When Aria opened the door of the room 1140, she was, sadly, surprised to realize that she was the last person to arrive, judging by the only chair available.

The noise she made when she opened the door caused the heads of the four people sitting around a large round table in the middle of the room to turn towards her.

"Excuse me Miss, but this is a private meeting", said the only woman around the table, a grumpy sixty-year-old with grey hair firmly tightened in a bun above her head. She had glasses hanging by a silver chain around her neck and she wore a white blouse with dress pants.

"Hi", said Aria, trying not to sound startled by the old lady's words. "I'm Aria, Aria Montgomery, the new English teacher?" she added tentatively.

"Oh," answered the woman flatly, "I thought the principal would hire someone more...experienced," she said shooting firm glances at Aria.

Aria knew what she looked like. With her 5"2 she could hardly look like a young serious English teacher. She still passed for a teenager, even if she had stopped dressing like one long ago. But she knew better than to be affected by the woman's words. Ever since becoming Lily-Ann's only parent, she had grown accustomed to other's people curious glances and mean whispers. What people thought of her didn't preoccupy her as much as it used to.

"Miss Welsh is just joking Miss Montgomery, aren't you Miss Welsh?" said the youngest man of the room which, judging by what Spencer had told her, Aria supposed was Ezra Fitz.

Miss Welsh shot Ezra a stern glance but soon put on a forced smile before looking at Aria.

"Of course, I was joking dear, we're all really happy to welcome a new teacher," she said.

"Thank you," replied Aria politely, even if she knew that Miss Welsh's words of welcome weren't sincere.

Aria forgot about the old woman's words when she looked at Ezra attentively. He was really good looking. He wore a clean pale blue shirt, black dress pants, a blue tie; the attire of a perfect gentleman. Moreover, he had deep blue mesmerizing eyes and messy brown hair. Just her type. But he probably already had a girlfriend. And between taking care of Lily and her new job, Aria didn't have time to think about dating!

"Miss Montgomery may I present you the English department of Rosewood High?" said Ezra, taking her out of her daydreaming, "As you might know this is Miss Welsh. To her right it's Mr Levinson. Mr Harrisson is sitting on front of her and to his left is seated Mr Smith. And I am Ezra Fitz, head of the English department.

Aria took time to observe them all as she shook hands. Miss Welsh, well, she had already her own idea about that woman. Mr Levinson seemed quite friendly. Yes, he was old, but so was all the other staff members according to Spencer. He had the iconic English teacher look: a brown blazer with patches on the elbows and a bow tie. Aria immediately liked him. He reminded her of a old teacher she had when she was in High School herself. Mr Harrisson was as old as his colleague, but seemed much more bored. Aria wasn't sure if she'd feel comfortable talking to him. As for Mr Smith, he had his head plunged in a book, which said much about his social behaviour.

"It's nice to meet you all," said Aria after she took some time to observe them.

With that, she sat with everyone and Ezra, who had stood up when he had made presentations, took back his seat at the end of the table. They were ready to start the meeting.

After the meeting, which had gone surprisingly well considering its not so easy beginning, Ezra offered Aria a tour of the school to help her get familiar with the hallways and to show her her new office and classrooms.

"So..." said Ezra, "Where are you from? I don't remember seeing you in Rosewood and I'm proud to say that I know almost everyone here since I've been living in the city my whole life," he joked.

The traditional question; normal in appearances, but so awkward for Aria.

"Hum... I'm from New-York. I moved in Rosewood a couple of months ago, but I didn't really get out of my house often. I had some stuff to take care of. It's normal if you haven't really seen me around.

The truth was that she almost never got out of the house except for groceries, errands, emergencies and her job interview. She was always with Lily-Ann and she didn't want to leave her with someone else. So she had to go out with her, but she didn't really like it. It's not that she was ashamed of Lily, no! She loved the little girl with all her heart! And she could take the whispers and the glares people shot her when they saw a woman as young as her with a five-year-old. What she hated was the questions people ask, one of them being: "where is her father?" Aria wasn't ready to talk about that yet, so she preferred to avoid getting out.

"New-York? That's cool!" said Ezra. "My mom moved there when she divorced my dad. I went to visit her a couple of times. It's a great city; vibrant, colorful, noisy and full of different people. It's quite different from Rosewood! Why move here? Were you tired of the big city?" he asked.

"Yeah. Polluted air and noisy streets weren't for me anymore. I like it here. It's quiet, there are trees and people actually say hello to their neighbours." replied Aria.

"You described Rosewood quite well Miss Montgomery," said Ezra.

"Please, call me Aria, Miss Montgomery makes me feel so old," she laughed.

" Well, Aria, here we are: room 1360, your office." said Ezra.

"Oh that's nice! It's right next to Spencer Hastings' office!" said Aria happily.

"You know her?" asked Ezra curiously.

"Yeah, not really, she just helped me find the room of the meeting earlier and she seemed really nice," answered Aria.

"She really is," replied Ezra with a smile. "So, I'll leave you here. You can install your things and prepare for next week. If you need anything don't hesitate, my office is the one just next Spencer's."

"Thank you," said Aria.

She was really happy. It was only her first day of job, but she already felt better than she ever did in New-York.