The heels of her pumps tap, tap, tap against the marble floor with each brisk step down the long hallway, a queasy mix of confidence, excitement, and fear swirls in her gut as she makes her way to the door bearing her name. Here she pauses, takes a deep breath, and enters.

She closes the door hoping to have a few minutes to herself before her first official day begins. ‘This is where I will do the work of the people. They elected me and I will proudly serve to the best of my ability,’ she muses; absently rubbing her right earlobe between thumb and forefinger, brow furrowed, left arm hugging across her middle, hand tucked under right elbow (subconsciously imitating her grandfather’s ‘thinking’ posture perfectly). ‘There’s a lot of work to do in this district and I will start with the sad state of education, and…’ Continue reading →