Something about how Stephanie was dressing seemed a bit wrong to Melissa ... but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed right. After all, Stephanie was one of the newest teachers at the school ... right? But wait ... if Stephanie was a teacher, then shouldn't Melissa be thinking of her as Miss Wright? Why was she thinking of her as her equal? Melissa was so confused right now.
Stephanie reached out and grabbed Melissa's shoulder. "Maybe you should lie down. You don't look so well."
Melissa shrugged it off. "No, I'm fine. I have a class to get to. It won't teach itself, you know." Odd, why did she just say that? It was almost as if she thought she was a teacher.
But then Melissa blinked. Of course she was a teacher. How could she think otherwise? She adjusted her "granny glasses" that had a chain attached to them, so that she could just let them hang from her neck when she wasn't using them, then headed to her class.
Stephanie watched her walk down the hall, now dressed in a professional blouse and skirt ensemble herself, thinking that the young woman's appearance was a little too old fashioned for her tastes, but Melissa Smith was one of the best new teachers at the school. Even better than Stephanie herself. She blinked. Wait ... did she just think of herself as a teacher?
"Uh, Miss Wright?" came the voice of a student.
Stephanie turned around and looked at the girl. She recognized her. It was Zelda Whitefield. Why did she refer to her as Miss Wright? They were friends, weren't they? But the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed possible. After all, Stephanie was in her early 20's ... while this girl, looking quite strange in her cybergoth attire, was clearly no older than 15, maybe less than that.
"What is it?" she asked the student.
"I don't know why, but it feels like something is wrong. I remember you ... you were my friend ... but now ... you're a teacher. And the classes I'm taking ... they seem so hard. Way harder than they should be."
Stephanie blinked, suddenly realizing the problem. "Well, of course they're hard, my dear. You don't belong here. You're far too young to be attending high school. How did you get here, anyway?"
"Not in high school?" Zelda asked.
"Come on. I'll take you to see the principal. We can sort all of this out and get you to where you belong," Stephanie said, holding out her hand.
Zelda took it, then was led to the school office.
