It was hard to concentrate on anything other than the sounds of the train skidding across the tracks which is what I really needed at this point and felt it to be a comfort. Listening to the loud to me noises going on around me was far better than having to think about leaving New York and not wanting to go back home. My parents had spent the entire first week that I came home trying to convince me to get a teaching job around the area so I would be able to stay close to them but nothing could have made me want to stay in Lima. I loved my home town very much and was honored to be able to look back on it with fond memories but I couldn't see moving to a town that had the same population as my old block. So you could say I was unbelievably relieved to find a position available for me in Chicago. It would be enough of city life for me and close enough to my family that I could visit far more often than I did when I lived in New York. This option made my mother who is the drama queen of our family very happy. The thought of not being able to see Kurt and Rachel everyday was a bit harder than I thought it would be but I was trying to focus on the positive because this was all for the best and change is good. Or it is supposed to be anyway.

I looked back down at my watch then and saw that it was 10 and my interview was at noon with a Head Teacher named Ms. Fabray. She sounded very nice on the phone and was pretty thrilled to have someone who would even want the job which sounded really suspicious to me but I was always up for a challenge. I did some research on the school after that and learned that it was a private early age school for children ranging from ages 4 to 7. It was founded by Sue Sylvester who started it 30 years ago and is still the Headmaster. They say that she is a piece of work herself but no one dares to stand up to her and the parents love her because of the discipline policy she lives by. All of the students that attend this school are products of overly rich parents who don't have time to take care of their own children let alone help them learn things but still expect them to be the next noble prize winners or authors whose works will go down in history books for years to come. There were children like this at the old school I taught at and found that there were two categories for them to be placed in. The first one is for the children whose parents don't have time for them and they go out of their way to get any kind of emotions from their parents so they remember that they exist. The other group is the ones that do anything and everyone they want because there isn't any consequence. Their dads' write large checks and suddenly every ones issues have gone away. That wasn't quite my idea of parenting. We are pulling into the Chicago train station.

Gathering up my things, I decided to leave out the small map I had printed off of the computer at home that would get me from the station to the school before stuffing everything else in my slightly large bag. I didn't know what the outcome of this interview would be and really didn't want to have to rent a motel if I could just get in and out of the city just as easy. "What happens if you have to stay the night or they hire you right away?" My mom had asked me this morning when I was walking out the door with my large but professional bag. "I guess I will just have to do some shopping while I'm up there then." I told her and the look she gave after that was enough to make me start cracking up laughing while I rose out of my seat causing a few people to look at me strange. Chicago must not have a sense of humor. The train came to a complete stop and we were all shuffled out of the train as if we were professionally dressed sheep that had to get back to their land to help make money to keep the world going round without any form of enjoyment. Luckily I took the blue highlights out of my hair when they called me about the job because I was afraid I would have been the sheep that was completely bare of all of his coat while the others had theirs still in tack.

The first step on to Chicago ground seemed much more exhilarating than it probably should have but it was almost like reaching a check point in a race or that I'm following the track that life has already laid out for me. I bent over slightly to straighten out my black pencil skirt before I started following the map to the school. It was a very short distance and decided to just walk and take in as much of the city that I could before I would probably have to get back on the train to the town where the Applesbee's was considered fine dining. The day was absolutely beautiful for early September and not near as windy as I thought it would be seeing as it is the windy city and all. That must have been a good sign though because walking into a interview with your hair looking like a tornado complete with birds and insects was not the direction I was hoping to take this interview.

I made it to the school with 15 minutes to spare and spent about a minute of it just looking at the building from the front steps. It looked like a place where nothing but learning took place and you would get punished for any type of laughter or fun. This could be a lot harder than I thought. All the students I had ever taught was with the use of colors, pictures, and laughter which I found to be magic to the soul of most people but they just forgot how to laugh. One last gulp and breath, I climbed up the steps but stopped quickly to check my hair and makeup in the door's reflection before continuing inside. It was large and open letting you see all the way to the back of the building where there were more large windows leaning to what looked like a garden. There were two very large staircases on either side of the entrance way the lead to the some class rooms I had figured but the lady at the small desk directly in front of me was taking over all of my attention now. "May I help you?" She asked me with a skeptical look on her face as I walked over to her as quietly as I could trying not to let my heels make too much noise against the marble floors. "Hello, my name is Tina Cohen-Chang and I'm here to interview for the teaching position with Ms. Fabray." "Ah yes, she has been expecting you. Please have a seat." She motioned to the large bench that was right next to the door I had just come through. You could tell this school took great pride in looking pristine since even the bench I was sitting on was made of real leather.

"You must be Tina; it's great to finally put a face to the name." The lady said catching my attention as she came walking out of the door next to where I was sitting. "I'm Ms. Fabray but feel free to cal me Quinn. If you will follow me back to my office we can begin the interview." I stood to shake her hand and fllowed her back through the large wooden door. We passed two small doors as we walked one saying conference room and detention hall. They really did take discipline seriously. Finally we reached the door that had Quinn's name in a small plaque on the side. Her office was a plain white paint but had beautiful paintings hung up all around it that almost made it seem like it was a multi colored room. "So you are interested in teaching our four year olds. I have to say that it is a very tough job that most applicants don't realize until they have been here to experience it firsthand. Do you think you would be up for the challenge?" "I think I would be able to handle the responsibilities. I love their age and think they are much brighter than most adults give them at that age." "I would have to agree with you on that. The younger ones here always have a smile on their faces and wonderful stories to tell. It almost makes me want to go back to teaching them. That being said, I need to be honest with you. We have gone through 4 teachers since last March and they all left screaming. If it wasn't for all the rules this school keeps; it was because they couldn't handle the children. Even though they are still young, they are aware that they are rich children and already have begun to act like the teenagers they will become sooner than later." "I'm not sure about the rules part but I can promise you the children's behavior won't send me screaming. I dealt with a lot of that in New York." "You seem like a perfect fit." She said as if a large beam had been removed from her shoulders. "How would you like to tour the school and meet the children now before you start on Monday?" "Sounds great"

"That door at the end of the hall is the Headmaster's and most people don't go in there. If you see her then something is wrong and you might end up crying when she is done with you." "That sounds horrible!" "She isn't so bad. Most people don't believe she has a soul but they are wrong and would be surprised with the generosity I have seen from her." We headed back down the hallway and up the stairs that actually had walk ways that connected the entire second floor. "This side is for the 6 year olds. All the classrooms are pretty much the same and contain a school classroom section, an arts and crafts section, a play area that is filled with educational toys, and a music section. The two older groups are introduced to musical instruments that they would be able to play and possibly become small prodigies or whatever their parents want to call them." I walked up to the large double doors that led to the room and looked inside. All of the children were sitting at two large circle tables eating their lunches while the teacher was watching over them in serious manner that almost seemed too fierce. "The other side of the floor is the same design but you are more than welcome to look if you would like." Quinn said motioning for me to walk across the walkway that went over the large front room.

I had to stop when I saw the back of the school and what I thought was a garden. There were tall, shaped bushes lining the whole area with smaller flowers and plants popping up in areas spread around that were surprisingly one of the most beautiful things so far in Chicago. "It beautiful out there", I kind of whispered as I continued to look. "All the kids are able to plant a type of flower or small tree out there every spring. Sue thinks it is important for all the kids to know how to grown things. The movie Wall-e really freaked her out and is afraid that these kids will end up being "total fatties" if they don't learn these things." "Well I guess that's one weird way of looking at it." I told Quinn before we continued with the tour. Maybe this place wasn't going to be the small person prison I thought when I took one look at the building. If this was a place that promoted the idea of having children learn things to keep them healthy and focused; my dancing skills might come in handy after all. Ugh, I had almost gone a whole 2 hours not thinking about New York.

"This will be your room and students. The teacher's assistant is already in there and has been running the class for the last week since the other teacher left. Her name is Brittany and she has a special soul that is just as innocent as the children she teaches. She is amazingly talented in many things but isn't the smartest cookie in the jar which is why she will never be a full teacher. The children will be sleeping right now but I can still take you in there. You can spend the rest of the day with them and just come see me when the day is over and we can take care of your paperwork if you haven't changed your mind by then." She said with a small laugh but pushed the door open quietly and walked over to the small table where Brittany was sitting and reading a book and scribbling down notes on a pad of paper next to the book. "Brittany, let me introduce you to Tina. She will be the new teacher for this group. I'm going to go work on a few things in my office. Can you show her around the room and how everything works for me?" "Sure, I would be happy to." Quinn walked out of the room then and Brittany gracefully jumped out of her chair and pulled me to the far left corner of the large room where there was a closed door with a window next to it that had the blinds closed. This is your office. The last teacher didn't last long enough to do anything with it but I have a feeling you will make it look beautiful." The room had a large dark wood desk that was shaped in an L and had my chair looking out into the classroom through the window. I opened the blinds and was able to see the kids sleeping on their little sleeping bags with matching pillows.

Brittany and I made it back to the table that she had been sitting at when I first walked in and was showing me all of the charts they had when it comes to how their days are spent. "Here are the names of all the kids along with allergies, phone numbers, emergency contacts, and all other important stuff. This one is the attendance sheet and this last one is the schedule of learning we have to stick by. Sue doesn't care what we do for lesson plans as long as they are within the guidelines of each subject." She said in a way that sounded rehearsed and it made me think she had no idea what it mean and that she was just repeating what someone else had told her. "There are 8 boys and 6 girls right now but we usually get more after the other schools start their classes. Some of them are really sweet but the others are just plain rotten. I don't understand how these kids can act like they do sometimes and still get amazing toys from Santa every year." She said just as serious as she was when she was telling me about the attendance board and it caused a small chuckle to escape my lips. "Santa?" "Oh yeah, he should be giving these kids coal for some of the evil things they do." I remembered then that Quinn told me she was special and decided to change the subject.

"Go ahead and put your bags back in your locker and then come sit in your desks." Brittany told the children as they put their stuff away still a little sleepy. They were all adorable but it was pretty easy to pick out the ones that could cause trouble. There was a boy who had a Mohawk which was never a good sign and a little boy who had curly but gelled hair that made me think argent right off the bat. "I want to introduce you to your new teacher before you guys have free play time since it is Friday. This is Ms. Tina." The whole class said hello to me but it was clear the girls were more into it than the boys. "Hello to all of you. I'm going to spend all next week learning all of your names and getting to know you much better. We will be doing lots of fun things in here now and hope you guys will have just as much fun as I plan to." "Yeah, yeah you say that now but you don't know us yet." The small boy with the Mohawk spoke out without raising his hand. "And what is your name?" "I'm Jackson but you can call me Jack for short. My dad named me that after his favorite drink. He is super cool and I am too." "Well Jackson, I plan to teach you important things you need to know for school when you get older and don't like it when students talk without raising their hands." I was telling them as I moved some toys away from the corner and put a chair down in it. "Please sit here for me Jackson for four minutes. You can get up and play after that." He walked over to the chair with the little cool walk he had already learned and sat in the chair thinking he was special. "Now for the rest of you, if you talk or play with Jackson while he is in the mean chair, you will have to sit in one too. Ok?" "Ok", they all shouted and ran off in different directions.

The rest of the afternoon went by very quickly with a couple of kids having to go to the mean chair. They all figured out that it wasn't any fun to sit there because the other kids ignored you. Most of the kids had been picked up by 430 but the three that remained were Jackson (I was going to call him by his actual name because I refused to call him Jack knowing he is named after a whisky), a little girl named Jade who didn't own anything that wasn't covered in jewels, and a very quiet shy girl that Brittany told me was Mae. She was the only one of two kids that didn't come up to talk to me yet and she was the only child in the class that was Asian. She had gorgeous black hair that was combed perfectly with a headband that matched the small uniforms the kids had to wear. "Yo Jack, let's rocket out of here. We can say bye to Lizzie before we leave." This tall, muscular guy walked in the room taking off his sun glasses. It was clear Jackson was trying to look like his dad since they both had matching Mohawks and I'm sure Jackson wore jeans and vintage t-shirts on the weekends too. "Hello, my name is Tina and I'm Jackson's new teacher here." I held my hand out and it shook very cautiously. "What happened to the old bat that believed each child was a gift of God brought down to share all the wonderful things of heaven?" He asked sarcastically. "Well she quit because the job was too much for her to handle." "Well it was her loss. See you later newbie." He put his glasses back on just as Jackson met him at the door.

"I completely know why Jackson is the way he is now." I turned towards Brittany stunned by how his father behaved. "It could have been worse. I have heard horror stories about him from his high school girlfriend or Lizzie's mom." "You mean to tell me that he produced more than one spawn?" "Well I don't know about spawns but he has two kids." Brittany corrected me before going back to her book. I shook my head at Brittany's sense but couldn't help but think about the bimbos or low respecting women that would put up with that guy who thinks he is the greatest gift to the world. There were loud clicks entering the door now and saw a petite, tan girl who looked like she just graduated high school. It was easy to tell who her child was since she had bedazzled clothes, glasses, and shoes. "Jade, are you ready? Say bye to Brittany and all the other kids that worship you." She said looking around the room but stopped when she saw me. "Uh hi, I'm Tina the new teacher here." "Oh hey, great to meet you, I bet Jade is your favorite student already. My name is Sugar and feels free to give me a call if you have any car repairs to be done or need a new car." She said pulling out a business card and handing it to me before turning to Jade who had put her glasses on and grabbed her Coach purse. I can't even afford one of them. "Later twitches", Sugar waved before they both walked out the door. "I take it she owns a car dealership?" "Are you kidding? Her dad owns all of the dealerships downtown and she is married to the next in line of the mob."

The last little girl was sitting at one of the lunch tables with her back pack already one and just looking off into space. "Your name is Mae right?" "Mae Ling Chang" "That's cool that we have the same last name. What do you love to do here at school?" "I like the coloring and the science stuff." "Well how about we make sure we do both of those things next week? Would that be ok?" She smiled a large smile and I saw that it had been awhile since it seemed that she had done that. "I promise I will have the coolest things for us to do then." "I really like to…" "Mae Ling" A tall Asian man walked in the room but was looking down at his phone. He was wearing a suit that told me he was a work junky for a bank or law office. Mae stood right up and hustled over to her father's side. "Sorry I'm late again Britts; just add the charges to our bill." "Hello Mr. Chang, my name is Tina and I'm Mae's new teacher. It's great to meet you." "Uh yeah nice to meet you too", he didn't even look up at me but touched Mae's shoulder as they turned around. "Well, it was great to meet you." I stuck my hand out in front of me and in his way of the phone forcing him to look up. He was turning out to be just as ignorant as Jackson's dad. Finally he raised his head and looked at me. As irritating as he was, he was absolutely gorgeous with dark eyes that turn her heart to mush and a chiseled face that reminded me of a Greek sculpture. It was a second later that it hit me that he was looking at me the same way. "Great to meet you too Tina", he said as he shook my hand and head out the door with Mae. "I have to go meet Quinn. Are you ok to clean up here?" I asked Brittany and watched her nod before walking out of the room to Quinn's office. This could really be the change I needed.

I don't own anything Glee just love the show! I hope you like this new chapter story I am working on. Please let me know what you think or if you have any ideas. Thank you so much