Written by me! :)
William Lancer walked into Casper High School, toting his briefcase full of newly graded papers in one hand and a steaming to-go cup of coffee in the other. He wandered on autopilot towards his classroom, his mind swimming with his lesson plans for the day and pressing tasks he still had to do.
He jolted to a stop and did a double take as he saw someone unfamiliar cross his vision. A woman walked towards him down the hallway, looking around with wonder and confusion. She looked to be middle-aged, and she had brown hair pulled into a bun. A pair of glasses was perched on her face, and her tan cardigan was billowing out behind her as she walked.
After a few seconds, the English teacher decided to confront her. "Hello, I don't believe we've met before. I'm William, William Lancer." He held out a hand for her to shake.
"Oh," the woman said in surprise at his interaction, startled out of her thoughts. She shook his hand. "Yes, it's nice to meet you, William. I'm Candace Edwards." Despite the positive connotation of her words, her tone was one of nervousness.
"To Kill a Mockingbird, is something wrong?" William asked, frowning in concern. Was Candace a lost new hire? Or worse, was something wrong?
The middle-aged woman let out an amused huff. "I don't know if you would believe me if I told you."
"Maybe you'd be surprised. A lot of unbelievable things happen around here," William responded, letting his heavy briefcase sit on the floor. "I don't know how long you've been in this town, but practically every day, we see literal ghosts causing havoc, so I can't imagine that whatever you say is more shocking than that."
Something lit up in Candace's eyes. "Oh, that's a relief. I was afraid I had somehow ended up somewhere else, but now that you've mentioned ghosts, I know I must be in the right place. After all, how many towns could be in the same boat with that?"
The male teacher chuckled along with her. "Very true. So, I assume you're a teacher as well?"
"Yes, I teach English, and from the book title you mentioned earlier, I can safely guess that you do as well," The woman responded with a smile.
"You'd be correct. I have a bag of graded essays I will hand back to my classes today." He gestured to his back, sitting on the floor.
"Such is the life of a teacher," she responded in amusement. "How are your classes going this year?"
"Pretty well, all things considered." Mr. Lancer responded, rubbing his neck as he thought back on the current school year.
"Yes, it's been quite a whirlwind lately. But I have so many hardworking students that I'm very proud of. Sometimes, you can tell that they will do great things someday."
"I couldn't have said it better," William responded. The two startled a little as the first bell rang, and students began to fill the hallways. "Well, homeroom awaits. Perhaps we'll run into each other later."
"I'd like that. I'd better move on, too, and get my bearings." Candace responded, waving goodbye as she was swept away in the sea of students. William scooped up his bag and finally made it to his classroom. A few of his students stood nearby, waiting for him to unlock the door. His focus was returned to his hectic plans that day, but part of him also lingered on Candace. He hoped sometime soon they could talk again.