Julie woke to the sharp noise of her alarm clock ringing. She slowly opened her eyes slightly to check the time. 6:00am. She hit the snooze button and wrapped herself back up in her duvet before drifting back to sleep.

A loud banging startled Julie and she bolted up in bed, quickly looking around until her eyes found the alarm clock.

7:30am.

Shit.

Julie quickly scrambled out of bed, following the sound of the banging. It guided her to her front door and she swung it open.

"Morning princess, ready to-" Alya lifted her head up from her phone and met the eyes of a disheveled Julie.

"Oh c'mon, seriously?" Alya said rolling her eyes.

"5 minutes - just give me 5 minutes!" Julie called over her shoulder as she quickly made her way back down the hall towards the bathroom.

"5 minutes, Julie, then I'm gone. I'll wait in the car," she called back. Julie heard the door quietly shut behind her.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face with cold water to try and wake herself up. She had no time to do her usual coffee run, so cold water would have to do for now.

She made her way back into her bedroom and quickly undressed from her pyjamas and threw on her outfit of black skinny jeans, a dark blue shirt and a black blazer.

She grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder, picking up her keys as she went and quickly putting on her black boots before leaving.

Julie ran down the two flights of stairs before heading out the main door, seeing Alya still waiting. She sighed with relief and pulled open the car door.

"My god woman, first day back and you're already running late?"

Julie smirked and threw her bag onto the back seat before jumping in the car and closing the door behind her. She buckled up before turning back to Alya.

"Sorry Miss Kendrick, it won't happen again" she said sticking out her bottom lip.

Alya just rolled her eyes before driving off.

"So, looking forward to meeting your new class?" Julie asks as she switches between radio stations.

"Meh, I know most of the kids anyways, no big deal."

Alya taught second grade, so she'd seen the children from her new class around school before. Julie on the other hand…

"How about you? How you handling the fear of the unknown?" Alya asked wiggling her eyebrows at Julie.

She let out a laugh and then a sigh. "All I know is that I'm hungry and having to teach 24 kindergarten kids who I've never met before, on an empty stomach, was never my plan."

"How come you were running late?"

"I slept through my alarm, you know what I'm like, A."

And Alya did know, they'd shared a dorm together in college and trying to get Julie up for early classes was like trying to wake the dead.

"I sure do. Remember that time you wouldn't wake up for your exam and I had to-

"-throw a bucket of water over my head. Yes. I remember." Julie said frowning.

"Hey, alls I'm saying is if you wouldn't have had the best roommate there to wake you up you may never have became a teacher."

"Oh yeah thanks A, so you're the reason I graduated college?"

"Of course," she smirked.

Twenty minutes later they pulled into the car park of Polis Elementary. Julie grabbed her bag and they both quickly entered the building ready for their briefing at 8am.

"Good morning teachers and welcome back. I hope you all had a nice summer, it's a shame it didn't last a little longer," Principal Durani announced, as his staff gave a small laugh.

Julie scanned around the room, checking who was here. Denzel sat on a chair near the front, he taught maths. Jax was next to him, he was the schools music teacher. Sasha was standing near the back, dressed in gym clothes as he was the gym teacher. And Miles stood beside him in a shirt and tie, he taught Geography.

Julie also noticed a few others situated around the room.

"Now, as you know the first week back can be a little unsettling for the children, especially the younger ones," Durani nodded towards Julie. "But we hope to get the children welcomed and settled sooner rather than later. I'm sure we can work as a team to ensure this happens smoothly. Any issues you may have could you please come and see me and I will attempt to resolve them promptly."

People around the room nodded. "That is all, good luck teachers, see you next week at the same time."

Everyone started filing out the room when Julie heard Durani call "Miss Maslany, could I speak to you a moment please?"

Julie turned around, looking slightly nervous and nodded.

Durani laughed and raised his hands "no need to look so worried Julie, there's just a small issue with one of your new children."

"Oh, right, okay. What is it?"

Durani gestured to one of the chairs. Julie took a seat and he sat down next to her.

"You have a new boy starting your class. His name is Aden Dunn and he is 4 years old." Julie nodded to show she was listening.

"Unfortunately, Aden lost his mother 6 months ago. It was a hit and run. Aden survived the accident but his Mother did not."

Julie sighed feeling the weight of his words.

"It doesn't get much better. His father has been deemed unfit to work because of his mental state due to the loss of his wife. He also has a sister who is 24, she has moved in with them to try and support them both, but as she has a full time job, it is difficult for her to juggle work and looking after Aden alone."

"It's a big responsibility for her," Julie says.

"It is," Durani says. "Unfortunately, in Aden's old school, there were several welfare issues."

"Welfare issues?"

"Bruises, scratches, dirty clothes, the boy speaking of his father's behaviour."

Julie nodded unable to speak.

"His sister seen that he moved schools to try and give him a fresh start, and I hope we can give this boy a really good chance at doing so."

"Me too," said Julie understanding.

"Any issues Julie, you need to raise them straight away with me."

"Absolutely, sir."

"Thank you, now go do what you do best," Durai smiled at her.

"I'll try." Julie laughed and called over her shoulder as she left the room.

Julie found her way back to her usual classroom that she'd had for the past 2 years. There were desks for the children to work at on the right side of the door and a carpet space to the left where the children would sit to listen to stories and songs. Julie had a desk with a computer at the front of the carpet area and there was a large projector screen up on the wall next to her desk.

Pictures, numbers and letters decorated the walls and Julie prided herself on her classroom.

She threw her bag down under the desk and quickly left the room to gather her new class from the playground.

As she entered the playground rows of children lined up waiting for their new teachers to collect them. Julie walked up to Durani who smiled at her.

"Ah, Miss Maslany, furthest line on your right is yours, they're the smallest, you can't miss them!"

Julie smirked. "Thank you Principal Durani," and off she walked to greet her new class.

She couldn't help but give a small laugh at how nervous and tiny her new class looked. Some parents were still stood waiting with their children.

"Good morning!" Julie called, smiling brightly. "Kindergarten class, I'm your new teacher, Miss Maslany. It's so nice to meet you all!"

Some of the children shouted good morning, some smiled and waved and some clung to their parents, too scared to leave them.

"I'm just going to do a quick register to make sure you're all here, then we'll get you inside to see your new class!"

As Julie made her way down the list, ticking off names as she went, she came to the familiar name, "Aden Dunn" she called. There was no response.

"Aden Dunn?" she called again looking around. There was still no response and Julie put a small cross next to his name.

She carried on down the list until she was finished. She had 23 kids ready to take to their new class.

The children put their things up on the hooks just outside their classroom. Julie brought them into class and sat them down at the carpet. She sat on a chair at the front and looked down at the children's faces.

"So, this is your new class boys and girls, I know it's a little scary for some of you coming to big school but we're going to have so much fun!" Julie said trying to be as animated as possible.

"But first, I don't know any of your names yet! So, when I call your name, come up to me and I'll give you a name badge that you get to wear all day. When you've got your badge I want you to tell me something about you so I can get to know you all a little better. Okay?"

"Okay." some of the class replied.

"So, I'll go first!" said Julie. "My name is Miss Maslany and my favourite colour is green because it reminds me of the forest."

A few of the children's faces lit up as they watched their teacher speak. More of the children started to ease and as Julie called each name out, they came up to collect their badge and told Julie something about themselves.

Mia loved horses. Jacob wanted to be a truck driver. Dylan had a new baby brother.

She had got about half the class done when there was a small knock on the door. Through the glass of the door, she could see Principal Durani speaking politely with a woman with brown hair and striking features.

"Come in," Julie called and the door slowly opened. She stood from her chair and walked towards the door. As she approached, she noticed a small boy standing next to the woman. He had his face buried against her thigh, obviously shy.

"Miss Maslany, this is Kit," he said, gesturing towards the woman. Julie smiled, said a quick greeting and offered her hand which the other woman took politely.

"And this here, is Aden."

Julie had already gathered that this was Aden. She kneeled down in front of him but he still had his head pressed against Kit's thigh.

"Aden! Oh my goodness we've all been waiting for you!" Julie said quietly with enthusiasm.

At that, the boy slowly turned his face around to look at his new teacher.

"Hey, that's better," she smiled at him. She noticed that he had messy sandy brown hair and hazel eyes that looked tired. The boy looked timid but once he saw Julie smiling at him, he couldn't help but give a shy smile back.

"Hey, let's say we go hang your things up and you can come meet your new classmates," Julie suggested. At that the boy looked up at Anya, clearly frightened to let go of the woman.

"Hey little man," Kit crouched down in front of him "everything's gonna be fine okay, I promise." She pulled the boy into a bear hug and then let him go. "Now get to class," she said smirking and ruffling his hair.

Julie guided him to hang his things up then took his hand and brought him over to the carpet. She sat down on her chair and stood the boy next to her.

"Everyone look Aden's finally here, how awesome is that!" She began clapping and cheering and the rest of the children joined in. Julie wouldn't normally make such a fuss for fear of embarrassing the child, but she wanted to get the children on Aden's side so that he'd feel more comfortable. Julie could see Aden's eyes light up as he watched the other children smiling back at him.

Julie handed Aden a name badge and then asked him "is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself?" Aden quickly shook his head and Julie let out a small laugh at his nervousness.

"Well, my favourite colour is green, Dylan has a new baby brother and Batman is Niylah's favourite superhero," she encouraged.

Julie could see Aden thinking before he turned to her and quietly said, "Scarlett is my best friend." She smiled at him and said quietly in his ear "good job buddy, now go sit down."

The day went by quite quickly and Julie had got to know her new class a little better. When the end of the day came, the children looked a little sad to be leaving.

"Right class, time to go!" she called as the children lined up at the door. She walked them out onto the playground and they quickly scattered, running happily to their parents. Julie couldn't help but smile as she watched the children excitedly telling them how their day was.

However, when Julie went to turn to head back in, she noticed Aden sitting alone on a bench looking expectantly around the playground. When she seen his face drop sadly, Julie felt a twang of pain in her chest for him.

She walked over and sat down next to the boy. "Hey Aden," she smiled, "whose meant to be picking you up today?"

He looked up at her and she could see tears filling his eyes, but he bit on his lower lip trying to be brave. Julie wondered how many times he's had to that before.

"M-my d-d-daddy" he spoke shakily.

Julie put a comforting arm around the boy. "I'm sure he'll be here in no time."

After 20 minutes of playing I spy with the boy, he suddenly jumped up from the bench looking towards the gate with the brightest smile on his face.

"Scarlett!" he exclaimed and began running towards the gate.

Scarlett? She thought he said his Dad was picking him up?

Julie's eyes followed Aden until her eyes fell upon the woman he was running towards.

Julie's breathe hitched in her throat at the sight of the woman. She was tall and slender, with light brown, curls falling around her face. She was wearing a dark navy suit with a white shirt underneath and heeled shoes.

She threw her bag to the floor an crouched down as Aden ran and flung himself into her arms. The smile on her face warmed Julie's heart as she walked closer towards the two of them.

"Hey buddy," Scarlett sighed contently, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

"I missed you," said Aden quietly.

"I missed you too" she said beaming at him.

Scarlett scooped Aden up into her arms and stood up placing him on her hip. She made her way towards Julie.

"Hi, oh my gosh, I am so sorry I'm late" she rambled offering her hand out to Julie. "I'm Scarlett, Aden's big sister." Julie looked down at the woman's hand suddenly very conscious of herself. She took Scarlett's hand in her own and shook it gently.

"So you're my best friend," Julie rushed out. She instantly felt her cheeks flush and Scarlett raised her eyebrow with a smirk on her face "-I mean- sorry-you're Aden's best friend." Julie mentally kicked herself. "Sorry, we're obviously not best friends, Aden told me today that Scarlett was his best friend." Julie closed her eyes and wished the ground would swallow her up.

Scarlett let out a chuckle and turned her face to Aden. "Best friends forever, right, Ade?"

"Yep!" he chirped.

Scarlett turned back to Julie. Her eyes looking straight into Julie's brown ones. Julie couldn't help but notice how perfect her jawline and cheekbones were and how she had full, plump lips. She then noticed the amused look on Scarlett's face and cleared her throat.

"Sorry I didn't catch your name…"

"Julie-I mean-Miss Maslany. My names Miss Maslany," Julie spluttered out. Scarlett had a curious expression on her face that Julie couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Well Miss Maslany, again, I'm sorry I'm late. There was a bit of a mix up. Dad was meant to picking him up but something came up so I had to get off work to come get him," Scarlett said quickly.

"Hey, no problem. We had fun. Aden's really good at I spy, he won nearly every round!" Aden smiled brightly at Julie and Scarlett chuckled.

"Well buddy we better get you home, I've got to get back to work," said Scarlett placing Aden on the floor.

"Is it just gona be me and Dad again?" Aden asked with eyes suddenly full of worry. Scarlett's face dropped as she took the boys hand. She noticed the look of confusion on Julie's face. Scarlett gave a quick smile to Julie and walked away grabbing her bag from the floor as they went.

Scarlett spoke to the boy as they walked away but Julie couldn't make out what she was saying. She seen Scarlett ruffle his hair as they exited the gate and walked over to a black Mercedes.

Scarlett buckled Aden into his car seat before making her way around to the drivers seat.

She set off to take the boy home. "So Ade, did you like your first day of school?" Scarlett asked looking at him through the rear view mirror.

His eyes lit up as he began to tell Scarlett what he'd done that day.

"And I drew a picture of my family," he said after a while, smiling as he looked out the window.

"Who was in the picture? I hope I was on it Mr," Scarlett smirked.

Aden giggled, "Yeah. You and Kit and Mom and Dad and Gustus."

Scarlett found it hard when Aden spoke of their Mother. He was only 3 at the time of the accident but Scarlett knows he has some memory of it.

He sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night crying for her and all Scarlett can do is hold him until he eventually falls back asleep.

Soon, they pulled up to their house. It was the house Scarlett had grew up in and where most memories of her Mom where. It was cream with two bay windows and a small porch separating them. She looked up to the second story window in the middle, which is where her Mom would wait watching when her and her Dad would return from their trips.

She shakes the memory and gets Aden out of the car.

As they enter the house, a strong smell of alcohol hits her nose and Scarlett is filled with anger.

"Aden, go and play in your room." He looked at her to protest. "Now." He scrambled up the stairs and she heard his bedroom door shut.

She walked into the kitchen to find empty bottles scattered around and dishes piled in the sink.

"Dad?" She called out to no response. She quickly gathered the bottles and threw them into a trash bag. She walked back to the front door, dropping the bag and went on into the living room. There's feet hanging over the side of the sofa and she can't help but sigh. He was passed out again. At least this time it was on the couch and not on the stairs like last time. She walked over and shrugged him until he finally began to stir.

"Wake up" she said sharply. The man grumbled something inaudible and attempted to roll over. Scarlett then grabbed him and shook him until his eyes fly open.

"Scar-what-stop" he yelled, his voice thick with sleep.

"No, you stop. Your son is home and I have to go back to work."

"Can't Kit take him?" He asked sitting up slowly, rubbing his temples and adjusting his eyes to the light.

"Incase you've forgotten, Aden is your son, not Kit's. And she already took him to school this morning because you disappeared last night and didn't show this morning. And I had to leave work to bring him home because there was no response from you, yet again."

"Scar, please-"

"No Dad, I'm tired of hearing it," she snapped.

Scarlett pulled out her wallet and dropped a $20 onto the coffee table.

"Make sure he eats something for dinner, I'll be back late, got to make up the hours I've missed no thanks to you," she spat at him and swiftly exited the house. She threw the trash bag into the bin and climbed back in her car.

Fury rippled through her body as she sat for a moment trying to calm down. It had been 6 months since her mother had passed. But the day her mother died, she lost her Father too. He was a ghost of his past self. Scarlett knew her Father wasn't coping well, hell, none of them where. But Scarlett couldn't help but resent her father, for the way in which he attempted to cope by drowning himself in alcohol. And Scarlett would have left him to it, but she had a little brother to think about and he needed Scarlett more than anyone.

A few weeks after her death came worrying signs. After numerous phone calls from school concerning Aden's welfare she decided she couldn't leave him in their Dad's care.

Scarlett suggested that she could move out of her studio and into a bigger apartment to take care of Aden. But her father had quickly shut down the idea.

So, Scarlett moved from her apartment in the city, back into her childhood home to support the little boy. Juggling work and caring for him, doing school runs and meetings with teachers. She also had support from her Uncle Gustus and cousin Kit who lived just a few houses along from the Woods' family house.

Her breathing finally steadied and she checked over her eyes in the mirror, dabbing at the water in her eyes that had refused to fall.

As she reversed out the driveway she could see Aden watching her from his bedroom window. She attempted a smile and waved at him and he gave a small wave back before Scarlett disappeared down the street.