Ms Campbell had gingery red hair, tied back in a neat high ponytail, a warm smile and a kind face. Any nerves I had been feeling began to melt away as she smiled at us children and introduced herself. We took our assigned seats and keenly placed our pens and pencils on the desks, although I suspect we were likely more eager to show off our new stationery than to actually write!
Our first assignment was to be the standard ‘the best thing I did over the summer’ essay, and I enthusiastically wrote about visiting granny, enjoying starting to fill up the fresh pages of my new jotter.
As the bell rang for playtime I jumped up from my chair, excited to get out and catch up with my friends. Ms Campbell dismissed the rest of the class, but asked me to stay behind. At this, I was more curious than nervous, as I knew I hadn’t misbehaved in any way.