X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

Lessons - 7.4

Mr. McCoy's expression was difficult to read. Sat behind his too-small of a desk, he held Anna's report in one hand and took the occasional sip of his chamomile tea with the other. The hard lines of his face would break every once in a while with a brief smile or a nod before returning to a more neutral, more relaxed position.

Sat at the desk closest to McCoy's, Anna was anything but relaxed. She didn't know why. It's not like her extra credit report on the civil war hero Abraham Galloway was going to change the course of her American History grade. Still, she ended up working on it well into the night.

McCoy smiled, lowered the paper, and slowly folded his glasses shut. "Young lady, I don't know that I've ever read such an impassioned history report in my whole teaching career."

Anna grinned and scratched behind her ear. "I mean, the guy made it easy. I... like, of course, there are really important people in history, and they all did stuff that mattered, but I never knew there was someone so cool in the okey-smokey days of the Civil War. That dude was like James Bond or something! Born as a slave in North Carolina, he lived a life of subterfuge and was this one-man wrecking machine all to help and save his people. The guy took shit from nobody! Including the president! Seemed like he wasn't completely sold on the Union either. From what I read, the Union was just as crappy towards Black People as the Confederates. I mean, they didn't enslave them, but it was pretty clear they didn't exactly care what happened to them. Apparently, once, they got all these freed slaves to dig this ditch, then just sorta left them there to die when the soldiers had to suddenly pull out.

"So then, after being a spy for the Union and helping free tons of people, he ran for Senate in North Carolina and won! He was also a huge advocate for Woman's rights and made moves to ban the N-word. He was insane!"

The grin only grew on McCoy's face as Anna spoke. "I told you that you'd like him." He took out a red marker and wrote a fat A+ on the top. "As I said before, this will replace your worst test score." He put his glasses back on his face and looked at her. "And if it's alright, would you mind if I kept this report?"

She shrugged, "Yeah. Of course."

He opened one of the smaller drawers and slipped the paper inside. "What we read in our textbooks is a very condensed, very sanitized version of what has really happened out there. It's gotten better in some aspects depending on where you are, but it's unfortunate heroes like Mr. Galloway don't have their deeds sung more than they are." He interlaced his fingers on his desk. "What black men and women were asked to do then was beyond comprehension. The way many were able to cope and overcome using tactics, wit, and astute thinking... well, it's something we all can still learn plenty from today."

Anna nodded. "I think you're right, Mr. McCoy. I'm starting to understand that now." She stood and pulled her backpack over her shoulder. "Well, I should probably get headin'. My lunch group is probably wondering where I am."

"Ah, of course. Have an excellent lunch, Anna."

She smiled, waved, and made for the door."

"Anna, would you actually mind doing me a small favor?"

She stopped just short of the door to the hall and turned. "Yeah, what's up?"

When McCoy took his glasses off a second time, she noticed the bags more clearly defined under the fluorescent light. "Do you know where the science teacher Mr. Morgan's class is?"

The name Mr. Morgan scratched the top of Anna's head, but she couldn't quite place the name. "No."

"If you take the stairwell to the left, follow the left wall upstairs till you hit the third door on the left. That's his room. I left some paperwork up there. Would you mind stepping by his office and collecting it for me?"