The Kindergarten Teacher

The strong black coffee didn’t seem like enough on mornings like this. The students and teachers were coming back from a long weekend. I remember wondering why I started teaching as I watched the students that came into the class herded by parents and older siblings. I smiled and greeted each one, until the last child skipped in, little Billy Drake. As he passed me, he skidded to a halt and with a mischievous smile that didn’t fit the child's shy personality. He winked and I gasped as his features changed. “Well, Mrs. Mullens, I think today will be fun.”

No one else seemed to notice that it wasn’t Billy. I decided to pretend that I didn’t notice either. I went on with our activities, until Billy decided, he had other plans. First, he raced to the back of the class and dumped all the cubbies onto the floor. Then he raced out into the hall and started towards the fire Alarm. I raced after him, but just before I caught him, he disappeared and I heard screaming from my classroom.

I turned afraid of what I would find. When I walked in through the door, I found Billy or the creature, holding a girls finger trying to force it into the paper shredder and he was laughing hysterically. I could not help myself, “You little IMP!” I yelled. He snapped his fingers and everything was right again.

The bell rang making everyone jump. “Recess,” I announced. As the imp that was masquerading as Billy tried to pass, I stopped him. “Not you, you’re staying in here with me.”

“As you wish,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Why are you here?” I asked once the classroom had cleared and I heard the door shut.

“Oh come now Sarah-Joe, you can’t tell me you don’t remember.” The creature lowered his eyes.

I hadn’t been called that since, before the accident when, I was a child. Then it all came crashing back. All the years they kept me in that horrible place, the pills just to make me forget, to help me be normal. Why was this happening again?

“They told me you forgot. I didn’t believe them,” he said with ugly frown on his face.

“You’re not real!” Tears were rolling down my face. “They said that I hurt them, and you didn’t come back and fix it. Why didn’t you come back?”

“I’m here now, Sarah-Joe. Come with me. We can have fun again. I knew you would remember! “

My mind replayed the memory of the fire from so many years ago. Watching as My mother screamed the flames engulfing her. I blinked back the tears. “NO. You hurt them. They thought it was me.”

Only one person had ever believed me. they had taught me, how to get rid of those imps should they ever bother me again. That was what finally allowed me to move on with my life. To get past the painful memories and become somebody that could help other children.That, memory brought the strength I needed to vanish him. I could remember the silly verse. “Imp stumble, Imp fall, Imp leave once and for all!” When I finished the verse, in front of me was the real Billy.

“Are the monsters gone?” Billy cried, trying to wipe the tears away quickly so I could not see them.

“Yes, they’re gone. Are you okay, would you like to go to the nurse?”

He shook his head and looked at me with his big blue eyes.
“Thank you Miss Mullen.” He gave me a quick hug and ran to his seat his face beat red.

Then the bell rang and I watched as the children came back. Perhaps I should make the next part of our day story time. They could learn that silly little verse. That is when I realized, why I did this. The children, someone had to protect them.

This was written using the prompt 'Imp' for the Contest "Invalid Item"  for the week of July 19-25 2009. This came in second place that week. This has been modified and the word cout increased from the original size of less than 500 words.