It was Monday, and that meant that Ayumi had to head to school to go teach her eager students. Even in the early morning, the thought still brought a smile to her face. She loved what she did, and she couldn’t imagine there ever being a time where she didn’t.
Ayumi moved out of her bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom, freshening up. She brushed her teeth and hopped into the shower, then changing into a simple outfit: a black button-up and a pair of jeans splattered with paint.
She headed to the kitchen, grabbing a bowl of cereal and sitting down at the counter, looking through the messages she’d received on her phone. One from her sister, Kaori, confirming that she’d come into Northfield for their parent’s anniversary dinner on the weekend. She sent out a quick reply, then put the reminder on her phone.
It wasn’t long after that Ayumi headed down to Saint Mary’s Primary School, where she worked as an early years teacher.
The kids filed into the classroom, and soon the music she always played before they came in was drowned out by their loud chatter. Most of them wore spring coats, since it was March and still pretty cool. This morning was different, the kids knew, and the ones who wore coats didn’t take them off.
Ayumi clapped her hands to a beat, and after she finished the kids followed the clap exactly, just as they’d been taught to do. She walked to the front of the room, a big smile on her face. “Good morning, class,” she called to them.
“Good morning, Miss. Sato,” they replied in unison.
She took a seat on the desk in the front of the classroom, and as she did so the children filed into their seats as well. Ayumi crossed her legs high at the knee. “Can anyone tell me what we’re doing today?” She asked, her gaze sweeping over the smiling kids.
Many hands shot up into the air. Ayumi picked a particularly eager redheaded girl, Kenna, who was waving her hand frantically in the air. “We’re going on a field trip!”
She smiled, nodding at Kenna. “Yes, we are. To Kensington. That means you lot have to be on your best behaviour, yeah?”
“Yes, Miss. Sato.”
A pause, then a grin overtook Ayumi’s face. “Well, come on then, let’s go!” She hopped off the table and walked to the front of the classroom, before leading them out of the school and onto the bus.
One bus ride later, 27 excited five-year-olds bounded from the steps of the bus and onto the park, running towards a bewildered-looking park ranger who clearly hadn’t worked with kids of this age before. Ayumi couldn’t help but sneak a laugh behind on her hand; he was in for a lot today. The parent volunteers followed after the kids, but Ayumi lingered behind the whole group, taking in the park as she moved along slowly. She did a count of the students, and her brow furrowed as she realized that she was missing one. Her gaze danced across the park, looking for the kid who’d drifted from the group, until—there.
Alex, a pesky, chubby little boy was standing beside a bench where a girl was sitting. Clutched in his fist, Ayumi could see, was some mud that he must’ve picked up from the ground. Her eyes widened. Oh bloody hell, she thought. She started to run, calling, “Alex, put that down!”
Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
Mere centimetres before she’d gotten to the bench, she saw it sailing through the air, towards the poor innocent girl who was the latest victim of Alex’s mishaps.
“And landed!” The boy said, the toy phone his parents had gotten him for his birthday pressed to his ear. “The rocket has landed on the planet!” He crowed, laughing.
@elixr - Hye-Jin
