Dear Reader,
Today's Honorable Mention piece from this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest, was written by Angela Jeffries.
Angela said, "I (briefly) worked as a Substitute Teacher while I was in college and entertained the thought of majoring in Education. This [story] is one of the reasons it was brief..."
I was scheduled to sub and woke up enthused about it, as it would be working in a school that I had worked in before and was known as a reliable fill in. But when I came out to my trusty 1988 Ford Escort, the doors and windows were frozen shut that winter day. No matter how hard I tried, none of the doors, nor the hatchback would budge--everything was completely frozen. Not wanting to be late, the only idea I could come up with was to throw hot water at the driver's side door. It worked! I was on my way, singing along to my radio, and dismissing the little crystalline noises I heard coming from the outside.
I pulled into the school's parking lot just as the final warning bell was ringing and I was excited to have made it on time. And then--my car door wouldn't open! I pushed and pushed, and it wouldn't budge! I pounded and shoved to no avail; the driver's side door wouldn't open. I tried the passenger side door--no luck! I crawled into the backseat--tried both doors and the escape hatch on the trunk--nothing. My car was a literal ice cube! I climbed back into the front seat, just as I heard the Pledge of Allegiance being read over the loudspeakers. Great--I was now officially late! I sat there in disbelief and had no idea what to do. Suddenly a car pulled up next to me--I frantically tried to roll down my window--managed about an inch and explained to the harried teacher my situation. She promised to send help--but was more concerned about being late and left me sitting in my frozen mobile.
Morning announcements came over the loudspeakers, and still I sat. First period bell--no one in sight. Finally, I saw the front doors open--and out came the Principal and Vice Principal, shaking their heads. They came over to me, barely suppressing their laughter. They tried all the doors too, then told me to pull around to the Auto Shop classroom, they would alert the teacher and students that I was coming. They went back into the building chortling, while I tried to regain my composure. I turned the key in the ignition, and--click! Nothing. Tried again--click--nothing--my battery was dead!
So, I sat--no one in sight. End of first period bell rings. Second period bell rings. I keep trying to start the car, flooding my engine. I try the front doors again--nothing--still frozen solid. I'm in the process of climbing into the backseat, and I hear a rapping on the front window--it's the Vice Principal, asking what I am still doing in the parking lot. I am so overcome by this point, that I barely manage to explain that my battery was dead without bursting into tears. The Vice Principal tells me to sit tight and disappears back into the building. Five minutes later, the Auto Shop class of about 15 students comes out to push my car over to their classroom. Along the way, I see classroom windows open, and both students and teachers' heads poking out, watching the procession. My car and I made it to the auto shop bay, and I was eventually freed from my ice palace.
To say I was embarrassed would be an understatement--I managed to get through the day, enduring the laughter and expressions of pity and disbelief from both staff and students, and the crowning of my new nickname: Subpolar.
That marked the end of my teaching career.
Angela Jeffries
Honorable Mention, 2020 Write a DearReader Contest
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
* Be sure to enter this week's special giveaway sponsored by Ink & Willow. Ten lucky book club winners will receive a copy of To Read or Not to Read: A Literary Journal for the Book Lover's Soul and those same ten winners will also each receive a second prize, randomly selected from the list of Ink & Willow's gift ideas and stocking stuffers, such as Choose Joy, an adult coloring book or 52 Weeks of Gratitude, a thankfulness journal. To enter, click here.
This month's Penguin Classics book is The Cancer Journals, by Audre Lorde, with a foreword by Tracy K. Smith. I have a copy to share with you, so start reading and enter today.
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