1
MIA
PLAYLIST: HIGH HOPE – JOSIE EDWARDS
“Last question for today,” I say to my class. “We talked about all the plants, their parts, and what they do, and why taking care of the environment is so important. Now, if you were a plant, how would you take care of yourself?”
“I’d drink aaaaaall the water there is,” shouts a girl and adds very seriously. “I’d be Hulk plant.”
“You can’t be Hulk, you’re a girl,” says one of the boys in a tone I do not allow.
“Tone, Timmy. Everyone can be Hulk,” I tell him. “Also, both of you, we like raised hands here,” I say and chuckle. I know they’re all ready for the weekend and can’t wait to get home. “But let’s think about it for a moment. What would happen to a plant if it gets too much water?”
“It drowns,” says another girl.
“Right,” I say. “So the right amount is important.”
“But I’m Hulk-Plant!” says the girl, defiantly. “Hulk can drink anything in any amount and do anything.”
I smile. I love my class so much. I’ve been teaching them for three years now—my first own class, and there’s nothing in the world I’d switch it for.
I release my class for the weekend, tidy up the classroom a bit, and then head to the staffroom. I have to prepare for next week, when I’ll take my class to my community gardening projectfor some hands-on experience. I also have to get the materials for the other lessons ready, or I won’t do it until Monday morning at the last minute. I might be a teacher now, but organising myself is like doing homework in the morning before class.
Unless I do it now. So, it’ll be a long day for me, not that I mind. I don’t have any other plans anyway. While others my age go out drinking and partying to forget their stressful corporate jobs or find ‘The One’, I like to stay home, reading books, knitting, and cuddling with my two cats. If not for my very outgoing roommate, I wouldn’t even know what's going on in the party scene of London.
I’m head deep into designing a worksheet for the kids next week, when a male voice rips through my mind.
“Still here?” asks Robert, a colleague of mine. He’s my age—I know because we studied together, and it was quite nice to have a familiar face when I started teaching here in Greenwich.
I lived almost my entire life on the other side of London, in Tottenham, while Robert has lived in Greenwich since birth. If I am not completely wrong, he still lives with his family because he takes care of his sick mother. If it comes to men, I never had any inclination to like them, but he is one of the nicer ones. Very engaged with his class, and well, he’s taking care of his sick mother.
“Could ask you the same,” I say, looking up. He sits down next to my laptop on the table.
“What are you preparing?” he asks as he looks at what I am doing.
“I have this community garden,” I say, “ You know, the one at Brockley Station. And we plan to visit there. I prepared a little rally for them with the other gardeners, so they can learn about growing different crops, beekeeping, and stuff like that.”
“What a great idea,” he says. “The kids need more nature.”
“Agreed,” I say. I want him to leave. I need to finish my preparations.
“Listen, Mia,” he says hesitantly, and stares at his hands. “How about we call it a day and grab some dinner somewhere?”
“I—um,” I stammer, because I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to have dinner with him; I've already got my meal prepped at home. I was also looking forward to finishing the third book in afantasy series I started reading last year, and the last book just came out.
“No strings attached, of course,” he says quickly. “Just as, you know, colleagues, friends. Or we could just get a tea somewhere.”
I am a very nice person, something I am very proud of—most of the time. In moments like this, I genuinely hate myself, because I want to say no, but I can’t. It must’ve taken him so much courage to ask, who would I be to crush him with a no?
“Sure,” I say. “Tea sounds good. I already have plans for dinner with my roommate.” It’s not really a lie, but not the entire truth, so I can live with it.
He smiles broadly.
“Give me ten,” I add. “I have to finish this first.”
Ten minutes later, I find myself walking to a tavern, close to the school, with a wonderful view over the Thames. I have never been in there before, because I don’t go out.
The place is very British, stuffed with picture frames, old clocks, chandeliers, and a sprinkle of everything else. My eyes dart left and right, taking it all in. I feel overwhelmed by it.
