"Julie Marsh, I asked you a question young lady," Miss Bannister yelled at me from the front of the classroom. "Since you can't seem to keep up with the rest of the class, I will see you after class dismissal!" I looked back at the middle-aged woman with the stern voice and blushed. I had enrolled in this all girls' college after I had failed miserably at my previous co-ed university last semester. My parents made me change schools, and decided their money would be better spent being around other women instead of struggling at the last school. I have been here for a few weeks now, and all the teachers and the students were not as friendly as I had hoped.
I was never one to have many friends when I grew up, and my personality tended to make other girls shy away from me. I never really thought much about men, as my mother brought me up believing boys were just plain trouble and pregnancy was a bad thing, and even my dad was just an evil necessity that she tolerated. And my focus on my studies suffered as I just wanted to be accepted by my professors and peers.
I looked around at my classmates, as I watched them conversing with others, while I knew they were all talking about me. I felt lonely as I had yet to meet any girls who wanted to even acknowledge me except to nod or just say hello as they passed by me. I felt lonely and isolated, and now I felt the burden of knowing my teacher was very upset with me. I tried to concentrate as I heard her tell us what our study assignments were for next week's class.
The girls all filed out, some walking by me with grins and some pointing and making comments to their classmates. Much whispering was heard, unintelligible to me, while I could feel my tears welling up in my eyes as I waited for the classroom to empty out. I watched Miss Bannister begin picking up her papers and books and putting them in her briefcase.
I guess she was never married from what I had heard from second-hand conversations. She looked to be in her mid-40's, wearing a black knee-length skirt and white blouse buttoned to her neck. She had piercing blue eyes, but otherwise she was rather plain and her body showed much of her age. Her face was somewhat pretty, but having never seen her smile, it still could pierce your very soul. She was taking her time, as if to draw out the fear that I was feeling inside of me on purpose.
I looked down, seeing the real me. At 24, I was thin but small in stature. I was always the shy, submissive type, which my mother often stated to me during the times she scolded me or saw how I acted around large groups of people. I was average looking, at least that was how I felt about myself. And now I was scared as I heard my name called and I looked up."Miss Marsh, come back to my office in five minutes. Leave your books and studies where they are when you come in. Be prompt!"I sat and stared up at the clock on the wall, watching it ticking away quickly, dreading the final second that would elapse and the unknown of what I was about to face. I heard a faint mumbling from my teacher's office, like she was talking to someone. But I knew she was alone when she had closed her door.