C.R.E.W

Chapter 3 ~ Mrs. Brock

   I walked in school and all eyes were on me: the girl with no one to walk with, the girl with brown hair and thin blonde highlights, the girl who's best friend just left her last night. The girl who everyone now hated. I've been stared at before, but before, I owned the feeling. Now, I despise the feeling of everyone's eyes freshly peeled on me. I don't know what rumor is going through their heads, or if it's even a rumor, but I'm assuming it's the one Noelle brought up yesterday. I could barely get to my locker, when I did, papers flew out onto the floor. I picked one of them up and opened it. The note read, "You're the 'TT', The Teacher Trapper." There was a picture of Ms. Schultz behind bars. I crumpled up the piece of paper but then saw a pen in my locker, I smirked.

I picked up the pen, then unwrapped the paper, and wrote a "nice" message back, along with a "nice" little picture to go along with it. I threw it at the back of my locker, it bounced, and rolled on the floor to the group of boys in the back of the hallway staring, laughing. One boy came forward, he picked up the note, looked up at me, and opened it. He looked angry, his friends behind him started laughing, some even started pointing. Except, they weren't pointing at me, they were pointing at him.

The boy then looked at me, crumpled the paper (still looking at me), and he was ready to bolt towards my small smile until a teacher got in the way.

"Riley, why are you out here? You and your "group of friends" should be half way down to detention by now. Do you need help finding the office? I will gladly walk you down there."

"No." He stuffed the note in his pocket.

"Good, I assume there will be no trouble, then?" She reassured.

"No." He responded with attitude. With that, Riley and his "group of friends" started to head down the hall.

"Take a right and it's the first door!" She called down. The teacher chuckled and started to head towards me, "Come with me" she insisted while leading me towards her classroom.

Oh God, not another 'Mr. Roy kind of talk.' I thought, but she didn't lock the door, her room was calming, and it had the right amount of bright colors. She seemed like a sweet person, which is very rare of me to think of someone like that.

"Am I here to have another talk about something I did or did not do?" I asked, assuming it was going to be just like every other one.

"Nope, I brought you here just so we can have a one-on-one talk with each other." She answered.

"'One-on-one talks' with people aren't really my thing."

"Everyone has their own 'thing', and one-on-one talks may not be yours, but you don't have to be skilled at them to hear them." The teacher responded as she sat down in her moving chair.

She patted her hand gently on the table indicating she wanted me to sit. I pulled the chair back and sat down as I felt the seat drop a little from my weight. I've experienced a lot of 'one-on-one talks' in my lifetime, whether it be from the teacher or a parent giving them to me.

"Prixley..." And so, it begins.

"...Prixley is your name, correct?" She asked.

"It's Eliana..." I muttered.

"What was that?" The woman asked. I know for a fact she at least heard some of what I said, she was just slightly surprised. They all are...well, I assume they would be.

"Yes, it's Prixley." I confirmed.

"Okay, Prixley, I'm sure you're aware of the rumor going around about you." One word caught my attention in her statement, rumor.

"Wait, you don't actually believe it?" The words slipped out of my mouth in shock.

"I can believe it if it is true, but no, I don't believe it's true. I myself am very good friends with Ms. Schultz, she just went on vacation for a little bit. Your peers seem to think you sent her to jail or locked her up in Rapunzel's tower of some sort. I, for one, am not a fan of lying, I think you should always try to tell the truth when necessary."

I am starting to think she's my new favorite teacher. She actually makes the situation non-threatening, she isn't like the other teachers who make it sound like they want to trap you in a crate and ship you off to a deserted island.

"I am also not a fan of disrespect," she continued, "now, I understand school can be a little hard at times, and I have no idea what your life is like outside of school, but there is no reason for you to be disrespecting teachers and getting other students involved." This was the formal part of her one-on-one talk. Although, this was probably the best worded one-on-one talks I've ever experienced.

"I'm sorry." I replied.

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me, you should apologize to the other teachers, especially Mr. Roy."

"No! Anyone but him!" I shouted.

"I get that he's not the friendliest teacher of all, but he goes through tough times too, just like everyone else at this school." She gave me a sincere look.

"Eh, you sure about that?" I asked, skeptical but joking...kind of.

"Positive," she replied.

"Now, do you mind telling me how all these rumors started?" She asked.

"What did you say your name was, again?" I completely forgot to ask about her name.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Mrs. Brock." She greeted me with a delighted smile on her face.

"No worries. Well, Mrs. Brock, to answer your question, I am really not sure how all the rumors started. I didn't start them, that's for sure." I honestly really wanted to know who started the rumors, I had a few ideas but anyone was a qualified contender.

"Well, you don't exactly have the best reputation right now, do you?" She stated her opinion, she just wanted to know if I agreed.

"I personally am fine with my reputation. It's how people see me, without it, I'm just some lonely girl trying to make her way through middle school."

"I like how you put that, and I respect it. Now, what do think other people think of your reputation?"

"Some might think it's annoying, some do think it's annoying. Very few others want to join in and help me, and then, there are the ones who start rumors." I started realizing how much I affected other people.

"Are you alright? Would you like to take a break?" She could tell I was growing quieter.

"Just a little one." I replied.

"Go right ahead." She was very calm and polite about it. 

"Oh, and Prixley," she called, "would you like to be excused from your next class? By the time you get there, you'll be late anyways."

"Yes, please." I smiled.

She gave me a nod and I was about to head out the door until I stopped. I put my hand on the doorframe and said, "thank you."