1 Week Later: D-Day

|Dara’s Perspective|

Pulling up into a parking spot at the elementary school, I put my blue sedan in park. Unbuckling my seatbelt I fixed my favourite garden green blouse and white pants. Then pulling down the visor I did a quick check in the mirror to see if I looked presentable. My hair was tied up in a messy bun and my vibrant red glass ladybug earrings dazzled in the sunlight. I adjusted one so the two were facing in the same direction and then smiled. It was a gift from Kevin in celebration of dating for two full years.

After confiding in Jiyong and CL about my concerns regarding Kevin’s behavior, they told me it was nothing to worry about. We dropped the topic soon after.

Maybe I was just overreacting. Thank god I had a great distraction today. I was at the elementary school where I had my first job. I had to leave shortly after since the previous teacher returned from her maternity leave. I was so upset that I had to leave, not because I had to go look for another job, but because these kids were amazing. Ranging from ages 4 and up they had been the most spectacular kids ever, and they made my experience wondrous. I still had all the gifts they made me on my last day.

Oddly enough I got a call from their teacher Ms. May saying she needed a quick substitute for the afternoon class. I took the offer immediately, and here I was.  

I grabbed my black bag from the back seat and opened the door to exit. It was a beautiful sunny day with clear skies and a nice cool breeze. A perfect day to take the kids out for a bit of exercise.

I entered the hallway of the school and headed straight towards the kindergarten class.

I approached the door which was covered with stickers of fish and other sea creatures. I turned the doorknob and entered … pitch darkness? Why was it so dark? And where were the kids? I shuffled around the room, my hands searching for a light switch. When I felt the metallic plate of the switch I flicked the light on. Instead of finding a room with arrays of tables, toys cluttered on the floor, and children laughing and running around I found it completely empty.

I glanced left and right for where the rest of my co-workers were but found no one. What was going on? I took a step forward when I saw a crisp white envelope on the ocean blue carpet. My name was printed on it in gold cursive.

Bending down I dropped my bag on the side and picked up the letter. Turning it around, I opened the seal and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

Hide and Seek! You’re it! Come find the class!

P.S You can ask teachers for help!

                                                                                          Ms. May and Class

Baffled, I stared at the message. Is this a joke? I thought Ms. May had to head off? She told me it was urgent. What was going on? I glanced around the room. There was no place to hide in here. Were they hiding all over the school? Not good!

I quickly stood up and grabbed my bag. I opened the door and headed towards the hallway that led to one of the teacher’s staff rooms.

When I saw the staff room door, I opened it and entered.

“Ms. Park?” I turned to the left and saw an older male teacher sitting, sipping a cup of coffee. Upon my approach he stood up.

“Ah she’s finally here!” the voice came behind me and I saw three other teachers. One was smiling expectantly and I recognized her immediately as Ms. Loretta. The other two I didn’t recognize.

“What’s going on? Why were you expecting me?” I asked confused.

“Sorry sweetie were sworn to secrecy. You know how kids are about keeping promises. But we can give you a hint” Ms. Loretta answered.

“The hint is ‘having fun isn’t hard if ___________”  

“If you’ve got a library card!” I shouted. I knew this song from my childhood. This was my song! One I would say to the kids when we headed to the … LIBRARY!

The teachers laughed as I excused myself and rushed out of the room, heading down the long hallway. When I reached the lobby of the school’s library, I slowly pushed open the oak doors. The satisfying scent of books surrounded the room. Entering quietly, since it was a library, I searched the room. The walls were painted depicting various scenes from fairy tales. In front of me, there was Rapunzel in her tower, her hair spilling over the window’s ledge. On the right, a wall depicted Snow White and the Seven Dwarves laughing while cleaning.  Below were racks of novels and children’s books. In the far corner by a great window was the reading area. It was filled with plush sofas and petit tables. On the opposite end was a lavish carpet and in the center, a rocking chair for teachers to read to their kids. Passing by, I glanced at the counter for the librarians and found it empty. Odd. As I headed past a bunch of large shelves I heard a squeak. I looked at the shelves and turned to head that way, sure that one of the kids was hiding behind the many books. Except laughter suddenly came from behind me.

I turned around and went past the numerous shelves towards the other half of the children’s section, seeking out the noise. I approached a large circular room, and smack dab in the center was a bookhouse. It was constructed of various books on shelves. At the front of the house was a door large enough for me to crawl through. It was also large enough to fit 12 children.

More giggling came from within the bookhouse. Yup! I found them. I started towards the door when it swooshed open and out came a kid. He was wearing brown trousers with a blue shirt, but what made me surprised was the vibrant red snapdragon flower he held out in his hand. 

He approached me and held the flower out to me.

“For me?” I asked a huge smile spreading on my face. The little one nodded shyly.

I bent down and collected the flower.

“How very sweet! These are my favourite too” I told him, when the door to the bookhouse opened again.

This time a young girl came trotting out with another snapdragon. She came toward me and just like the other boy held the flower up to me.

“This is for you!” she said with a smile showing her front tooth missing.

“Thank you-“ but before I could finish the door opened again and another student came towards me with another flower. My eyebrows raised in surprise.

One by one, children from my class exited, each one holding a different coloured snapdragon for me.

In no time I had a bouquet of them. I laughed as they all excitedly bounced around, totally enjoying this show. Some of the kids hugged me as I recognized them as my previous students. They all eagerly lined up on the side, as if they had practiced just for this. Ms. May must have worked extremely hard on this.

“Is that all of you? Or is s