A Different Kind of Education

Chapter Nine : No Argument

When I woke up I was sprawled out in Jay's bed in my dress from last night, but Jay himself was nowhere to be found. Disoriented, I stretched before getting out of his bed and walking to the living room. Sitting on the couch was Mr. Hayes, but Jay still wasn't there and I was immensely confused. I must have made some kind of noise because Mr. Hayes looked up from the papers he was grading. I also must have looked very confused because upon seeing my face he said,

"Jay had to go out for a bit he'll be back later."

Still confused, I simply shrugged and made my way to the kitchen to find food. I ended up pulling of eggs, pancake mix, bacon, sausage, and strawberries. I was starving so I knew I was going to have to make myself a nice large meal to quell my hunger. Within ten minutes of cooking Mr. Hayes came into the kitchen looking like a hungry animal. I couldn't help but laugh my ass off at how unkempt he looked with his hair going in every direction, his pajamas wrinkled, and his eyes slightly bloodshot.

If I had to guess I would say that he hadn't slept very much last night, maybe even less than Jay and I had slept. Keeping my pondering thoughts to myself I simply continued to make breakfast, not saying anything when Mr. Hayes started to cut up the strawberries and make the pancake batter. We were peacefully silent as the two of us cooked side by side. With the both of us cooking at the same time the food was done a lot earlier and we were able eat in no time. I was quite enjoying the silent meal, but Mr. Hayes of course had to ruin it.

"So any reason you drew a poop emoji on your quiz yesterday and turned it in with none of the questions answered?"

"Didn't wanna answer them."

"Really? So you knew them?"

"Most of them."

"Why didn't you answer them then?"

"Because I didn't feel like it. History classes are ridiculous."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, the stupid ideals that students should be able to remember so those dates and names specifically is pointless. People always say that we should know the mistakes of the past so we dont repeat them, but class should focus more on the actual morals of each past ever which lead to chaos."

"So history itself isn't what you find stupid it's how we are required to teach it?"

"Exactly! If the system focused more on the basis of the fuck ups than the verbatim memorization of everything, I feel it would benefit students so much more."

"I don't have an argument for that." Mr. Hayes admitted, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

I simply grinned smugly and finished my breakfast. I was very satisfied on how it all ended up tasting. Mr. Hayes made some really yummy pancakes and I was very proud of how delicious the bacon tasted. When I was done I started washing all the dishes we had dirtied and without a word, Mr. Hayes helped me. You would think it would be awkward to be standing right next to one of your teachers in nothing but wrinkly pjs and a messed up dress, but I felt at ease next to him. I enjoyed the quiet peace we shared for a bit before I spoke.

"So where did Jay go, Mr. Hayes?" I asked, taking note of how his hands paused momentarily.

"To see our parents," He responded, waiting a moment before looking at me and saying, "Call me Matt when you're here. Mr. Hayes sounds so wrong in my home." He told me with a small grin. I smiled back and let the silence fall once more.

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"I told you I'd kick your ass!" I yelled energetically at Mr. Hayes as he slammed the remote down on the carpet in frustration.