about this time mark bronsky would have been standing in an over crowded class room jammed full of vietnamese year 11 kids who were eagerly awaiting the results of yesterdays mathematics test. he would be handing back papers making encouraging comments to an attentive classroom, these kids respected him, they always looked forwards to mr. bronsky's class, he was funny, always laughing, telling them silly jokes and making his silly faces, not like the other teachers who read from a text book and never smiled. plus he actually cared about their education, he encouraged learning and the pursuit of knowledge and he had a respect for them and where they had come from.
as he walked passed a desk he heard the sigh of disappointment and exclamation, 'i got a D minus!'
he spun around with a smile and leaned in on louis, 'louis, D minus is not a good mark granted but it was hard test and you tried your best. math is a complex subject and it takes time to understand numbers and you have plenty of time to improve. if you want to get higher marks you may have to study twice as hard but you can get there, and get straight A's. you just need to make time to study.'
louis looked sadly up, 'will you help me, uncles going to be angry with me.'
mark took the paper back and made some adjustments with his pen, 'yeah look let's make it a B plus but you have to promise me to do some extra study. i can help you if you're having trouble?' 
a girl next to louis yelled out, 'can i get my grade changed as well.'
'no rita, absolutely not, your smart enough when it comes to math.'
mark knew louis would probably get whacked over the head from his uncle, he understood the complex dynamic louis faced every time he went home with a grade less than B or A, the parents of most of these children had very high standards on the expectation they would achieve and do better than they had done, making the most of the opportunity they had been given. it was a balancing act, these kids were here to be educated but they were also just kids so changing the grade wasn't such a big deal, he could do that and louis was the kind of kid that would improve, he had poor mathematical ability but he understood the value of self discipline.
he walked past the empty desk where poe usually sat, he hadn't come into school today, this was occurring far to frequently, mark noted. 
it was poe that he really worried about, that kid had a very strange home life, living with his uncle who obviously neglected him, jesus, there were times mike felt really concerned about him, once poe had turned up in his pajamas to school sporting a welt upon his legs that looked very suspicious but poe insisted he was okay and mike reluctantly left it alone. however he always kept his eye out and started writing a journal of anything suspicious as he needed to be certain of his facts before he made an allegation that would disrupt poe's life further. 


mark had a deep satisfaction, after three years of teaching he knew he was good at his chosen profession, he was master of his domain, respected by his students and fellow teachers alike he was still in his mid twenties, and had his whole life ahead of him. 
gazing out from the window during lunch he would be looking at the children playing outside, he would miss them. at least he would be giving four months notice, that way he could see his commitment to his students through and in the meantime he could seek out something with a little more responsibility, something a little challenging.
oddly enough it was the headmaster who approached mark first.
it was later that week while mark was practising his resignation speech before the morning started when the headmaster knocked on his door and said, 'perhaps we could have a few moments in my office.' 
mark worried that the head had found out his plans and was about to circumvent them with some sort of persuasive discussion about becoming the department head. he followed him into the office where they sat in the academic ambience of leather upholstery and teak furniture. they made a little small talk for a few minutes when the head asked mark if he was happy at fairmount high.
'well it is funny you should mention that as i have been thinking about my career and what i would like to do. i do love the school but i have been thinking about my options lately, i do feel a little stagnant at the moment, a change may do me good.'
the head nodded in agreement and as mark spoke, he leaned back on his chair and smiled which made mark nervous and uncomfortable.
mark rambled on, filling in the silence but eventually stopped and waited for a response.
what followed, he could have never seen that coming.


even though i didn't know mark at this time, i could see the picture very clearly, i could see myself looking through his eyes at his classroom, expectant children with their strange little faces filled with joy, i can see the headmaster sitting back wondering what mark would make of the proposition he was about to make. i can see it all through the sad cloudy eyes of retrospect it seems like i have known mark forever.