THE STORM cloud didn't stop at the door.

When Poppy walked into the room, all she saw were rows upon rows of desks, which weren't set up in group pods, and the cubbyholes in the back were so tiny, Poppy worried her backpack wouldn't fit.

The lights were off, making the only source of light in the room the small projector that was lighting up the white board with things to do and places to put things.

And Mrs. Banks herself was sitting at the large teacher's desk in the back.

She wasn't as scary on the outside as Poppy thought she would be. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun, her white cardigan was wrapped around her body, and her white framed glasses sat on the edge of her nose.

She didn't look like a witch. 

Poppy walked to the back of the classroom, taking careful note of the name tags she passed. It would be so embarrassing if she had to look all over the classroom to find her seat. She was trying to make a good impression.

Poppy placed her backpack and folders in her assigned cubbyhole, and walked to the other side of the room. She slowly made her way up the row, sighing with relief when she saw her seat.

For some unknown reason, Poppy's heart was beating and her arms were tingling. It must have been the nerves.

She hoped it was the nerves.

Fellow classmates walked into the room, each placing their things in their cubby and finding their seat. Poppy was glad she was one of the first in the room; it had taken her a while to find her seat.

Finally, the real bell rang and Mrs. Banks moved to the front of the classroom.

"Hello. I would like to start this class by saying the rumors you have most likely heard about me are true," Mrs. Banks's voice was clipped, her words precise. 

A shiver ran down Poppy's spine.

"My name is Mrs. Banks, and if you behave, we will get along just fine. Now that you all have been seated, please direct your attention to the board. This is where you will find what you need to complete in the morning. It will be a preview of the day's English, Math, and Science lessons, so I expect you to do your work each morning." Mrs. Banks's speech continued, causing Poppy to sink into her hard red chair a little bit more.

How on Earth was she going to survive a whole year with Mrs. Banks?

THE FIRST sign that the world was not ending was recess.

Poppy quickly put her pencil down and walked to the door, worried about what Mrs. Banks would say if she ran.

Fortunately, the line at the door was already long, so Poppy and the others were ushered to recess rather quickly by a old woman with smile lines around her eyes.

The instant Poppy walked out of the classroom, her posture relaxed, and she felt happier. Poppy hoped she wasn't alone in the feeling of complete relief as her class walked in a straight line to the playground.

The doors were opened, and Poppy immediately ran to the yellow monkey bars, her and Charlie's designated meeting spot.

Soon after Poppy finished her first lap on the monkey bars, Charlie emerged from the school and ran towards Poppy with a huge smile on her face.

"Poppy! I'm so glad to see you. Mr. DeMange is the greatest teacher in the world. He let us make a drawing of our family and show it to the class, and after lunch we're going to learn how to make those paper doll chain things," Charlie was out of breath from running, so after rushing all of her words out at once, she bent at the waist to catch her breath.

While her friend was bending down, facing the ground, Poppy had time to compose herself. How was it that Poppy had gotten the worst teacher ever, and Charlie had gotten the best?

But when Charlie grinned up at Poppy, Poppy grinned back. 

"Mrs. Banks is super mean," Poppy said. "It's the first day of school and we already have math homework."

Charlie kept smiling, as if she hadn't heard about Poppy's horrible, if sugarcoated, day. Instead, Poppy's BFF turned towards the monkey bars and said, "Like last year. We can race!"

Charlie sped to the other side of the monkey bars, showing her recently improving gymnastics skills. Poppy was jealous of all the time Charlie got to spend at Core Elite, the best gymnastics gym in the whole town. But she knew Mom didn't have time to take her to lessons, so Poppy never complained.

Instead, she followed her best friend across the monkey bars and back, and it felt like fourth grade again. When Poppy and Charlie were in the same class and all was right in the world.

But all good things had to come to an end, and when Poppy banged her mouth on the monkey bars, she knew her carefree attitude was gone,

"Ow ow ow," Poppy said, cradling her mouth. Blood was all over her hand. Her mouth was pulsing with pain, and Poppy was in shock.

Charlie ran to grab the recess aid, quick to come back. "It's going to be okay," was all she said before Poppy was led to the nurse's office.

The sterile room smelled like sickness, and Poppy immediately wanted to leave.

Ms. Henderson helped Poppy clean up her mouth, and made sure her tooth was still intact. The only good part of this situation was that the tooth fairy would be coming soon.

Sure enough, Poppy was able to return to class, and she trudged regretfully to the fifth grade hallway, gazing longingly at Mr. DeMange's room as she passed.

Mrs. Banks's room was like sticking your head in the freezer, and Poppy shivered as soon as she walked into the room. 

There was only two more hours of school, but there may as well have been ten thousand.

As Poppy predicted, the rest of the day dragged on, and she felt like taking a nap for the first time since she was seven.

"Mom, that was the worst first day of my life," Poppy groaned when she got to Mom's car. "Can you pretty please home school me?"

Mom laughed, shaking her head. "I knew Violet when we were kids. I think you'll like her when you get used to her."

Poppy scrunched her nose at the thought of Mom being young. She preferred to pretend that Mom was simply always thirty-four.

"She gave us homework on the first day. And my tooth is loose because I hit it on the monkey bars."

"Are you okay?" Mom looked Poppy in the eye before continuing. "I'm sure it'll be quick. Normally you do a review of last year at the beginning, right?" Mom was serious, not bothering to pull out of her parking spot. She really wanted Poppy to feel better, it seemed.

"Yeah," Poppy grumbled, hating to be exposed as over dramatic, her tongue sliding to wiggle her tooth.

It was always so much less embarrassing if Mom didn't point out the fact that the sun would rise tomorrow.

Which Poppy knew, but still.

Mom laughed and pulled out of Mater Dei's parking lot, taking the long way to their small house, letting Poppy calm down.

"And I don't understand how Charlie can get the best teacher and I got the worst one."

"Who knows," Mom said, staring out the windshield. "You might actually have the better teacher. You'll just have to get creative with the way you look at this school year, love. You can't always think everything is going to turn against you."

Poppy looked at Mom, a new understanding in her eyes.

"Okay, Mom. Could you help me with my homework when we get home?" Poppy asked, feeling a little bit better. Mom had that effect on Poppy.

"Milkshakes first. It was your first day!"

Poppy smiled for real, happy Mom remembered.

Maybe it would be a good day, after all.

Word Count: 1353

Total Word Count: 2434

Here's the second chapter! And the milestone!

I have had SO MUCH FUN channeling my inner fifth grader. This whole thing has been based off of my elementary school career.

One of the main aspects of this story, actually, is Mrs. Banks, who is based off of a teacher I had in middle school. Literally, we all walked into class, got our seats, and the first thing she said to us was "The rumors I'm sure you've heard about me are true." She ended up being my favorite teacher of all time.

I hope you enjoyed this next segment of Poppy's story, and let me know what you thought! (Also, not gonna lie, Charlie is a little sus... :P)

CJ