[ WP ] A substitute teacher falls in love with the absent teacher from their notes .

I had been dragged out with the girls last night on a tour of the clubs in town so felt like death when I was suddenly woken by the big old alarm clock by my bed. At least I hadn ’ t been drinking, I don ’ t think I could have gotten up at all if I had been, but as it was I had stayed sober, knowing I had to work today. 
 
 I got ready as quickly as possible and tried to make myself look presentable but still felt uneasy on the drive into work: worrying about my slightly scruffy hair, my unfinished make-up and messed up nails. The school I was working at this day had a terrible reputation so that was making it even worse – knowing that if I made a single mistake, then the students here would undoubtedly jump on it and tear me apart. I was hoping that would only be figuratively but due to some of the wild rumours I had heard I was pretty scared that they may just literally tear me apart too. 
 
 The minute I stepped in that classroom it all seemed to change though; the rest of the school was a mess but this small classroom was clearly looked after by the teacher and respected by the pupils. The guy I was substituting for had left a couple envelopes on the desk but I only noticed these after being nosy about everything else in the room, finding whole draws filled with sweets and motivational leaflets, this guy was serious about teaching. The envelopes had instructions on the envelopes: one said to open it before the day started, and the other after the day ended. 
 
 The first started short and sweet: 
 
 “ It ’ s going to be okay, just smile and above everything be encouraging! – J ” 
 
 Then going into basic instructions for the tasks he wanted me to complete today. It was looking like it may all be good after all – nothing to be nervous about! It wasn ’ t long until the students started entering though and I was getting instant death stares. It seems that they don ’ t like to miss out on lessons from this guy and I knew I would be terrible in comparison of course. 
 
 I smiled though and I tried to be encouraging and so my morning went well. I spent the rest of the day doing marking until my last class. The marking was incredible, I was constantly catching myself laughing as I flicked back through the books to see jokes and pictures which ‘ J ’ had scribbled onto the ends of certain pieces of work. 
 
 I tried my best to mark up to his standard but felt drained by the time they all started filing into the room once more. I did it though, I forced on that smile and I told them that they could do it when they were yelling out that they were stuck and that they hated the work. It was such a relief to finally sit back in that big leather desk chair and open the second letter, waiting to be cheered up by advice, or a drawing or something. I wanted this guy to tell me that I did well, that I should be proud, just like he had told all his students; I needed to hear that. The note was simple though: 
 
 “ Thanks for filling in for me, and remember to check your back – a couple of them like to stick ‘ kick me ’ notes onto substitute teachers - J ” 
 
 The sadness I felt at seeing that this was all I got from this guy whose world I had been living in for the day crushed me. It was then that I realised the power he had gained over me; this ‘ J ’ had completely won my heart in the way he had looked after his pupils and obvious love for his job. 
 
 I realised I loved him – and I needed to find him. 

