A Cringy, Cheesy, Cliché

Chapter 7

         English class was very interesting to say the least. Maybelle talked my ear off of not having my first boyfriend and dragged it out way more than necessary. Shawn must've gotten the memo because he then asked Maybelle how her boyfriend was doing, knowing full well that he broke up with her for another man. 

         Ms. Chapman's classwork was always mellow and today did not disappoint that expectation. Two assignments on the Google Classroom stream entailing we find our earliest diary or journal entry of a crush and compare it to our now matured philosophy of the ideal partner. I hate the fact that I can't even fake my response because even I would like to know who little Hadley fancied in grade school.

         The transition to Sociology class from English was very seamless. As our last lesson for the year, Mr. Williams wanted to review social relationships— more specifically, the social phenomenon that is love.  

         "Mr. Dumphrey, can you tell me what sociologists has learned from the concept of love?" Mr. Williams prompted.

        Fred Dumphrey discreetly puts his phone away and looks along on the guided notes before answering. "They explore how love and relationships are connected to larger social issues like social inequality, gender roles, and cultural values."

         Mr. Williams gives a satisfactory grunt before going onto the next kid to pick on. I busy myself with my pencil and start looking like I'm really immersed in my writing. It's not like I hate Sociology, I picked this course as the class I wanted but I just never expected the teacher to preach like a textbook.

         "And Miss Davis, could you expand on your classmate's unfinished answer?" Mr. Williams asks, now looking at me.

         I mentally curse at Fred for providing me the mental burden of perfecting his answer. The notes don't say more than what Fred has already said so it's up to my memory of class discussion to come through. I clear my voice and regain myself, "And those aforementioned factors shape our understanding of love."

         "Thank you Miss Davis for providing nothing new said. Mr. Woods, would you like to chime in?"

         A boy I know as Liam Woods glares at me before facing Mr. Williams. "Depending on the type, each variation of love is characterized by different emotional and behavioral patterns."

         Mr. Williams claps his hand together, "Bravo Mr. Woods. For a chance of redemption, would you care to enlighten me on the three types of love Miss Davis?"

         No, but I digress. "Romantic, companionate, and passionate."

         "And which of the three is the strongest type of love to be exhibited?"

         I pause and think for a moment, genuinely stumped. I know romantic love is typically felt in the beginning stages of a relationship and is overrided with intense emotional and physical experiences. Then companionate is a long-term type of intimacy seen in marriages or really close friendships. It's passionate love that I find the weakest; intense desiring and borderline lust. So the strongest must be companionate?

         Mr. Williams clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "Although a good guess, there is no right answer. Each type of love has its own unique characteristics and can be equally important and powerful in other ways depending on a person's prioritization. So I'd like you to ask yourself is the one you judged the strongest the one you value the most Miss Davis?"

         You never know if you're being asked a rhetorical question or a matter-of-fact question with Mr. Williams until he insists you further with a "hm?" That's your cue. So when I hear the indication, I give Mr. Williams a deflated shrug.

         "For the rest of the period, I'd like the lot of you guys to find a film or piece of art that contains the three types of love, then present it to me tomorrow," Mr. Williams closed out with. Some teachers you can tell love their jobs others are hard to decipher. Is it cliché to say this class profile fits Mr. Williams? Maybe so, but it's the indisputable truth. When I saw kids gathering by the door I knew it was time to leave. There was nothing more I wanted to do than just lay in bed and sleep until the evening, but to get there I would first have to last an afterschool date with Silas.