Walking into her teacher orientation reminded her of the first day of school, and it was in a way. She made her way to the snacks and smiled to some of what she believed to be the veteran staff members.
So far so good.
The schools principle introduced herself and explained how the program worked, and went over other basics.
As she was taking in all the information someone barged through the double doors of the teachers lounge. Rachel was in the far corner opposite the double doors and couldn't see over the others, given the height difference. All that she could gather was that it was a woman and apparently this was her first time here as well.
The voice sounded familiar to her, but there was too much noise to really hear her clearly.
Rachel had gotten used to working her way through a crowd, especially given her tiny stature, but she didn't feel it necessary to do today. She was trying to just soak everything in.
At the end of the brief orientation they were all given a map of the school grounds and encouraged to look around. School didn't officially start for a few days and the staff was already walking about when she exited.
The campus was beautiful and was right at the waters edge.
Santa Barbara, California was definitely a huge change of scenery from NYC. Gone were the large skyscrapers and taxicabs she loved. But it wasn't bad, she was now met with the warm summer breeze as she looked beyond one of the school buildings to the beach that was less that a block away, distance wise.
With that in mind, she realized that unlike NY, she needed to buy herself a car. It was nice living on the school grounds, but she still needed to get some groceries and things for her apartment.
Back at her apartment she heard a knock at the door. As she approached she realized that she hadn't actually met anyone who lived in her complex. She was happy to have met some of the other staff members, but she really wanted to get an idea of who she'd be sharing walls with.
As she opened the door she was met with a man who couldn't be much older than 30 standing at her door. He was wearing sandals, and board shorts, and a loose button up shirt. He was fit and had chiseled facial features. His hair, although a little unruly was a caramel color that flowed nicely.
"Hi, I'm Brody Fisher, I live next door."
Rachel was left a little speechless, she thought these guys only existed in surfer movies.
"uhh… Hi, um.. I'm uhh Rachel" great now he thinks I'm a stuttering idiot.
"Hi uhhh Rachel" he laughed a little, his shoulders shaking a bit.
Get yourself together Rachel, he's a fellow collogue, you are not in high school anymore… well ok technically you are, but you are an adult now. and are a part of this faculty!
"I'm sorry, let me try again… Hi I'm Rachel Berry, its nice to meet you" much better. "Where are my manners, would you like to come in?"
"I'd love to but I need to finish unpacking, but its nice to meet you too, and no need to be nervous, I've been here 3 years now and you will be just fine. Just need to adjust" He said as he stepped back.
"Okay well thanks and maybe we can chat a bit more later?" Rachel bit her lip, it was a nervous habit. But she just wanted to make some friends and feel like less of an outsider.
"Sure, sounds great. Catch ya later." He waved and was gone.
As she turned the door handle she felt her hands slick with sweat. What was that about?
Rachel knew she shouldn't already like someone she barely knew, look at where it got her in high school and college.
Finn was a disaster from the start. Although he was a cute disaster who really had loved her. He was selfish, but in the end he let her go and it was the best thing for both of them.
After Finn she couldn't even remember how things had gone so far with him. Sure he was nice to her, but he still laughed at her as she got slushier countless times.
She wasn't going to let that happen again. She just needed a plan.
Pulling out a piece of paper she made a list of reasons why she should not get in a relationship right now.
After about 10 minutes she had narrowed it down to CONS : obsessive, low self esteem, over bearing, and stalkerish as the reasons she shouldn't get involved. PROS: love, companionship and sex were at the top of that list.
She cleaned the bathroom, and set up her bedroom, which was luckily furnished with a queen size bed, as well as the living room with a long sofa, coffee table and television. She even had a small dining table near the kitchen with two chairs.
After wiping down the counters in the kitchen and rearranging some things in the apartment she decided to go to the grocery story before it became dark.
Once she called a cab she had to trek up a small grassy hill to get to the public road where the cab would be waiting. Turning back as she waited, Rachel swears she had never seen such a gorgeous sight. The water was just gleaming a beautiful blue/green color.
She could see some of the private boats further down the beach that were docked, and could also make out which building was hers.
The school sat atop several acres of land just along the coast of Santa Barbara. There were lots of large trees scattered about and she couldn't wait to explore it some more the next day if she had time.