History

Chapter 2

Gym was the class I hated. I couldn't quite understand the point of working out.

I mean, sure, it was healthy. But not in this amount, right? And not when I hate it, right?

This class was definitely useful for those who wanted to pursue a career in sports. Or, at least, loved exercising.

I belonged to neither of these groups. I was just a sixteen-year-old girl in glasses with the flexibility of a tortoise. Both these facts actually excluded many activities performed during the class out of the list of the ones available to me.

All in all, I had to suffer gym three hours a week. Luckily, there was Vicky Smile to support me.

Unlike me, she didn't have any problem with sports. She was just plain lazy.

Anyway, Vicky and I resorted to sit-ups today. One of us was performing the exercise as slowly as she possibly could, the other one was 'controlling' her. Then we switched the roles.

'You're crazy,' Vicky announced as I told her why I was so afraid of today's History class. The extra-curricular one.

I'm just too shy, I answered in my mind. Out loud, I said:

'Oh God, I hate you,' I was really freaking out because of these extra classes. Never had a teacher suggested spending their free time on tutoring me. It would've been more or less okay, if Styles had at least a group of students preparing for the exam.

But he didn't. I was the only one wanting to study History.

'What is so scary about it?' Vicky implied. She bended to tie her sneakers and disappeared from my sight. I continued with the sit-ups.

'Well, isn't that obvious?' I continued. 'He's a young, handsome teacher that everyone's obsessing about. And then there's me. What if he starts joking about me? I mean, he could be the kind of a teacher who mocks the students, couldn't he? And I'm the perfect target. What do I—'

The next thing I knew, a face appeared in front of me. And it wasn't Vicky's.

It was my History teacher's.

I shrieked from the unexpected turn of events and stood up abruptly, almost bumping into him.

That's the spirit, Kate!

'Hello,' the teacher said. He was smiling. I felt my face burn and concluded that I turned bright red. 'I just popped in to remind you about our class. Today, three p.m.'

I nodded. The young teacher wished me luck for some reason and exited the gym.

Vicky approached me and whistled:

'Damn, girl! Have you even noticed that I left?'

I blushed even more and decided I needed to use the bathroom. At least, to avoid the further mockery from my best friend.

***

It was the second hour into the class, and I was dying.

I was overwhelmed by all the information spilled my way and just couldn't understand how college students managed to remember all these facts in just three years. I'd require at least a century to learn all this stuff!

I had always thought that I was quite proficient in history. In all the previous schools I attended, I had been the know-it-all. Whenever a teacher posed a question, I was always the first (and only) one to answer.

However, after just thirty minutes of studying with Mr. Styles I realized that my knowledge was intermediate, at best.

It wasn't that the new teacher picked at me. He had somehow managed to find the version of the last year exam, and the tasks in it were so difficult I almost fainted right the moment I scanned through them.