When Rachel stepped off the airplane at JFK airport less than 36 hours later, she had a whole new attitude towards her current situation. She had a new sense of purpose. She was getting to do what she loved, even if it was only teaching a preschool class. She had nothing holding her back in Iowa and was looking forward to having a fresh start in New York and erasing from her mind the last time she was in the city.

Turns out forgetting would be easier said than done. Walking through the airport, the very face she was trying to forget was staring back at her from the cover of Vogue in every newsstand. Of course Dan Humphrey was making it big as an author, his work was some of the best she had ever read. She tried to not let it get to her head, after all, it wasn't really his fault, it takes two to tango they say, and there really was only one person to blame. Blair Waldorf. Rachel couldn't believe that an 18 year old had essentially ruined her life all because she gave her a B+ on one English assignment. Thankfully, this time around she would be teaching 4 year olds, and if one of them was able to ruin her life, she really needed to reassess her situation.

After picking up her many bags, Rachel hailed and taxi and directed it toward her new home, her knew life.

The school board had arranged for Rachel to stay in a small apartment on 3rd avenue, near the school, with 3 other new teachers for the short time they needed to get settled in the city. When she arrived she said a quick help to her new roommates and headed straight to bed, she was exhausted after a long day of travel, and would be heading over to her new school in the morning to at least get a plan of how her classroom would run.

The next morning, Rachel got up early and left after she had a quick shower. She stopped to get a coffee and a slice of Columbian cake from Dulce Vida on Lex on her way to the school. When she arrived, she was unsure she was in the right place, she new very little about how NYC prep schools were run in the early years, but she was certain that Little Dalton was unique. The school was located in a group of townhouses and was only attended until 3rd grade, after which the students would transfer over to Big Dalton.

Rachel took a deep breath and heading inside. The inside of the school was nothing like any of the schools she occasionally taught at in Iowa, but it was different from the last prep school she taught in; Constance Billard/ St. Judes. It didn't reek of the scent of uppity, over privileged Upper East Side children. While she was sure that was exactly what she would encounter when she began teaching, right now it had more of a relaxing feel to it, and it almost reminded her of home. That is if she spent her time teaching children of billionaires in Iowa.

She was met inside the door by Ms. Elish, the lady she spoke with on the phone who had offered her the job. Ms. Elish was welcoming and showed Rachel around the school with the last stop being her new classroom.

'Well, I'll be in my office now Ms. Carr, feel free to stay and look around your classroom, and the school for as long as you like, just be sure to let be know when you're leaving. Oh and I left an attendance sheet on your desk if you'd like to take a look, though surely you wouldn't know anyone on it, but hey you've got the kids of some pretty important people in your class, so maybe you'll recognize a name or two!'. And with that she was gone and Rachel was left to look around in peace.

Her classroom was beautiful, and she fell in love with it instantly. It was everything one would hope for, lots of room for the kids to learn and play. Though she was sad she would not be teaching her true love- senior English, it was nice to be back in a classroom again, even if it was just for snotty 4 year olds.

She went over to the desk and picked up the single piece of paper sitting on it, maybe Ms. Elish was right and she would recognize someone on it. If she was lucky, she would be teaching the child of a famous actor, and hopefully get to meet their parents! Or the nanny…

The Dalton School Fall 2017

Pre-Kindergarten B Clara Arsenault

Charlotte Aster

Henry Bass

Maggie Du Pont

Jade Hanemaayer

Evan Hudson

Gavin Little

Ryan Miller

Michele Pavillet

Bradley Rockefeller

So there it was, the 10 students she would be teaching this year. It seemed easy enough, only 10, 5 boys and 5 girls, and thank goodness no Waldorf or Humphrey kids to deal with. Ms. Elish was right, she did recognize a few names on the list. She remembered hearing years ago about a Bass man coming back from the dead to reclaim himself at the head of his multi-billion dollar business. Of course she also recognized the Rockefeller name, belonging to one of the most powerful families in the country. She supposed that was pretty cool, but not as cool as the child of a celebrity in the entertainment world. Rachel looked up to the clock and saw that almost an hour had gone by since Ms. Elish had left her alone and she figured it was time for her to head home and start planning Monday's class. With that, she grabbed the list and headed for the door.

A/N I want to thank Primadonna001 for the review on my first chapter. Reviews are much appreciated! Thanks also to everyone who added it to their follows and favorites. I was hoping to introduce the characters we love, and love to hate, in this chapter, but this seemed like a good place to take a break. I can promise you that I will introduce at least some in the next chapter. So far I'm really liking this story, so more to come!