Rey's classroom was a whirlwind, per usual. It was Friday afternoon though, and so she dealt with it. The last of her students wandered out yelling, "Bye Ms. Kenobi!"
"Bye," she called after him. She was organizing the school supplies. She had a 3:30 meeting with her new student teacher. She didn't know much about him except that he was a career change, which meant he was a little older and had decided later in life that teaching was his calling. It was 3:15 now. She had a few minutes to get her classroom from disarray before he came in. About 5 minutes later, she heard a knock on the door.
"Yes!" she turned around and saw her principal, Mrs. Organa in the doorway with a man. This was certainly not what she was expecting. "Hi Leia," she greeted her principal.
"Hi, Rey!" Leia greeted her back, "this is Ben Solo, he is your new student teacher," Leia said with a smile.
Rey walked up to the brooding man and said, "Hello, I'm Rey Kenobi," and stuck out her hand to shake his. He shook her hand and gave her a faint smile.
"I'm going to leave him here, you can chat about the duties you'd like him to take over and the schedule," she said to them. She smiled at both of them, but when she smiled at Ben she had a twinkle in her eye. "Bye now!" she said and glided out of the room.
Rey was slightly taken aback by the man. It was definitely not what she was expecting. He was much taller than she imagined. He had dark hair, a broad chest, and brooding features. He was dressed in black skinny jeans and a grey t-shirt. He was unique looking and very handsome. Rey could feel her cheeks flush just thinking about it.
"Ok," she started, "This is a fifth grade inclusion room," she explained. "We have students of varying abilities and levels and some are on IEPs and some are not. I have a handful on 504s. You'll meet Mr. Dameron on Monday, he is the Special Education Teacher that we work with. Mr. Calrissian and Ms. Tico are the other two fifth grade teachers. You can meet with them Monday as well. Do you have any questions for me?" She spit out quicker than intended.
"Um, yes, probably thousands," he smiled back at her. This calmed her down a little.
"Sorry," she said, "I've never worked with a student teacher before, I'm a little nervous," she said to him.
"You're nervous?" he stated, "imagine how I feel!" he said back.
She started to settle in with this banter. "You'll be fine. The students are eager to meet you. They are looking forward to having you here," she said to him.
"How many students do you have?" he asked her.
"24 students, 5 on IEPs, and 3 on 504s, 3 are second language learners," she stated.
"Wow," he said. "Nothing like jumping into it," he laughed.
"They are great kids. You are going to fall in love with them," she smiled. She loved teaching and she loved her students, even the students everyone else labeled as "trouble,". She considered herself lucky to have an impact on their life. She was hoping Ben would love them just as much as she does. "I figure, the first week or so, you might want to observe, get a feel for the lay of the land and help out the students when we split off for independent work. After that we can sit down and chat about divying the planning and teaching responsibilities," she smiled softly at him.
"Sounds perfect," he said, a familiar smile on his mouth and a twinkle in his eye. "What should I do to prepare for Monday?" he asked.
"Well, you are going to need some collared shirts, and a tie is optional, and just come ready for anything," she said.
"Collared shirt, got it, sense of adventure, check," he said back to her.
"Great, well enjoy your last weekend before you want to collapse on the couch and sleep for three days straight," she said mischievously.
"Will do," Ben replied.
Rey started to gather her things for the weekend, "Can I carry your bag for you?" he asked, snatching her heavy bag from under her arm.
"Oh, sure!" she said, grabbing up her smaller bag and her laptop case.
"What is all this?" Ben asked.
"Correcting," Rey answered, rolling her eyes. They walked out of the school and into the parking lot, Rey's heart fluttering quicker than usual in her chest knowing she would spend the next 8 weeks with this handsome man.