She Inspires Me
Between Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World. After Riley is born but before Topanga is pregnant with Auggie.
"So, Mr. Mathews, tell us why you consider yourself a good teacher." The superintendent, Dr. Graham, said from across the table. The man had to be at least sixty, with grey hair and glasses pinched to his nose. But his eyes had nothing of Mr. Feeny's warm, grandfatherly face.
"And specifically, why you would be an asset to John Qunicy Adams Middle School," Mr. Turner said, sitting next to the superintendent. His hair was shorter than it used to be, but he was still the same man who'd taught him English. Cory had expected Mr. Turner to be on his side. Despite the trouble he'd given the English teacher in high school, Cory had always gotten the impression Mr. Turner liked him. After all, he was Shawn's best friend, and Mr. Turner had loved Shawn, right?
But Mr. Turner didn't wink or smile or give him any sign of recognition. On the contrary, Cory's former teacher stared at him like he'd just been caught sleeping in class again. Furthermore, two other teachers sat on either side of the principal and superintendent, appeared just as frightening, even though they were much younger.
Over the years, Cory liked to think he'd become less anxious than he'd been as a teen. But all those faces staring at him made Cory wish to turn around and never come back. Never mind the lesson plans he'd carefully put together through his years at college. His heart raced faster than the subway he'd rode this morning.
He pictured his Topanga standing next to him, giving him courage, as always.
Taking a deep breath, Cory said, "When I was a teenager, I didn't like school, nor understand the importance of it." Mr. Turner's eyes met Cory's for just a moment in recognition before returning to his hard mask.
"But the older I become, the more I realize how much I wish to influence people to make their lives better." How many times had Cory tried to encourage Shawn to change his life for the better? How many times had Cory tried to motivate his brother Eric to do something with his life? Even Angela, despite not knowing her as long as his best friend and his brother, often complained Cory was "meddling in her life" too much.
Cory wished to help them all. What was wrong with that?
"And I know now that some of the people that helped me the most were teachers." How many times had Mr. Feeny helped Cory with one lesson or another? The man had never stopped teaching, whether he was in the classroom, the hallway, or in his garden. Meanwhile, Mr. Turner dropped his mask again for another second, knowing he was another teacher that had helped Cory.
Dr. Graham, on the other hand, stared at Cory so hard he thought lasers might come out of the superintendent's eyes. He was surprised the older man hadn't melted his glasses. "That's interesting, and you might be a good role model, but what makes you think you would be able to teach school?" Especially if you just said you didn't care about it as a teenager, the intimidating man seemed to imply.
The other two teachers sitting on each side nodded their heads in agreement with the superintendent.
Cory's raced even faster than the subway. Once again, he pictured himself leaving the room and never returning. Could he really get through this interview? Without getting burned? But you know the answer to that question, he told himself.
Avoiding the superintendent's scary eyes, Cory said, "I can teach school because I value it today, more than ever. Over the years, some of my teachers helped change my opinion of education." Cory's mind flashed to Mr. Feeny, grilling him and his friends for the SAT's, resulting in good scores for all three of them, and even Mr. Turner encouraging Cory to understand poetry.
Mr. Turner managed a brief smile this time, before his face returned to his hard mask.
"Just as importantly, my wife inspires me to value education. When we were young, school always came easily to my then-girlfriend, but she continued to push herself to do better." Cory's mind flashed to Topanga who always sat in the front row, answering all of Mr. Feeny and Mr. Turner's questions. Then there were all the extra credit assignments she'd done, whether it be the science fair, or essay contests. One even earned Topanga a trip to Disney World.
"And the older I got, the more I admired her, and how much effort she put into her education. I know I'll never do as well as my wife, but she inspires me to keep trying." Cory didn't even see those scary faces across the table any longer. As usual when he began speaking of his Topanga, all he could see was her. Smiling as she answered another teacher's question. Beaming as she aced another test. And that was nothing like the expression on Topanga's face when she passed the LSAT and was accepted into law school.
"Furthermore, since I'm aware how boring school can be to middle school kids, I'm going to make my classes as interesting as possible," Cory said, his eyes finally returning to his interviewers. He proceeded to explain his lesson plans for applying social studies to real life experiences that middle school students would have, showing his portfolio of such lesson plans in detail.
The other two teachers smiled and nodded. Cory's heart danced in return. Had he been hired? Dr. Graham stood up and shook his hand, that hard look still on his face. "Thank you, Mr. Mathews. We will be in touch." And Cory's heart immediately sank to his shoes.
Mr. Turner waited until the others left before his face exploded into a full grin. "You did great, Cory. You know I couldn't show favorites during the meeting with everyone, but I think the job is yours."
"Really?" Cory struggled to reconcile his old teacher's words with Dr. Graham's reaction.
"Don't worry about Dr. Graham," Mr. Turner said, giving Cory an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "He thinks he must be tough to all the candidates, but that was a great interview. And as I'm the principal of John Quincy Adams, my opinion has a lot of weight."
Sighing with relief, Cory said "Thanks Mr. Turner."
"But besides your interview, I hope you could tell me what happened with Shawn." Mr. Turner shook his head. "I really regret losing touch with that kid after my accident."
Cory grinned, loving that his best friend was finally doing well. "He's actually got a great job as photojournalist. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of travel, so I don't see him as much as I'd like."
Mr. Turner nodded without saying anything for a moment before he said, "By the way, I'm also happy to hear that you and Topanga got married." He grinned once again, but the glint in his eyes appeared sly. "We all thought you acted like a married couple in high school, anyway."
Cory chuckled. "Now we're even more like a married couple. We even have a little girl, Riley." He got all warm and fuzzy when he thought of his little girl. "And Topanga is still inspiring me."