The ugly fluorescent lights flickered on, bringing life to to pitch black classroom. A young woman, barely over the age of 21, stepped inside and smiled. She strided up to the front, beside the chalkboard, picked up a piece of stark white chalk, and carefully wrote her name in the top corner. Mrs. Evenson, it read, but she paused. The woman picked up a clunky eraser and swiped away her name, rewriting it. Miss Platt, it read this time. She stared down at the dim tanline where her old wedding ring used to sit. Charles, the man who put it there, was in prison now, along with all the bad memories. It was time for Esme Platt to begin anew, and all that started with a new job. She was the newest Kindergarten teacher at Fillmore Elementary, and excited was the only was to describe her. She'd gone over her roll sheet over and over, read through her lesson plans numerous times, and spent hours decorating her classroom. Parents with students hanging on tightly would arrive any time now, and Esme looked forward to it.
The sound of footsteps, more of a hoard than of one person, echoed down the hallway, making Esme smile. She adjusted her olive green cardigan one more time in preparation to meet her students. Excited chattering filled the hall. It was time to start the year. A tall brunette woman entered Esme's class first, a small copper-haired girl in tow. "Clemencé, do you promise to be a good girl for me?" she asked, kneeling down to meet the girl. Her child nodded and smiled, hugging the woman's neck. "I love you, Mommy." she whispered. The woman smiled and stroked the girl's hair, "I love you too, Clem. Have a good day." Clemencé let go of her mother and walked over to one of the desks, sitting. "Hi, I'm Lillian Jacobs, Clem's mom." the woman greeting, smiling cordially. Esme grinned back before leaning on her desk, "Esme Platt. It's nice to meet you." Lillian nodded politely and waved goodbye, leaving the classroom. Over the next few minutes, many of these exchanges took place. The empty desks in her classroom quickly filled. This left just five chairs empty.
The large wooden door clicked open, revealing a slim blonde man with five small children surrounding him. "Hello, you must be the Cullens." Esme said, smiling. The man nodded, flashing an incredible smile. "Yes, sorry we're late. I'm Carlisle. These are my children: Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward." He explained, pointing each one out to her. Esme nodded along, trying her best to keep track of the Cullen kids. Unlike most of her students, these children did not cling to their father; they filled in the empty seats politely, chattering amongst themselves. One of the little girls, Alice, had already made friends with another girl named Temperance. Carlisle crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned at his children. I smiled. He seemed to be a good father, and all the kids seemed very polite. "Oh, Ms. Platt, here is my number in case anything goes on with the children. I'm so sorry we were late. I promise it won't happen again," Carlisle explained. He handed her a piece of paper with some numbers-his phone number-printed on it. Esme nodded, "It's okay. Everything will be great today." He grinned and ran a hand through his neat, blonde hair before waving goodbye to the Cullen kids. They waved back to him and went back to their conversations. "Bye, Ms. Platt," he whispered, turning to leave. As he stepped out the door, she whispered back to him, "It's Esme." though she was sure he wasn't listening.
Esme smiled softly to herself, shutting the door behind him. As she walked back to her desk, a tingly feeling radiated through her. The way he spoke to her was so new; it was like he respected her. She sincerely hoped to herself that she'd see him again.
