In For It

There was no getting out of this one. Mrs Baker was the only teacher I was afraid of. She was the only teacher who could make me do something. “What on earth are you doing?!” she shrieked. I winced as the harsh words pierced my ears. At this point, I could feel the blood draining out of my face. “I’m—well I was just—um. Decorating, miss.” I stammered, sure I was “in for it”. Mrs Baker sighed and shuffled over toward me, accidentally stumbling over a loose brick. She coughed, composed herself and looked up. I expected her reaction to be shocked, utterly shocked, that she would shriek and scream and spit in my face constantly scolding me without pause but to be honest, I think I was the more shocked of the two of us. I’m not sure if it was the trick of the light or my eyes were just deceiving me or if it actually happened. She nodded. Simply put, she nodded.