Perfume and my Science Teacher

by Jennifer Hagerty
(Maryland)

I was a seventh grade student in middle school. My favorite teacher that year was the science teacher. She was tall, and had beautiful smile, always wore vibrant clothes that made her such a beautiful woman. She had a warm, sweet scent of vanilla flowery perfume, which was so strong that I could smell the scent all the way down the end of the hallway as I came from the stairwell. I always would know that my science teacher was on that floor that moment. I always felt a sense of love when I smelled that scent of perfume.

One day, I became very ill with pneumonia and had to stay at home for two weeks to get well, and had to miss school. After I came back to school from recovering from pneumonia, my science teacher decided to do one-on-one tutor to catch me up on my missed school work. Her smile was warm with white straight teeth. She had a positive energy about her, I felt comforted when I was with her. She wore an elegant fur coat during the winter; it looked so soft that I was tempted to hold fast on her coat.

I began to daydream that she was to be my second mom, outside of my home. Over time, I began to hang out with that science teacher after school and get more resources from her in learning processes. She loaned me materials that I could read or watch videos to gain more knowledge. She participated, as a guest instructor, in one of my Girl Scout meetings, to teach us about science of recycling and water usage so that we, young scouts, earn a science badge.

When she came to my church, I could smell her scent and know that she was there. After a while, she stopped coming to the church. Some people said that she took a sabbatical, and some said that she left the job. Whatever happened, I often wondered whether her husband was well, as I also remember her comment about her husband being ill. I often still wonder where she disappeared to.