Chapter 7

Miss Christy Huddleston stood in front of a class of 72 children and was terrified. There were 72 pairs of eyes on her watching her every move. Technically 73 pairs if you counted Miss Rachel observing in the back. This was exactly what Christy had been waiting for, planning for, even praying for and now she was nauseous.

"Good morning class." That seemed like a good start.

"Good morning Miss Christy," they echoed back.

"Today we are going to give Miss Rachel a little break from teaching and she is going to allow me to teach the full day."

Cheers went up from the each of the students and it brought a smile to both her and Rachel's face. They both knew it was nothing against Rachel personally, it was simply the children trying to show their support of the new teacher. Christy was sure she would not have gotten such an encouraging response from the students in Ashville.

"Now then, lets begin by going over our vocabulary words from yesterday, shall we?"

With that short sentence Christy Huddleston was on her way to teaching her first full day. Rachel watched her from a small chair near the door. She quietly lifted up prayers to the Lord for Christy's presence and also thanked Him for a moments rest for herself. She and Christy had stayed up late the night before going over every lesson and preparing each activity. There was no doubt in her mind concerning Christy's ability, but she knew Christy had plenty of doubts herself. As the morning progressed Christy found herself relaxing and even laughing a little at her own mistakes. The children were obedient and it soon became obvious that Christy was taking herself much more seriously then they were. Soon Miss Rachel was announcing the lunch hour and every one seemed ready for a break.

"I'm so proud of you Christy!" Rachel and Christy sat on the steps of the schoolhouse half yelling at the boys to leave the girls alone and half eating their sandwiches. "It took a lot of courage for you to begin today and I want you know that you truly are a God send to me."

"Oh Rachel, how do you do it? I was, still am, so scared I'm going to completely mess up. What if I teach them something incorrectly or what if I forget the most important part of the lesson?" Christy's face showed signs of panic.

"Just relax and take a deep breath. You've seen for yourself how forgiving these students are. They are on your same team and so am I! Trust me, I've made plenty of mistakes and I still have plenty more I'm going to make. Soon enough the fear of failing is outweighed by being delighted in the little successes. You'll see, just be patient." They both sighed contentedly as they basked in the warm sun.

Rachel continued, "Plus Christy, Dr. MacNeill is coming to finish the day with a science lesson so you're almost finished with your first day of teaching!" She meant to calm Christy's fears, but Rachel had just unknowingly multiplied Christy's nerves.

Of course, how had she forgotten? Christy had been so wrapped up in the day that she had completely forgotten about the science lesson. "Please Lord," she prayed, "Don't let him come until after I'm finished, I'd be so mortified if he sees me mess up!" Even to her own ears the prayer sounded silly. Since when was Christy Huddleston concerned with Dr. MacNeill's opinion of her? She most certainly did not have a very good opinion of him so why should she desire his? Either way that man had a way of agitating her every nerve and she had enough to deal with today with out adding him to the list.

The rest of the afternoon passed by so smoothly that Christy almost forgot about the doctor, almost being the key word. Towards the end of her geography lesson she noticed Rachel sneak out the door and wondered what could have called her away. Moments later she saw Rachel return with Dr. MacNeill in tow. There seemed to be a lingering look on both of their faces and neither one noticed Christy as she approached.

"Thank you for coming today, Doctor" Christy would not allow her voice to falter. She would show him that she was strong and in command. This was her ground and he was the guest.

"Hum, what?" MacNeill had been caught off guard. "Yes Miss Huddleston, well, ah, yes, thank you," He managed to stutter. HA! She had done it, Christy Huddleston had unnerved the great Neil MacNeill. Before she could truly revel in her glory though she noticed Rachel gently pull her hand out of doctor's as he moved to the front of the class.

"Oh" was all Christy could whisper as Rachel's eyes pleaded for silence.

Looking back, Christy could not remember a single word from the science lesson.