The new maths teacher stood with her back to her first class of her new job as she wrote on the white board.

She wrote her name, the date, title and a few page numbers on the board and then turned around to face her class.

The sixth form class she was in charge of were being very noisy.

'OK, let's take the register,' she called cheerily, only for the class to ingnore her and continue speaking to each other.

'Excuse me, settle down please,' she said, praying that they would listen to her. At the boarding school, the kids had all been quite quiet and reserved and paid attention to their teachers. Here, things were clearly different.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair only to flatten it down again afterwards.

'Come on, let's get started.' she called attempting to gain the classes' attention, but getting nowhere.

Brett watched his aunt looking quite in depair from his seat at the back of the classroom.

He knew that the class would listen to him as he was well known and pretty well liked, so he looked around the classroom and shouted out to his fellow pupils.

'Hey everyone, just shut up will you? I might want to learn something here.'

The other pupils looked at him and gradually the noise went away as they took their seats and looked towards the fromt of the room.

Anna gave Brett a quick smile of gratitude, to which he nodded in acknowledgement.

' Thank you class. Let's take a register.'

She pulled out the folder that the receptionist had given her and flipped to the page with the register for her current class.

After taking the register she looked around at her class.

'OK, so you have two choices. I can teach you the lesson on Trigonometry I have planned, or we can do that next lesson and spend today getting to know each other a bit. What do you want to do?'

There was a collective shout of 'No Work!'

Anna laughed,' No work it is. Why don't we go around the classroom and you can all tell me a bit about your selves?'

There was no objection to this, and the person nearest Anna's desk started off.

'I'm Maxine Barlow and I live with Miss Haydock because my stepdad is a lunatic and my mum chose him over me.' The girl had a smug smirk on her face and she clearly was trying to make her new teacher feel uncomfortable.

Anna raised her eyebrows unsure of what to say, 'Well thanks for sharing that Maxine, who's next?'

The dark skinned girl with curly black hair who was sat next to Maxine said, ' I'm Janeece Bryant, I have a keen interest in dinosaurs and I want a career involving them.'

Anna smiled, 'That's great, good for you.'

'Donte Charles,' said a boy sat behind Janeece and Maxine.

'Celine Dixon,' said a dark skinned girl with perfectly straight hair. Anna noticed how Donte had his arm around Celine's chair and how Celine was leaned into Donte slightly, and deduced from this that they were more than likely a couple.

A few people later, they had worked their way down one side of the class and it had the turn of the people at the back of the classroom to introduce them selves.

A pretty blonde girl smiled easily at Anna, 'Mika Granger, eco-warrior, part of the drama club, plaesed to meet you and that is a very nice chain.'

Anna laughed and looked down at her chain - white gold with a diamond love heart on the end of it.

'Thanks Mika, love those highlights,' she said flicking her own hair out of her eyes, which the people closest to her thought was quite Brett-like.

Anna moved past Mika and went to walk down the other side of the class room only for someone to call out, 'Miss?'

She spun around and saw that Brett had been the speaker.

'Yes?' she asked.

'You didn't give me chance to introduce my self.'

Anna looked suitably confused ,' I already know who you are.'

'True, but you should treat me the same as everyone else shouldn't you?'

'I know but... oh go ahead,' she sighed knowing there was no arguing with him.

He took her hand and shook it firmly, 'Brett Aspinall, pleased to meet you. And who might you be?'

Anna gave him a look wondering what on earth he was doing, but went along with it.

'Anastacia Aspinall.'

'Aspinall? Brett asked, 'So have we met before?'

Anna rolled her eyes wondering why he couldn't just act normal.

'I do believe we might be related,' she said.

Brett nodded, 'Oh of course, I remember. You're my favourite aunt aren't you?'

'Yes and moving on...'

She walked back down the class as the final pupils introduced themselves. Amongst them were a few rough looking boys namd Bolton Smilie and Paul Langley.

'Now, anyone have any questions for me?' Anna smiled sitting on the edge of her desk and looking out at the class.

Bolton raised his hand but shouted out anyway,

'Are you married Miss?'

The rest of the class expected Miss Aspinall to be offended by his question, but instead she kept smiling.

'No, are you offering Mr Smilie?'

The class laughed at Bolton. Their new teacher seemed different to other teachers, she was young by teaching standards and unlike some other teachers, she was making an effort to get to know them and she seemed cool and laid back.

Bolton shrugged moodily, 'Don't know,'

'So do you have any kids Miss?' asked Paul

They expected her to say no but she hesitated. Clearly she had not heard the question, assumed Paul.

'Miss?' he prompted.

She shook her head, as if shaking off a day dream, 'I'm sorry, what was it?'

'I said, do you have any kids?'

'No... no I don't.'

'How old are you ?' asked Janeece, not expecting her to answer that at all.

'Just turned 30,' replied Anna.

'30?' repeated Janeece, 'Well you don't look it. You look younger than that.'

'Well thanks I guess,'

'What's your full name?' asked Maxine.

'Anastacia Reinette Juliet Aspinall.'

'That's a bit posh,' snorted Bolton. '

'What are you incinuating?' asked Anna icily.

'Just saying, your family must be well posh miss. Bet you had the best of everything all the time. That where your posh girl voice comes from?'

'I hardly think that my status and that of my family had anything to do with you. When I want your opinion on my family I will ask for it thank you very much.'

Bolton didn't meet her eyes as he mumbled, 'Sorry Miss.'

The rest of the lesson went well and the bell soon rang.

'Class dismissed, I'll see you all on Wednesday,' called Anna as the class teared off down the hallway.

The last two people in the room were Mika and Brett.

'Come on,' said Anna cheerily, 'Go out and enjoy your break.'

Mika headed for the door, stopping to smile at Anna.

'Can I just say - I think you're a really good teacher, no one else can make Bolton Smilie shut up.'

'Aw thanks Mika, I'll see you around right?'

'Bye,' Mika replied before leaving the class room.

'Aren't you going outside Brett?' asked his aunt.

'I just wanted to talk to you,' he said perching on the edge of her desk.

'Oh, OK.'

'So, I haven't seen you in a while. How come you haven't visited recently?'

'Well, I saw you on your birthday,'

'Yeah but that was ages ago - that was in January. Why haven't you been down since?'

'I rung up loads of times and checked with your father to see if I could come but you were always too busy.'

'He told you that hmm?'

'Yes,'

'Well my father is a liar. He just doesn't like you - I asked him why, but he wont talk about you. What is it with you guys?'

'Honestly? I don't know, Roger was always a bit odd. Anyway - you're happy at home aren't you?'

Brett shrugged, ' Dad's never around, always too busy working and when he is at home he has no time for me,'

'Honey, I'm sure that's not true,'

He scoffed, 'Oh it is. He doesn't care about anything but his money. He's got no time for me, just throws money at me. Even more since Mum died and he married Celia.'

Brett's mum had died two years ago and his father had married his secretary, Celia, almost right away. Since the death of her sister in law, Anna had tried to visit Brett more, and the pair had consequently become closer due to the extra visits and almost weekly phone calls.

'But Celia's nice isn't she?' asked Anna.

Brett pulled a face that showed he thought otherwise, 'She just doesn't seem to care about me at all.'

'Well, you've got me now.' she smiled reassuringly.

'Yeah. Does my dad know you're teaching here?'

'Haven't got round to telling him, I knew if I did, he'd find a way of messing it up for me. Never liked me - guess he was just jealous.' she sighed mock dramatically

'You could have told me you'd got a job here Aunt Anna.'

'I wanted to suprise you and It worked didn't it?'

'Yeah um.. can I ask you a favour?'

'Yes anything.'

'Well it's for Mika really...' he said feeling a bit awkward, but his aunt was smiling in a kind way.

'OK then, what is it?'

'Mika's stepdad is Tom Clarkson, one of the english teachers, and she was hoping you could kep an eye on him for her.'

'Why does he need keeping an eye on?'

'Well, Mika says you can't tell Tom this, but she thinks he's keeping his feelings bottled up inside. You see, Mika's mum used to teach here and she was engaged to Mr Clarkson but Mika's mum - Izzie - was stabbed last year and she died.'

Anna gasped, 'God, that's awful.'

'Yeah so Mr Clarkson was living with Izzie so now he's playing single dad to Mika and her sister - Chlo, who's in year 11. He's doing a good job, but it can't be easy for him and Mika thinks he needs someone to talk to.'

'Of course if that's what she thinks he needs. But if Izzie died last year, hasn't he had anyone else to talk to since then?'

'Well he was seeing Miss Shackleton for a while but it didn't last long and after that, he's just not spoke much to either of the girls and they're worried about him.'

'I don't want to get too involved in other people's business Brett, but it can't hurt for me to talk to him and ask him if he's alright once in a while can it?'

'Thanks Aunt Anna,' he grinned giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

'Go on, get out,' laughed Anna, 'The other kids will think you're getting the special treatment.'

'Yeah I suppose, but really - thanks. It means a lot to Mika,' he said on his way out.

Anna smiled as she watched Brett walking down the corridor.

'And for the record, that's one really sweet girlfriend you've got there,' she called after him.

He paused midway down the corridor and called over his shoulder,

'I know.'

She turned around to go back into the classroom and was faced with Eddie.

'Mr Lawson, can I help you?'

He smiled, 'Just though I'd make sure you hadn't forgotten where the staffroom is but I see you were just talking to Brett.'

'Yes, we were having a quick catch-up, I haven't seen him in a while.'

'Are you coming up to the staff room then?'

She smiled up at him, 'Yeah let's go.'