“She was usually an optimistic person but the challenge that faced her on that first day back in a classroom after so many years threatened to overwhelm her.”
She was used to facing challenges! They’d been her bread and butter for the past decade!
But those challenges had usually been something straightforward like decrypting arcane ciphers while a razor cage closed in on you (not her fault!) or dodging angry spirit guardians who did not appreciate someone stepping into their domain (okay… that one was her fault). You know – real challenges. Things with life or death stakes that made you feel truly alive under all the dirt, sweat, and blood.
Until the day you got too slow and ended up suddenly very dead.
Gods, she’d loved it. Students trickled into what was now – regrettably – her lecture hall, and she restrained a dejected sigh. Filtering through the open door was the staccato murmur of twenty somethings (basically children!) passing by on their way to whatever class they’d justified was worth the extortionate amount of money they’d paid. The sound grated on her already paper-thin patience.
She’d actually forgotten how much she hated academia (the institution, not the concept), and the violent death she’d always been expecting looked more and more tempting by the minute. But no, that luxury had passed her by thanks to that last job… and the payout hadn’t lasted nearly as long as she’d hoped. She’d only gone to Smythe because she was desperate for something to keep her afloat, and she suspected (justifiably!) that he had capitalized on that.
Regardless, she was back. University of Arcadia. Now on the other side of the desk.
As the door swung shut and the last students took their seats, she looked over the lecture hall wearily and thought, “Gods help us all.”
I’m sensing a theme with some of my writing class prompts.
I actually really like the character that I’ve sketched out with this one! There’s something about her voice and exasperation here that I find really compelling and funny. I’m going to keep this one in my back pocket to work on later and make into a longer narrative when the inspiration strikes.
That’s all for me this today! Please like, comment, and share if you enjoy what you’ve read.
Above all, be kind to one another.
Love, Charlotte
Blue Orchid 