Post by Professor Benjamin Morrow on Jul 8, 2017 12:19:55 GMT -6
After two years, Ben thought the start of a new term might get easier, but halfway through the first week of classes, he found himself just as exhausted as he had been in his first first week. After his last class of the day, he dropped the pile of homework assignments on the already-cluttered desk in his office and headed for the teacher's lounge. He needed a break.
Compared to the rest of the castle, the room was an oasis of silence. Someone had requested that the house elves keep a table stocked with coffee, tea and treats in the room. Ben helped himself to a large mug of tea and a peanut butter cookie, then found a spot on one of the worn sofas. He sipped his tea and allowed himself to relax.
Of course, it wasn't long before a flood of thoughts rushed back into his brain, demanding to be dealt with. He needed to schedule meeting with some of his older students to talk about their career ambitions. He had to figure out research projects to assign his classes and find time to talk to librarians about helping his students find what they needed for those projects. He still had not assigned new prefects for the school year, something he was sure the headmaster would get on his case for. He needed to talk to the other heads of houses about the traditional bonfire, which was coming up that weekend. A disgruntled parent had sent him a Howler at breakfast that morning because her child wasn't happy about the roommate assignments in Boreas. And, somewhere in all of this, he still wanted to find time to continue his research on the founders of the school, a project which seemed to have hit a complete dead end.
Ben set down his mug to rub his temples. I love my job, he reminded himself. I really do love my job...
The door creaked open, startling Ben out of his thoughts. His knee jostled the table with his mug of tea, which sloshed onto the table. "Dungbombs," Ben muttered and fished around for his wand. He found a crumpled napkin in his pocket first and used that to clean up the spill.
"I hope your first week back is going better than mine," he said to the new arrival.
Compared to the rest of the castle, the room was an oasis of silence. Someone had requested that the house elves keep a table stocked with coffee, tea and treats in the room. Ben helped himself to a large mug of tea and a peanut butter cookie, then found a spot on one of the worn sofas. He sipped his tea and allowed himself to relax.
Of course, it wasn't long before a flood of thoughts rushed back into his brain, demanding to be dealt with. He needed to schedule meeting with some of his older students to talk about their career ambitions. He had to figure out research projects to assign his classes and find time to talk to librarians about helping his students find what they needed for those projects. He still had not assigned new prefects for the school year, something he was sure the headmaster would get on his case for. He needed to talk to the other heads of houses about the traditional bonfire, which was coming up that weekend. A disgruntled parent had sent him a Howler at breakfast that morning because her child wasn't happy about the roommate assignments in Boreas. And, somewhere in all of this, he still wanted to find time to continue his research on the founders of the school, a project which seemed to have hit a complete dead end.
Ben set down his mug to rub his temples. I love my job, he reminded himself. I really do love my job...
The door creaked open, startling Ben out of his thoughts. His knee jostled the table with his mug of tea, which sloshed onto the table. "Dungbombs," Ben muttered and fished around for his wand. He found a crumpled napkin in his pocket first and used that to clean up the spill.
"I hope your first week back is going better than mine," he said to the new arrival.
