“Please pay attention, class,” exclaimed Ms. Ruth as she returned to her desk. When she sat, she looked at all the students and, once again, with bewilderment and unforeseen sadness, silently questioned her purpose.

She momentarily retreated into her mind, wondering, “Why now?”, especially with the school year winding down in three weeks. “This is the second time since April break.”

Hearing Maria curiously asking, “Is everything okay, Ms. Ruth?,” abruptly interrupted her self-critique. Realizing the confused look on the students’ faces quickly made her aware of her awkward pause following her customary morning salutations. Then the unexpected, internalized voice of her college mentor from long ago reminded her of the importance of at least presenting a facade that ensures to her students she’s always focused, present, and knows what needs to be done next. Ms Ruth slowly but assertively replied, “I’m fine; just mulling over something.” And without further delay, she stood up, walked to the agenda board, and returned her attention to her planned pedagogical tasks of the day.

She resumed her typical panning glance of the youths she has come to know well, like she does every school year. Noticing Xavier, she asked him if he already had breakfast. She then turned to Melanie and reminded her that she, like every person, matters in this world. For Joseph, who sits beside her desk, she gave him a wink while pointing to the earned rewards on his chart, showing three more stars to go. Then, suddenly, seeing the board-pinned thank-you card her students had given her recently, she understood her purpose. Knowing that the last day of school is approaching fast, she elected to take the card and place it on her desk to serve as a reminder. She then proceeded to teach her first lesson of the day as if the last day of school was several months away. It’s an attitude the students have come to respect in Ms. Ruth.

© 2025 My Musings in a Hundred Words. All rights reserved.

Author’s note (August 23, 2025): The original draft of this piece was more than 100 words. My initial thought was to pare it down to a 100-word post. Upon rereading the published piece several times, I didn’t feel as moved by the short story as I did with the original draft. I decided to publish the original final draft as a 100-word-plus piece in the same post. However, I’m also leaving the initial 100-word piece (posted below), knowing that several readers gave the shorter version a like.

Original Published Piece

“Please pay attention, class,” exclaimed Ms. Ruth as she returned to her desk. She looked at all the students and, once again, with unexpected sadness, questioned her purpose.

Noticing Xavier, she asked him if he had already had breakfast. She then glanced over to Melanie, reminding her that she, like every person, matters in this world. For Joseph, who sits beside her desk, she gave him a wink while pointing to the earned rewards on his chart, showing three more stars to go. Then, suddenly seeing the board-pinned thank-you card her students had given her recently, she understood her purpose.

© 2025 My Musings in a Hundred Words. All rights reserved.