Camilla ran her hand nervously through her long blond hair, while Margaret Francis looked through Camilla's file.
"I'm impressed as usual," Mrs. Francis said, looking up to smile warmly at Camilla. "Your grades are impressive. You might graduate at top of your class."
"But?" Camilla asked, dropping her hands to her lap.
"I think you should have a more well-rounded education. I think you should take the extra history class this year."
Camilla groaned. "But history is so boring!"
Mrs. Francis smiled. "I know, dear, but having knowledge in history might help in your major when you graduate and go to college." She looked down at Camilla's file again. "Cultural anthropology. It will bring you a step higher when applying to the college of your choice. And it seems you want to go to school at the University of Alberta, which is in Edmonton."
Camilla sighed. "And who teaches social studies this year?"
Mrs. Francis turned to her right and looked through her shelf full of books. She pulled one down and placed it on her desk. She paused for a few moments, looking through the book. "Oh, dear, I guess you'll be having a new professor. Professor Krantz passed away this summer. What a dear old man."
"Oh, I remember him."
"You may not care for history, but you'll thank me later."
Camilla took the letter and stood up. She put her bag on her left shoulder and walked to the door, opening it. "I hope so."
Mrs. Francis smiled at Camilla. "Good luck."
Camilla exited the room and closed the door behind her, fuming inside. "I was so hoping to bypass social studies this year, since it isn't a requirement to graduate," she thought to herself.
* **
"This will be your office, Mr. Crawford," the dean of Hildegard said, opening the door to a large office.
Brett looked around. There was a large wooden desk facing the door, with a huge window facing the mountains. Old-style curtains covered a portion of the window, but they were left open for a full view. There was plenty of wall space on the right side of the room with roll-down maps. A filing cabinet sat in one corner behind the desk.
Brett smiled when he saw the leather spinning chair behind the desk. A florescent light hung down from the ceiling illuminating the hard wood floors and walls, as well as a small lamp sitting on the corner of the desk. Under the desk was a Persian rug. To the left of the room were 2 doors, and a few empty bookshelves. One door, he assumed, was the closet, but he wasn't sure what the second door was for.
"What's the second door for?" Brett asked, turning back to the dean.
"Ahhh, yes," he responded, walking towards the door and opening it. Brett followed. "Your private bathroom."
Brett hid the surprise when he realized he had his own private bathroom. It even had a shower installed.
"The previous social studies teacher, who passed away recently, worked long hours and so we had the shower installed. There's also a cot in the closet," the dean explained, looking at the shock on Brett's face. "He was a well respected man. We'll miss him dearly."
"I'm sorry," Brett said, closing the door to the bathroom. "I guess I'll have big shoes to fill."
"You'll do fine. Welcome to Hildegard Private School for Girls," the Dean said, sticking out his right hand to shake Brett's. Brett shook his hand, his grip strong, but not tight. The Dean left the office, and Brett went to sit at the leather, swivel chair. He spun in it once, and smiled at the empty room.
Ten minutes later, Brett left the office and started to walk around the college, trying to get himself familiar with the place. He knew the school was large, so it would take some getting used to. The building, which was 3 stories tall, was in the shape of an I with classrooms and offices in the middle, and dorms on each end.
He was looking the other way when a student came barreling around the corner and he smacked into her. Her bag fell to the floor and he heard her say, "Damn it."
"I'm so sorry," Brett said, picking up her bag and handing it to her. "I wasn't paying attention."
"Me neither," she said, taking it from him and placing it on her shoulder again. She continued walking down the hall.
"Damn," Brett whispered under his breath as he watched her short skirt swish against her long, shapely legs. "I'm going to love working here."
***
Camilla unlocked the door to her apartment and threw her backpack on the floor. She walked into her bedroom and quickly took off her school uniform and flopped down onto the bed with a sigh.