The Instructor by Terry Towers

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    Prologue
     
     
    "I'm sorry, Miss Veates. There is nothing we can do for you."
    "There has to be something," Faith protested, falling back into the small black office chair. She eyed the woman across the desk from her. The woman's name was Wendy; she was a fifty-something, dark-haired woman who wore way too much makeup and held Faith's future in her hands. She was the admissions clerk at the local college.
    "Your grades are excellent, Miss Veates. Perhaps you should try the university?" the woman suggested.
    Wendy was trying her best to be helpful, but what she was offering made Faith a little uneasy. No, a lot uneasy. Faith had decided that morning that she wanted to go to college. It was a last-second decision; classes began the following week. Virtually every seat in every program was full. All they had left was one seat in the machining program and one seat in the welding program. Faith had no clue what either of them involved and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to find out.
    She considered her current job for a moment. As soon as she graduated high school she took a waitressing job at one of the steakhouses in the city. Down Home Eating, it was called. For the past three years she had worked as a waitress, but she wanted something more than minimum wage at a dead-end job.
    She wanted an actual career , not just a job.
    "I'm really sorry dear." The woman looked at her sympathetically.
    Well maybe I'm here for a reason. These are my choices, for a reason . Relying on divine intervention was a long shot, but... the alternative was another year as a waitress.
    Faith sighed as she looked down at the two brochures in front of her, one marked welder, one marked machinist. She had no knowledge of either field and didn't even know a soul in either field. She looked at the bottom of each brochure. The occupation of welder had a higher projected employment rate and higher starting salary.
    The woman’s mood suddenly brightened and hope flourished within Faith – she had something. The college administrator got up from her seat and hurried over to a bulletin board that had virtually every space covered in announcements and ads. Wendy searched a moment and with a soft exclaim of triumph she pulled a white sheet from the board and hurried back to her desk.
    “Is there something?” Faith wiggled to the edge of the chair, craning her head, attempting to see what was on the sheet of paper.
    “Well, not exactly.” Wendy’s eyes scanned the paper a moment and she nodded, passing it to Faith. “But, there’s a full scholarship available to any female wanting to take a male trade. And I know for a fact it isn’t taken yet. With school starting next week, you’re guaranteed to receive it. All it’ll cost you is your time, not too many people get a free education – tuition, books, supplies are all included. The organization that is granting the scholarship is a women’s group and all they require is when you finish the course you do an interview encouraging other young women to consider a job in the trades.”
    With this new information it seemed crazy to refuse. She had everything to gain and nothing to lose. She looked at both brochures outlining the courses and made her decision. "This one," Faith said, reaching over the counter and passing the brochure to the woman.
    The woman looked down at the brochure. "Are you sure? Women usually don't take this course. It's extremely dirty. We do get some women machinists from time to time." She reached over and tapped her finger on the machinist brochure Faith was still clutching onto. “It’ll qualify for the scholarship.”
    Faith shook her head. "No, welding." Her mind was made up. She was smart, and she was determined. Faith was confident she could do virtually anything she put her mind to.
    What was