[h3][color=ed1c24]Valeria Rubio[/color]
10:30 am[/h3]
A jarring alarm echoed through the corridor as the new science teacher stumbled out through the doorway of the chemistry lab which spewed clouds of smoke. She kept her sleeve over the lower half of her face as she waved out a group of distressed teenagers, which were hastily pouring out of the lab.

"That's it, come on, move along," Valeria instructed, before letting out a couple of coughs. "Ayy, Ostras! Did I not specifically tell all of you to watch where you dump your waste?"

A careless student had mixed together certain chemicals they should not have for disposal, and the reaction that resulted had not been pretty. Thankfully, the fire was small enough for Valeria to handle, and she looked back to the class after putting it out, sighing both in relief that everybody involved was unharmed, but also in disappointment at the accident. She knew that she was new to the whole teaching thing, but was it wrong of her to expect that much from the students? With her paper qualifications, there was no doubt that she could grasp her own subject with ease, though, the event that had just occurred was a clear sign that she needed to work on her delivery. All that knowledge was of no use if she could not make the students understand.

Regardless, she was determined to make it work. Some of her best days had been spent as a student at the academy. It was where she had been made to feel truly accepted for her elemental abilities, and she had returned as a staff member in hopes of making a contribution to the experiences of the students that came after her. The memories of training at the academy's isolated fire building still seemed fresh in her mind, and coming back as its teacher-in-charge was almost surreal. She would be making her way there after the lunch break to watch over students who wanted to do some training, and wondered if anything had changed since she had graduated.