001.　The Whole Wide World

　
THE MORNING DAWNED AN UGLY SHADE OF GRAY. Bolts of lightning flashed brightly overhead, followed by loud claps of thunder. Strong winds blew outside the small, second story home, rustling the leaves and knocking branches against the bedroom window. There was a storm blowing through the city, but Sophie Torres-Kepp always slept soundly during them. Ever since she was a kid, they would always calm her. She used to sit on a rocking chair beside her grandmother on the front porch, and they would watch it rain for hours it seemed. However, the woman wasn't sleeping so soundly right now.

In the depths of her mind, Sophie Torres-Kepp was falling. The wind blew rapidly through her hair, whipping the brunettr strands all over the place, and everything was completely dark. Literally. She couldn't see anything. All Sophie knew was that she was terrified. And then, suddenly, it was all over in an instant and she was waking up with a sharp intake of breath.

The woman sat up in bed, skin glistening with a thin layer of perspiration. She took a moment to collect herself, taking some deep breaths. In and out. In and out. She ran her fingers over her face and through her slightly damp hair, trying to calm herself. It was just a dream, Sophie. It was just a dream.

When her heart rate steadied, Sophie opened her eyes and was instantly met by the curious gaze of her feline friend, Patsy. The white ball of fluff was sitting at the end of the bed, staring at the human with dazzling blue eyes. Patsy's head was tilted slightly to the side, as though she was showing concern.

"What?" Sophie asked softly as she locked eyes with her feline companion. Patsy only blinked in response to the question. "You worried about me, girl?"

Of course, she was met with silence. But deep down, Sophie knew that Patsy was, in fact, worried about her. She was a loyal companion, her cat. Sophie had found her abandoned on the side of the road as a kitten and didn't hesitate to take her. That was almost three years ago. Ever since, Patsy hasn't left her side, becoming like a shadow to Sophie. And Patsy was always sitting at the end of the bed whenever she woke up from a terrifying night of sleep.

A soft smile tugged at Sophie's mouth. She patted the mattress beside her and Patsy didn't hesitate to get up and walk over, plopping down beside her favourite human and nuzzling her fluffy face into Sophie's hand. Sophie sat there scratching her head for a moment, causing Patsy to purr and close her eyes in content.

"You don't have to worry about me, girl, these dreams of mine don't bother me anymore," Sophie said reassuringly. "I've learned to live with them by now."

Sadly, that was true.

Sophie has been experiencing these strange dreams for as long as she can remember. In them, she went places. She would explore the city outside her home and see the world. Sometimes, it was even like she was on a different planet or in another dimension. Other times, she was in a completely different, well, time. And then there were the dreams like today where there was nothing but darkness and fear.

These strange dreams used to scare Sophie, wake her up in the middle of the night and keep her awake. She had lost so much sleep as a kid because of them. Because she was too scared to close her eyes and fall asleep. But now, she was used to them. The dreams didn't bother her anymore. She welcomed them every night. Still, there was the rare occasion like today where she would wake up trembling with fear.

Glancing at the clock sitting on her bedside table, Sophie sighed and looked down at Patsy with a frown. "Alright, girl, I've gotta get up and get ready for work." She leaned down, placing a gentle kiss to the top of Patsy's head before climbing out of bed.

Sophie grabbed her robe and jammed her cold feet inside a pair of cozy slippers. She left her bedroom, going into the bathroom to begin her daily morning routine. Once she was done, she splashed some water over her face and re-entered the bedroom to continue getting ready for the day.

Thunder clapped overhead as Sophie rummaged through her drawers for something to wear. After picking out an outfit, she got dressed and brushed her hair, tossing it up into a simple ponytail. She applied some make-up and gave Patsy another scratch on the head before leaving the bedroom and making her way downstairs.

In the kitchen, Sophie started making herself some breakfast. She wasn't particularly hungry this morning, so she settled for something simple, grabbing an english muffin and popping it into the toaster. As she waited for her breakfast to heat up, she moved to start brewing herself some coffee with the Keurig. She loved the machine and has used it every single day since winning it at the charity raffle at work last year.

She filled a to-go mug with her favourite brew and took a much-needed sip. The toaster dinged as she placed the mug back on the counter, and she moved to collect her breakfast. She carefully placed the english muffins on a plate and smothered them with some home-made blackberry jam. It was her grandmother's secret family recipe, and Sophie loved the jam so much that she always made sure to visit the farmer's market for some fresh blackberries so she could make herself some more before she ran out.

After eating, Sophie put her plate in the sink and washed her hands. Then, she got to work feeding Patsy some breakfast. She grabbed the cat bowl from the cabinet and scooped some of Patsy's homemade tuna blend inside. The white ball of fluff rubbed up against her human's legs and began meowing excitedly.

Sophie smiled and bent down, placing the food bowl on the floor. Patsy looked up at her and meowed, brushing into her hand before diving head first into the breakfast bowl. Sophie remained there for a moment, stroking Patsy's back as the feline ate. "I'll see you later, girl. Enjoy your breakfast and get a nice cat nap for the both of us."

With that, Sophie grabbed her keys and purse, locking up the house and walking out the door. It was raining outside, the storm still raging on like when she first woke up this morning. She didn't bother taking out the umbrella from her purse and just rushed down the porch steps towards her car.

Sophie threw her purse into the passenger seat once she was inside, and she took a sip from her mug before pulling out of the driveway. She waved at her neighbour as she drove down the road, and the sweet, widowed Mrs. Nelson waved back from her usual place on the porch swing.

It usually only took Sophie fifteen minutes to drive to work, but with people being extra cautious due to the heavy weather this morning, she arrived in twenty-five minutes. She parked and jumped out of her car, rushing towards the school before she would be completely soaked. Her co-worker, Chelsea Bradshaw, gasped when she almost slipped and fell on the sidewalk.

"Jesus, Sophie!" Chelsea shouted over the raging storm, rushing over and taking Sophie by the arm and ushering the woman underneath her umbrella. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Sophie reassured, cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "Thanks for the assistance, that wouldn't have been pretty."

"Don't mention it," Chelsea replied.

They reached the front of the building and found themselves safely under the awning where it was mostly dry. There, Chelsea shook out her umbrella and closed it. Not wanting her umbrella to leave hazardous puddles along the school hallways, Chelsea grabbed an umbrella bag from the rack by the door and shoved it inside.

"So," Sophie began as she opened up the door, allowing Chelsea to walk in first, "how was your weekend?"

"It was okay," Chelsea replied. "I finished some errands that needed to be done, did some laundry, and saw a movie with Erin. What about you?"

Nothing. As always.

Sophie shrugged. "Nothing much. Just hung around and watched movies with Patsy. Oh, and by the way, I'm going down to the farmer's market tomorrow if you want to join me," she offered kindly, knowing how much Chelsea enjoyed going with her.

Chelsea's eyes lit up at the mention of the farmer's market. "Count me in. Erin has been on a real health kick lately. She signed up for a marathon next month and started training last week, and honestly, this whole thing is driving me up the walls."

"Why is that?"

They entered the teacher's lounge and Chelsea immediately got to work brewing a fresh pot of coffee for the staff. "She's been making these kale smoothies that taste like absolute shit. Don't get me wrong, I love the woman, but I literally cannot stand this new health kick she is on. I think I've lost about ten pounds myself just throwing up all the shitty smoothies she makes us for breakfast."

Sophie chuckled. "The things we do for love, right?"

"Tell me about it," Chelsea scoffed.

"Well, I better get my classroom situated before all the kiddos show up," Sophie sighed, pushing off the doorframe. "Have a good day, Chelsea. See you for lunch?"

Chelsea gave a thumbs up in response as she sipped on her freshly brewed coffee.

Sophie left the teacher's lounge, making her way down the hallway towards her classroom. All the lights were already on, courtesy of the principal. He was an early riser and always showed up before everyone else to get the school ready for the day. She walked inside and looked around to make sure the cleaning crew hadn't messed anything up. Thankfully, they hadn't.

Sophie shed her coat and threw it over the back of her desk chair before sitting down for a moment. She got everything situated on her desk, making sure that she had everything she would need for today before putting her purse inside one of the drawers so that it wouldn't get in the way. Then, she got to work preparing the classroom.

Today, they were going to practice their alphabet some more, as a few of the kids were still struggling with it. She planned to read another book as well, this one about found family. But first, she was going to give her students a family tree assignment. She was going to let them draw some pictures of their family for a while and then send them home with a tree ⎯⎯ which they were going to make today out of construction paper and glue and whatever else the kids wanted to use ⎯⎯ to decorate with pictures and whatever else they wanted. Then, later in the week, the kids would bring their trees in and everyone would get a chance to talk about their families to the entire class.

Sophie began by setting out some boxes of crayons and stacks of white paper and construction paper, making sure each group of desks had everything that the kids would need for the day. And as time went on, the classroom began to fill up with the usual thirteen kids that Sophie adored with all her heart. Each one greeted her as they walked inside, and she smiled right back down at them, watching as they hung up their backpacks and lunch boxes in their assigned areas before finding a desk and sitting down, talking amongst themselves.

Once the classroom was filled and all the kids had found a place to sit down, Sophie crossed the room and closed the door. She then turned to look at her class, a smile stretching across her face. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning, Miss Torres!" they said together in unison while grinning.

"How is everyone doing today?" Sophie asked as she grabbed her clipboard to quickly take attendance before they started. With just one look around the room, she knew everyone was present. However, it was mandatory. It was her job to take attendance every day and mark it down on the form.

Once more, the children spoke in unison while grinning, "Good!"

Sophie loved to entertain the kids every single day. She strived to make them smile and laugh, as it brought her much joy to see them being happy and enjoying their kindergarten days. So, she began each morning with a unique way of taking attendance.

Crossing the room, Sophie turned on the radio, playing some children's tunes. The music didn't have any lyrics but the kids seemed to enjoy the beat, always dancing whenever she played it. And as if on cue, the kids began bobbing their heads and giggling in anticipation, waiting for their teacher to start taking attendance.

She began by calling out each name individually. And when that kid was in attendance, they would get up and do an adorable little dance to the music before she would move onto calling out the next name. Laughter filled the room as each kid stood and busted a unique dance move. By the time she got to the last kid, everyone was red in the face from laughing and dancing.

"Alright, let's settle down now," Sophie said, her own laughter dying down by now as moved to turn the radio off. She put her clipboard away and began walking the room, maneuvering between the desks. "Today, we're going to be doing some special arts and crafts about our families."

The kids perked up at the mention of getting to do some arts and crafts, causing Sophie to smile down at their eager little faces.

"I want each of you to pick out some paper and crayons and draw some pictures of your family," Sophie told them. Immediately, the kids launched forward and began shuffling through the supplies she had set out for them, taking what they wanted to use for this assignment. "You can draw as many pictures as you would like, and you can have you and your family doing whatever you want in them. You can be playing in the park, battling monsters in a kingdom, exploring in space, whatever your little heart's desire."

While the kids got to work drawing their families, Sophie casually drifted around the room. She would often bend down near one of the kids and compliment their work, praising them with a smile. At some point, she approached her desk for a sip of coffee, but her eyes never left her students. Sophie watched them draw with a smile on her face, said smile occasionally widening when she saw the kids proudly show off their work and talk about their families to each other.

So many people in the world hated their jobs, feeling like they were trapped doing what they do for a living. And more often than not, teachers dread every day, not particularly fond of the group of children they teach or happy with the hours of work they spend grading papers or supervising detention. But not Sophie Torres-Kepp. No, she loved everything about her job. And she loved these thirteen kids with every ounce of her heart.

She wouldn't trade this job for anything in the whole wide world.

a/n: well there you have it, the first chapter! i know it was kind of boring, but it was meant to be an introduction to who sophie torres is and what she does everyday. but don't worry, she'll be meeting diego in the next chapter!