What it Takes

“She doesn’t have what it takes.  Just look at what she’s wearing.  She’ll never make it through the first day.”  Suzette leaned back in her chair and watched the new English teacher set her bag down onto her desk.  She was the third one we’ve had this year and we weren’t even through the fall semester. 

Suzette was one of the biggest problems getting teachers to leave.  She was ruthless if she thought the teacher was going to be too soft.  She could push buttons at a moment’s notice.  Suzette crossed her arms and I waited for her to pounce.  Our new teacher looked like she could actually be nice and possibly even confident. 

As Suzette stared her down, I watched Mrs. Taylor size her up as well.  I knew this would be a fight for the ages.  The real question was who would fall first.  Suzette had years of being the youngest child on her side, but Mrs. Taylor looked like she had plenty of experience. 

The battle started the next day when Suzette strolled into class five minutes late like it was no big deal.  She took her time stretching before she sat down and loudly stacked her notebooks on her desk.   

“Suzette, I’ll need you to stick around for a few minutes after class,” Mrs. Taylor called over the bell signaling the end of class.  When Suzette finally came out, her face was ashen, but was still defiant.  I had to know what my aunt had said.