High School Drama

Synopsis: A Teaching Assistant in a British High School, going about life as normal. Showing what life is like in a High School from their perspective.

Monday morning. 8.05am. Ally Moss, a young teaching assistant, arrives at the staff car park. She’s only recently passed her driving test, at 21 years old, so she takes a few tries to reverse-park into the space she chose.

She joins the rest of the TAs sat chatting in the Support Centre, which is a classroom for students who either have an injury, such as a broken leg and therefore can’t walk upstairs, or for students who struggle in the classroom. The kids weren’t allowed inside before school, so the room was a meeting point for the TA team.

Kim: Oh, she’s here.

Barbra: Who?

Kim: Cow-face.

Barbra: Aah. Oh.

Ally: Wait, who are we talking about?

Ally looks out of the window to the carpark, and sees Karen Laz storming in.

Ally: Oh, it’s her. Karen.

Barbra: You know, I've never met someone actually named Karen who acts so much like the meme. She's spot on, really.

‘Cow-face’ Karen stomped down the corridor towards them.

Karen: What’s been going on in here? Anyone seen the email?

They look stunned.

Karen: (sighing with annoyance) A parent has just sent us a list of items their child, one of our students, has allegedly stolen from teachers. Why haven’t I been told about this?

They simultaneously look at their emails and see the list. It says, ‘three staplers, one roll of duct tape, two screen clickers, a computer mouse, a keyboard and a fan.’

Ally Moss laughs. The others discuss.

Ally: Really, he took someone’s fan? How’d he manage that?

Karen: Because, he's Arden, and he does what he likes. We're lucky his parents decided to bring back everything.

Group discuss the student more. Ally laughes.

LATER

Main corridor, after morning break.

Ally walks from the staff room towards her next classroom. She overheards students talking.

Ellie: I need my mascara! I can't go to lesson without some.

Ellie was hiding her face in her hands. A teacher, Mrs McGuy was speaking to her.

Mrs McGuy: Ellie, you need to go to class now. It's been raining all week, today is no different. You-

Ellie: NO! I need mascara! I can't let anyone see me like this.

Ally continued past. She saw Arden and waved to him, laughing.

Ally: Is it true that your dad brought in loads of things you'd stolen?

Arden: (nodding) Yeah.

Ally: Why did you take them? And a classroom fan of all things!

Arden: (shrugging) Because I could.

Ally laughed again.

Ally: Ok, then!

Ally walks past him to the classroom next door. After walking in and putting her bag down, a student walks over to her.

Izobel: Miss, who should I stab?

Ally turns around and sees Izobel holding a wooden fork from the school canteen, coloured in highlighter with a face.

Ally: (shrugging) Who's your least favourite teacher?

Izobel: (laughing) Miss, you can't say that!

DURING LUNCH

The TAs were sitting discussing the only male TA, Jimmy Western, who they all dislike.

Barbra stands and does an impression of him by stepping widly and doing a very over-dramatic lunge. The others laugh.

Mia: That's exactly what he looks like!

They all agree.

Another teacher, Alissa Wyatt walks in and asks who they're talking about.

All: Jimmy.

She looks confused.

Alissa: Don't you like him? He's a TA like you, isn't he?

Mia: Well, he likes to pretend he's one of the PE staff, even though he's only with them one lesson a week.

Barbra: And he thinks he's better than us because he's a MAN.

Ally: You should hear how he speaks to us, Alissa. He's not on our team.

Kim: He made fun of Mia for re-taking her Maths GCSE to get a pass grade, when he's doing the exact same now!

Barbra: And the kids don't like him, either. They've told us themselves that he spends all his lessons flirting with the new staff.

Alissa looks flustered.

Alissa: Surely there's nothing wrong with a little flirting? And how do they even know, they're eleven.

Ally: Not all of them are.

Mia: You know he's got a girlfriend, don't you?

Alissa leaves the room quickly.

BELL.

And so it continues. The plot follows the TAs on their work-life in a high school, and shows what life is like for teenagers of this time, post-COVID.

This is loosely based on my time working as a TA in a high school. Names and concepts changed somewhat.