January Exclusive - "Orientation" - Part 1

Ngatea School, New Zealand

The mug has the school’s name on the outside.

Inside, it’s green tea with mint. Not something Jack would usually drink, and he doubts that the choice of beverage is making much difference to the school principal’s health; Mrs Wilson is a distinctly plump woman in her fifties.

Jack imagines her eating a Snickers and drinking her green tea, deluding herself into believing that one counteracts the other.

Don’t be ugly. A request frequently made by Jack’s mother. Well, the mother Jack got in his twelfth year, when it was really to late for mothering.

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

Jack’s mother has a limitless supply of instructions designed to keep Jack from hurting other people’s feelings. But at the age of 22, Jack has own advice for life, for example, Most people are living in a dream world of their own creation.

Of course, he’s not about to share any of those thoughts with Mrs Wilson. Certainly not on his first day at work.

He sips the tea, smiles and answers Mrs Taylor’s question.

“I’m not a big hugger, no. But I get that these students are special. I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Just thought I would mention it,” Mrs Taylor says, looking at Jack over the rims of her spectacles. “Our boys and girls are very affectionate. It’s sweet, really, but given their adult size, it can be a little jarring at first. Adults acting like excitable little children.”

Jack nods. He’d read the background materials during the flight. Flights. He could have read the school pamphlet a hundred times during the 28-hour trek from Carlisle, Massachusetts to Ngatea, New Zealand. He slept for 10 hours and then arrived at the school for a 9AM start. He makes the time zone arithmetic – 3PM Eastern Time – and wishes he hadn’t. It makes him dizzy to think of it; his first trip outside of the United States, and it’s a doozy.

“Long journey,” says Mrs Taylor, seeming to read his mind. “You must be tired.”

“A little,” Jack says. “I’m good.”

“Your first day will be a gentle one, I promise. Just a chance to meet one of the teachers, and some of the students of course.”

“And my classroom?” Jack is eager to see it. His first teaching job after college, an amazing international opportunity. And an escape from home.

Mrs Taylor drinks from her mug, prompting Jack to do the same. “We’ll have a much better idea of your class once you’ve settled in,” she says, a smile reaching her eyes. “I heaps of traveling myself, and my rule is no big decisions the day after I get back. Jet lag, phew! Leaves me so foggy.” She smiles again. “You must be feeling foggy yourself, eh?”

Jack smiles back. Does he feel foggy? Sure, it was a hell of a trip, and he slept fitfully last night. But he’s young, just 22 years old, fresh out of college. All he had to do was sit on an airplane, so really, how tired should he be?

“All your questions should be answered by the orientation video,” says Mrs Taylor. “My assistant will be through in a minute to take you through to the viewing room.”

“Great,” says Jack.

“I know this is your first teaching position,” she says. “But please don’t worry. We’re going to take such good care of you. You can relax, you can feel perfectly safe here.”

Jack nods. “Sure. Got it.” He does feel safe, he feels relaxed as well. Why wouldn’t he? It’s his first job but he graduated top of his class. He’d been searching for international opportunities – a chance to really leave the nest – and it didn’t surprise him when the New Zealand school reached out.

Mrs Wilson looks at her laptop screen and nods. “Yes, I can see that you’re not comfortable with expressing affection.” She laughs softly. “Not your love language, eh?”

Jack blinks. Where on earth does it say that anywhere in his application? “I don’t think-“ he begins.

The school principal nods again. “Our students require a fair bit of physical attention, but I’m sure you’ll become comfortable with that. Perhaps even learn to enjoy it.” She pats her greying bob of hair with her fingers. “We’re a very special school.”

Jack tries again. He puts the mug of tea down – he’s finished most of it, and there’s an unusual aftertaste on his tongue – and says, “Where are you getting this information about expressing affection from?”

Mrs Wilson looks surprised. “Oh, I thought you knew.” She closes the laptop. “I had a lovely call with your mother.”

Jack stares at the woman. “My…my adoptive mother, you mean.” He shakes his head. “There was no need to contact her, I’m a…” He shakes his head, fumbling for words. He doesn’t feel ‘perfectly safe’ right now, he feels frustrated. “I’m a grown up,” he says tersely. “And that woman isn’t even my biological mother. You didn’t need to call her, you had my school references.”

“Oh, we didn’t call her, she called us.”

Jack frowned. “She shouldn’t have done that. This is a job, not a field trip, I don’t need her to sign off.”

Mrs Wilson give Jack a look he’s seen on so many people’s faces growing up. “She told me about your family history. You’ve been through an awful lot, Jack.”

“She shouldn’t…you shouldn’t know about all that stuff.”

‘No worries,” Mrs Wilson replies. “I’m glad she reached out. And I want you to know Jack, this is a safe environment for learning.”

He racks his brain, imagining what Mom (‘Mom’ since he was 12 years old, ‘Mom’ since she adopted him) could have told the school.

That he was detached? Stand-offish? Mom seemed to take Jack’s unwillingness to kiss and hug as a personal insult.

I’m sorry I didn’t know you as a little boy. I bet you were such a good little cuddler! Now you’re off half-way around the world!

“My adoptive mother,” Jack begins, choosing his words carefully, “is a kind and loving woman. But she worries more than she needs to. She can get a little fixated on things that really don’t matter.”

Like bedtime kisses. God, she wouldn’t even let him get on the plane without giving her a damn hug.

“Now, Jack, it’s okay. Your mother didn’t say anything bad about you. She just said you might need some extra attention. Because it’s your first trip overseas.” Her voice softens. “Because you had to grow up so fast.”

Jack groans. He gives up on choosing his words carefully. “that woman is the very definition of a helicopter parent. She acts like she knows me, but I outgrew the relationship. The very fact that she calls you shows she can’t let go, can’t stop treating me like a child.” He folds his arms. “I feel sorry for her, but I tell you something. I’m glad I came all the way to New Zealand. I’m finally out from under that woman’s shadow.”

Mrs Wilson raises an eyebrow. “I really don’t think she meant any harm. And I think, to be honest, you’re tired from your trip.” Her smile re-appears. “You’ll feel better about all of this once you’ve had some rest.”

Jack snorts. The principal sounds just like his damn mother.

“I don’t need a nap! I’m twenty-two years old!” He points at the laptop. “I don’t need to be taken care of like a…” He cuts off the words ‘idiot’ before it leaves his mouth. He thinks of the students at this school. ‘Idiot’ probably isn’t received with kindness.  But his voice rises as he insists, “You can look up my application, I graduated top of my class.”

Mrs Wilson nods. “I know that, Jack.”

“My director said I’ve got one of the brightest minds she’d ever seen!”

The principal makes a hushing gesture and Jack blushes. “Sorry.”

Mrs Wilson nods. “All good.”

“It’s just…Mom shouldn’t have…she didn’t have to tell you that stuff, it’s not revel…verel…it’s not about…” His face warms as his mouth stumbles. He points at his chest. “I’m a great teacher, I have all the skills.”

He stifles a yawn, but clearly not well enough.

Mrs Wilson smiles. “You’re feeling foggy,” she says.

There’s a knock at the door and a younger woman enters. She looks at Jack and then asks Mrs Wilson, “Ready?”

“Ready.” Mrs Wilson gets up and Jack does the same, the ground spinning a little beneath his feet.

“Jack’s a little foggy,” Mrs Wilson tells the assistant. “Watch he doesn’t fall asleep during the orientation video.”

The assistant laughs. “He wouldn’t be the first one to do that.”

Jack rubs his eyes. His stupid, jet-lagged, eyes. “I’m not foggy,” he says, and then he blushes at the whiny tone in his voice.

Mrs Wilson leads him to the door of her office and pats his arm. “You’re only job today is to listen, okay?

“Sure.”

She looks intently into his eyes as if she’s examining him. “Listen to every word.”

“Okay.”

It’s something of a relief when they walk down the hall to the viewing room. Away from the principal, away from conversations concerning Jack’s mother. Adoptive mother.

“I’m Seren,” says the woman, who must be in her mid to late twenties.

“I’m Jack.”

The woman laughs. “I know that, silly.” She surprises Jack with her English accent. Someone else who took a long flight to get here.

Has she been here long? Jack would ask, but the assistant is busy sitting Jack down in front of a large TV screen.

“Eyes on the prize,” she says, pointing at an image that, when Jack looks, seems to make no sense.

“It’s all…” Jack begins. And then he’s silent.

Seren laughs sweetly. “That’s more words than most people manage. Just watch and listen, sweetheart.”

Jack looks at the screen, the one that makes no sense. A mess of pixels with the occasional, fleeting, hint of an image. As if someone needs to stand on the roof and adjust the aerial, Jack wonders. Or more likely, someone has to fix the settings on the router.

He watches and listens – the sound isn’t any better, jumbled static and whispers – and he feels faint pressure at his wrists and then on his forehead.

“Just strapping you in, nice and snug,” Seren says in a sing-song voice. “You have to watch the whole thing, sweetie, it’s all very important.”

Jack nods. Or at least he would, if he could move his head.

He feels fingers brushing against his crotch, and then a gentle pressing. What a clumsy girl, touching him like that. Perhaps she slipped.

“See you after, Jack. Watch and listen.”

And so Seren isn’t staying to watch the video with him. Which makes sense; she’s probably seen it already. She’s probably already very oriented, she must know it all already.

Jack doesn’t. As he watches and listens, just like Mrs Wilson told him to, just as Seren said, Jack quickly comes to realize that there’s so much, a world of new and essential information, that he didn’t know before.