Chapter One
Airplanes sucked. Abby had always loved travelling, but couldn't help but hate the way airplanes made her feel anxious and nauseous. It's probably her fears of heights and deep water being combined into one, should the plane face problems, which scared her. Despite the fact that she was an excellent swimmer, she could never shake the feeling. Immersing herself in book her mind casted to what her next few months would entail. She still couldn't believe she managed to grab this opportunity to teach at a prestigious English school, the experience would be great on her CV. The fact that her partner would be coming with her was an added bonus. Turning her head to survey her surroundings, her eyes met Isaac's who gave her a warm smile and turned back to watching his programme.
Reminiscing over the last year left a smirk on her face, the last thing she had expected was to meet Isaac Kelly. Having been neighbourhood friends since they were in middle school, he bumped into her when they had graduated from college. She had crushed on him since she was in middle school, but of course he was with the most popular girl in school who also happened to be a bitch to everyone else. Isaac would remember catching her at school writing sheet music for her Piano, or running to class as she was late, often dropping her piano sheets as she did so. Or when he went home from school, he would hear the street filled with beautiful piano music as she perfected her pieces. He always adored her musical talent and it didn't surprise him when he found out that she was accepted into Juilliard. He himself went to Columbia where he majored in History, top of his class. Both had the burning passion to teach. Thus, it came as no shock that they got on like a wildfire.
Suddenly her stomach lurched as the plane trembled, closing her eyes she silently hoped that it would only last a few seconds. When the turbulence didn't cease, her nerves started to get the better of her, involuntarily she grabbed Isaac's hand, eyes glued to the window she was sitting next to. Pulling his earbuds out, he spoke softly to her, directing her attention at him, murmuring in her ear. Her eyes was the kind of green that was light, like when a green jumper has been washed many times that the colour becomes lighter, yet soft. When he ran his thumb over her hand in a repetitive motion, she smiled at him, her eyes dazzled him, making him realise that her smile had such a power over him. That smile could reach places that the sun couldn't and yet it would still ignite the soul.
" Only an hour away now, Abby." His voice broke her out of her spell.
"Mhm, about time." She breathed.
To her relief, they landed safely and headed straight for their apartment. It was pitch dark outside, the stars peeking through the dark rain clouds that shrouded the sky. The culture shock was starting to seep in as Abby took in the Britishness of country. Sure, she'd been dying to see England since she was little, like most Americans, but when she arrived, it was a surreal moment. All those stereotypical things that they were shown through the books and the media didn't compare to this. There was not a single tea drinker in sight, no accidental bumps into other people where they'd apologise profusely, on the bright side, it was raining. At least that was something she was familiar with. I gave up sunshine for a year of rain? She thought to herself.
Arriving at the apartment, drenched by the downpour, Abby headed straight for the shower whilst Isaac made a beeline for the bed. Once freshening up, she found Isaac fast asleep within no time.
"I'm not surprised. " She sighed, stifling a yawn herself. They both had a busy day ahead of them tomorrow. Walking to the bed, she clambered into the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning came too quickly for the pair to comprehend. Isaac had already awoken and was dressed, perched in a nearby chair admiring Abby sleeping. Her golden hair was a warmish hue of butterscotch and reddish tones that laid messily over her pillow, covering the majority of her face apart from her eyes. Long feathered eyelashes were shielding her beautiful eyes as she slept, they were endless, yet just as striking when her eyes were open. He could sit there staring at her forever but knowing that they needed to be at work in a short while had brought his admirations to a halt.
Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he shook her slightly causing her eyes to snap open, alert. Her gaze was harsh against the morning rays, she hastily rubbed her eyes as she glared at the time on her phone.
"Shit! Why didn't you wake me up?" She muttered, picking herself up from the bed and running towards her suitcase.
"You looked too adorable to interrupt. Besides, you got less sleep than I did, so I thought I'd let you sleep in."
"That's not possible! I set alarms, five minutes after each other in case I missed one." She said, ticking off the mental list in her head. I thought I had so many precautions in place to avoid this…
"Sometimes Abby, you're too much of a perfectionist for your own good." Isaac moaned, pulling his papers from his bag and scanning over them. Today was their first day at Golden Sierra Public School, he was replacing their previous History teacher, whilst Abby would be taking over the Music department and teaching classes as well.
Throwing on her pencil skirt and shirt, her outfit accentuated her curvy physique. Her waist was an hourglass, the intricate contours of her form were carved out, proportionately balancing her both on top and waist whilst still giving her feminine allure. Abby rummaged through her luggage to find her hairbrush. Once finding it, she brushed her hair smooth, then twirled half of her hair up into a half-updo, spending minutes to ensure her hair was presentable. Slipping her heels on, she dusted her face with a light coverage of makeup- better go a little bit overdressed than underdressed… She swiped a coat or two of mascara and highlighted her prominent lips with a nude lipstick. Finally she picked up her bag, which she had already pre-packed and found her keys. Running her eyes over Isaac, she realised she hadn't even noticed what he was wearing.
The clothes he wore were sharp, a simple white shirt tucked in at the waist, all well-fitted. The way his clothes hung on his frame gave away the defined muscles beneath them. That body that turned heads wherever he went- some things never change with age, Abby thought, recalling her memory of how he'd been the teenage heartthrob of her school. His rich mahogany hair was cropped back and freshly cut which only emphasised the sharpness of his jawline. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as his green eyes flicked up to meet her view. Abby's mouth slightly agape, her lips parted as her expression gave her thoughts away.
"Why don't we leave before I decide to call in sick on behalf of both of us and play hookie?" He whispered, leaving cold shivers tingling her insides as he reached for the door.
Snapping out of her spell she nodded in agreement and followed him out.
"Am I mistaken in assuming you're our new exchange teachers?" A short woman approached them, holding a mug in her hands. She had hair the shade of ink that was a stark contrast against paper, her eyes brightened with an intensity when they landed on Abby, her smile almost seemed fake at that moment, but any indications of that had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
"Im Isaac Kelly and this is Abigail Cameron." He stated, bringing up a hand to shake hers, smirking.
"Ivory West, I teach Art here. It's a pleasure to meet you." She replied, giving him a dazzling smile as she held her hand in his. Isaac laughed as if they were old friends.
Disrupting their brief moment, Abby spoke.
"Should we get going?" She interjected, eager to get started.
"Of course! Please, follow me." Briskly walking through the corridor, masses of students passed by, all fresh and neat in their new uniforms, some of the young children looked like they were drowning in their clothes whilst the older children had clearly tried to find the loopholes in the shool uniform code and wore more fitting pieces of uniform. Faint whispers filled the corridors as some students recognised the newness of the teachers that were walking amongst them. Catching a whisper or two Abby heard 'Do you think those are the American teachers?' Followed by some 'yeahs' and 'probablys'.
When the duo had appeared at the staffroom they were met by a sea of new faces, by the looks of it, eager for their arrival. Abby's eyes loomed over the room, settling on the group of adults that were scanning them from top to toe. Ivory crossed the room and met them and stood with a handsome tall man. His tousled black hair was thick and wavy, his deep blue eyes had a smouldering look about them, one look would simply leave you in a puddle on the floor. His face strong and defined. A smirk teased his lips.
"This is Edward Townsend, my husband."
"Ex- husband, thank-you very much."
"Those papers haven't gone through yet."
"Im counting down the days, Ivy."
"Edward Townsend. I'm the head of the English department." He began. His accent was thick and heavy, he struck her as the type of guy who could read a microsoft office manual and she wouldn't get tired of hearing his voice. Picking up Abby's hand he shook it and gave her a stern fixed look and nodded towards Isaac.
"You're our first Juilliard graduate to teach here, I'll admit, i'm very impressed." He said, surprise evident in his expression.
"Thankyou-"
"Just don't cock it up, I've watched so many other teachers manage to do so." Sighing, he shuffled his papers in his other hand and turned to leave. Gobsmacked at his bluntness, Abby glared at his retreating figure. How rude!
"Ignore him, he's a sour puss until he gets to know you." Another new lady appeared by them. An Italian accent seeped through her voice; she looked exotic with her olive skin and striking honey eyes with such warmth, reflecting the beautiful sun rays from the country she came from. She was voluptuous and stunning.
"Bonjourno, I am Florentina Lucca, I'm the head of languages. You must be Isaac and Abigail!" She sung, bouncing on the spot. She literally is like a ray of sunshine...
"Abby is fine, but thankyou, it's nice to meet you." Abby gave her an uneasy smile. Spinning around to see where Isaac had vanished to, she spotted him talking to another teacher. Catching her line of sight, Florentina disturbed her thoughts.
"That's Lucas Sheffield, head of geography. I'm afraid we don't have time to go over, but your classroom is opposite his, so you'll meet him soon enough." Staring at her watch, Abby thanked her, grabbed Isaac and made a beeline for the humanities floor. She wouldn't be late on her first day.
