.

It didn't even require us to leave the classroom and consisted mainly of us being shown around the room by Mr. Potterf himself.

I thought it was a rather creative way to make sure that your students knew where everything was located.

After we surveyed the class space and what resources were to be offered to us, I was surprised to find out that we were to have coffee every Friday! The teacher even had a cape for the Coffee Captain, the person assigned to make sure the coffee was made.

***

The classroom was chalked full of so many things that I was rather grateful to him for his little 'field trip'. Many of the things that were offered left the mind with no doubt that this was a science class meant not for the every day elementary science student. This was meant for the students serious about science.

And I made me feel more like a fraud.

I loved science, don't get me wrong, but that didn't mean that I wanted to major in a field of it. English was to forever be my path of choice.

***

Many of the students took a chance to pass around the different assortment of plant life that was kept inside the classroom. One of which didn't even require soil to survive! It took its nutrients straight from the air surrounding us.

But with these plants were not alone in their inhabitants of the class. A few animals were kept inside, if you could consider most of them that.

All in all, the Potterfs only really had one animal if you didn't count all the insects crawling around in their compost bin, and it was one that I was never going to be caught near. They had a class snake as a pet!

It was nonpoisonous and had been known to not bite anyone but still! Just one look at her shiny scales sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

***

Soon the bell was ringing once again, and it was time to make my way home.

With a reluctant sigh, I sulkily made my way to my desk.

As I threw my books into my bag, I couldn't help but smile to myself.

Maybe AP Biology wouldn't be so bad after all.

With teachers like the Potterfs on hand, anything was possible.