My Protector
"My name in Natalie Jones and I am 24 years old. I was born and raised in a small farming community in Alberta, Canada. I was..." I stopped talking and took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling, repeating everything over and over in my head.
"Breathe Natalie. Keep calm and carry on." I smiled and pulled my hair into a bun, making sure it was neat and tight. I straightened my jacket, and looked once more into the mirror before walking out of the bathroom and down the hall.
I needed a change and figured, why not a place that rains so much and is so dreary. I lived in a community and a place that got so hot and dry in the summers and had such cold, long winters. I had never seen the ocean or really seen the mountains. I needed change.
"Natalie Jones? I'm Amelia Hart. If you would like to follow me." I smiled and stood up straight, after the woman in front of me.
She was the previous teacher who would be leaving, she was moving out as I was moving in, and she had said that she needed someone soon. But she didn't want to settle for just anyone, and she had even said that she was very picky when it came to applicants.
"Please, sit." I nodded and took a seat in the chair in front of the desk, and out of habit, had moved my hand up to brush my hair behind my ears, only to reach nothing. Nervously, I put my hand down and wrung my hands together, waiting for her to speak.
"I chose to speak to you based on your application. People think that just because it's a small town it will be easier to apply because of lower standards. That is not true. I have very high standards for who I hire to take my place."
Amelia was not very old, maybe 28 or 29, and she had a very obvious pregnancy belly, hiding behind her oversized open cardigan. She had bright red hair that was pulled up and into a loose bun and it looked like it was about to fall out.
"Today was supposed to be my last day so please excuse me for my lack of proper wear." The way she spoke made me look down at what I was wearing, wondering if she had approved of it.
"Well let's get started then." Amelia held out her hand and I sat there wondering what she had wanted me to hand over. It wasn't until her eyes narrowed in slight annoyance that I had got the hint that I was supposed to hand over a résumé.
"Oh I'm sorry." I reached into my bag and handed over a résumé, placing it in her hand, flinching when she ripped it away from me anyway.
"Hmm..." She looked it over, and then looked over at me, running her eyes over my form in a scrutinizing way.
"I have plenty of experience with kids. I used to babysit my neighbours kids all the time, and I babysit my nephews and nieces. I have volunteered in after school programs..." Amelia's hand came up and silence me, and I waited in silence, until she spoke again.
"Let me be honest Natalia." I ignored the incorrect name, in fear that she would rip me a new one for interrupting her. How she was a preschool teacher mystified me.
"You are really nothing special and your grades in college are mediocre. You have no real qualities that stick out, and you seem to be a bit slow to me." That I took offence to, but I just grinned and brushed it off.
"I have some very good qualities especially when it comes to children." Amelia gave me a look and rolled her eyes before flinging my résumé back at me.
"I am leaving tomorrow and although you have no where near the amount of experience I have, or the gift to work with children, you are the best applicant I have. You start tomorrow. 8:30 am. Don't be late." With that, she dismissed me with a wave of her hand, and turned away from me, ignoring my presence there.
Without uttering a word to her, I stood and walked out of the office I was in, and walked back down the hall. That didn't go how I wanted, but I was glad that I had gotten the job none the less.