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Monday, September 20

The First Day

This was an English assignment for school that I decided to share with you, because my blog has been left to dust and decay long enough. Tell me what you think.


Julia was most decidedly nervous. She knew she was nervous because her stomach hurt, her hands were sweaty and her heart was fluttering madly in her chest. All of these together indicated extreme nervousness. After a few moments of deliberation, she decided that it was OK to be nervous. Everyone was nervous on their first day of school. This thought comforted her little.


Time seemed to speed up towards the moment when the car wheels slowed their revolutions, the minivan pulling up to the multi-story building. Julia's breath came in short gasps as she watched the steady flow of students through the rain washed windows. She decided that she was scared as well as nervous. Some of these people were enormous and even though she knew it was impossible, at that moment she was afraid of being stepped on.


“Ready?” Julia was snapped our of her reverie by the sound of her mothers voice.


“Mhmmm...” Julia answered noncommittally and gathering shreds of courage together she stepped out of the car into a moving maelstrom of activity and high-pitched voices. Walking up to those front steps felt like one of the hardest things she would ever have to do. Julia pushed against the flowing tide of people, reinforced by her mother's hand at her back.New students shivered in corners as old students yelled greetings and reviewed their summers at the top of their lungs.


Suddenly, Julia stepped out of this chaos and confusion in to a peace filled room. In the doorway stood a comfortable looking woman with a lovely smile. Timidly, Julia smiled back, and some of the butterflies stopped fluttering. She was still nervous but she didn't think she was frightened anymore.


The rest of the class filed in, each child shrinking against a firm parent. All of the children wore frightened grimaces and as each one met their new teacher the grimaces slowly faded away to be replaced by overwhelming relief. Julia had decided that Miss Hardman was definitely nice and as she ran her hands over the smooth, shiny surface of her desk, she realized that she had no butterflies at all. She wasn't nervous at all.


“Hello children, and welcome to Grade 1. I'm your teacher, Miss Hardman.” All of this was said in a soft, mellow voice that reminded Julia of soft caramels. She liked it a lot. Miss Hardman was a nice looking person. Her dark hair fell in soft folds around her neck and shoulders and her brown eyes glowed with warmth and friendliness. Everything about her proclaimed that was a teacher and companion of small children. Her faded cardigan and worn skirt exuded comfortable usage, but the best thing about her was her smile. When Miss Hardman smiled, everyone else did too. Julia felt no doubt at all that school was going to be pretty great.