Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Labyrinth universe whatsoever... so sad...

People! Update's here for those that reviewed and alerted the story. Thank you to those that did. Hopefully you'll enjoy this.


"Hey, I'd like to apply for the teaching position here." Sarah almost stammered out, nervous.

The middle aged, redheaded secretary eyed her through her half-moon glasses. Sarah felt exposed under her gaze. The secretary scribbled a few words down on a small piece of paper and handed it to Sarah. "Those are the directions. Follow them and then you'll find the man you're looking for." The secretary's nasal voice rasped, indicating she was in the midst of a cold.

Sarah picked up on this and after picking up the piece of paper, ruffled through her black shoulder bag and pulled out a packet of eucalyptus cough lollies and a jar of eucalyptus rub. She placed them on the counter and nodded her head meekly, scurrying away to the directions on the note, leaving the secretary dumbfounded.

Sarah rounded the left corner of the pallid hall and found the door she was seeking for. It read, Headmaster in large, gold letters on the glass windowpane. Sarah advanced towards it and jumped back in surprise when the door was yanked open and a young male teenager scurried out of the area, heading for the halls. Sarah stared, wide-eyed, after the boy. What could have scared him so much to send him running away like a madman? Her answer was by the door when she turned back around. A tall, broad shouldered man in a comfortable grey suit and black tie was leaning on the frame of his door casually, a dark expression on his smooth face.

Sarah flinched impulsively, clutching her bag to her side. The man averted his steely gaze to her own stare, his grey eyes blazing with anger which eventually ebbed. A false mask of kindness closed over his face, pulling a forced smile onto his lips.

"May I help you?" He asked.

It took Sarah a moment to get her voice back. "I'm here to apply for the teaching position." She repeated the similar words she'd given to the secretary at the front desk. "I'm sorry if I disturbed anything."

He waved it off. "Just a nuisance that needed to be dealt with." He motioned her to come in. "Let's talk inside."

Once inside, Sarah took no time to observe her surroundings. She was far too nervous for it. He'd already seen her resume and was most likely going to ask her to talk about herself. Bracing for the question, she crossed her legs when she sat down on the plastic white chair and leaned back. The headmaster sat in his own rolling leather chair and laced his fingers together, a common gesture people made when scrutinizing people.

The headmaster fiddled with his pen, sparking a flame of irritation in Sarah's chest. He then cleared his throat and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Now, Miss Williams, please tell me why you'd like to work with teenage children at this school?"

"I want to teach them." She answered simply.

"You do know that teenagers are quite hard to discipline since they are in that stage of rebellion?"

Sarah sat up straighter. "I was a teenager once, sir. I do know what they're going through and can use that to my advantage to help them learn better." Her answer was proud and challenging.

"I see..." The headmaster said. That was it? He was done? "I'll get back to you in three days. I have others that need interviewing. Nice meeting you, Miss Williams." He made a shooing motion with his hand, his eyes now focused on his computer screen.

Sarah exited the room, completely baffled. That was possibly the shortest interview that had ever occurred in her entire life. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She turned to leave the building and smiled at the secretary at the front desk who beamed back. She waved her over and Sarah came to the edge of the front desk with a curious expression.

"Thank you so much for what you gave me. I haven't had time to purchase anything because that damned Mr. Alter keeps on giving piles and piles of work. But as a repayment, I'll make sure you're hired." She winked, taking off her half-moon glasses. "It's the least I can do after what you did for me."

Sarah grinned, nodding her head eagerly. "Thank you so much. You're a wonderful lady."

"Name's Abby. We'll get along just fine." Abby waved her manicured hand in the air, a habit almost certainly picked up from Mr. Alter, the headmaster. She grimaced and muttered, "Gotta get out more."

Sarah chuckled and left the school. It was a fine day out after the hectic storm the night before. The sun was out, just warming the surface of the Earth with the right temperature. The land around her was fertile and lush, everything a radiant green. Sarah hopped into her car, her nose crinkling at the amount of dust in it.

Note to self: Clean out car tomorrow.

Only because she wasn't bothered to do it today. She wasn't ashamed to admit she was as lazy as cat and would rather be lying in the sun than working. But she needed the money. There was no other job offers in the town and this was the perfect job after receiving her teaching degree. Sarah had worked her butt off for it and it was time it paid off.

Sarah edged closer to her parent's home and parked just outside the house. At second, Toby came running out of the house in his Superman pyjamas, his blonde locks bouncing up and down as he ran towards Sarah's car.

Sarah opened the door and was engulfed in the small boy's embrace. "You're finally home! We've been waiting for you! Mummy and Daddy have something for you." Toby exclaimed, trying to drag Sarah out of her car. "C'mon!"

Sarah laughed and followed her persistent little brother into the house. She stepped into the house and was surprised to smell lavender and a meal roasting in the oven. Raising an eyebrow, she followed Toby into the living room. What she saw puzzled her even more.

Her parents sat down on the couches and parallel to them was a young man, round about her age, with dirty blonde hair, pale skin and a well developed body. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. They were trying to match make her with every single man in town. Gritting her teeth, she forced a smile when her parents acknowledged her presence.

"Sarah! Hey! I'd like you to meet James. He's in town for a while and needs a guide." Her stepmother gave her a sly wink which Sarah dismissed with a roll of her eyes. "Would you mind helping him out?"

Sarah waited a few seconds before replying. "Of course, I'd be happy to." She looked at James and caught his brown eyes in her blazing green ones. He cringed away slightly from her line of vision. "Let's go, James. I know a very lovely coffee shop downtown. We can chat there." Without another word, she spun on her heel, stormed out of the living room, ran up the stairs, into her room and shut the door. Using her soundproof room to her advantage, she screamed in frustration.

It was times like this when she wished she had her mother back. Divorced or not from her father, she wanted her back in reality – real to touch instead of a picture in the corner of her mirror. Overwhelmed with sorrow, she then collapsed onto her bed, bawling her eyes out.


A/N:

Okay okay, you're probably thinking, "Oh my God! Where is Jareth and Sarah? What about him?" Well, he will appear very soon and don't worry. I can't give anything else way now. I'm leaving it a mystery.

~Fia