Simple As A Song (School of Rock)

five - shine a light

YOU'D THINK THAT THE second day at a new school would be better. You sort of know the layout of the school. You meet some people who could be your new friends. You determine whether or not the food is a disaster. You also decide on what classes are your favorite and who is a weird teacher. Yeah, that's where I'm at. 

Tomika confidently waltzes into the classroom after Summer and I did her hair for her, and for a second there, I am jealous of her. She's always been more confident than me, but that's not her fault. Shaking my head, I notice that Lawrence and Zack and crowded behind his computer while Freddy and Riley are chilling at their respective desks, both scrolling through their phones. 

"Check out this new voice-changing app," Lawrence says as I plop down in my seat behind. He glances at me from over his shoulder, motioning toward his computer. Zack is staring fixedly at the computer, his dark hair gelled over to the right. "It can make me sound super cool like Dr. Timewarp." This time, he talks into a microphone. "I am Dr. Timewarp, here to save lives."

Lawrence clicks a button and what comes out of the computer is not Dr. Timewarp's voice. Instead, the computer has a breathy female voice that repeats his words. "I am Dr. Timewarp, here to save lives."

"Oops," Lawrence says, shrugging. Zack gets up from his spot on the ground and heads to his chair, looking disappointed about the botched results. "I set it to supermodel instead of superhero."

"Who's Dr. Timewarp?" I ask, leaning forward. Lawrence slowly turns around in his seat, his eyes wide behind his glasses. He looks incredulous like it's weird for me not to know who this superhero is. "What? I don't read a lot of comics, so I don't know who he is."

Lawrence sniffed, shaking his head. "He's too sophisticated for you."

I blink at him but don't have time to answer because Mr. Finn falls through the open window. His satchel flies through the air, landing near his desk. The other students in the class don't bother to check on him, so I fight the urge to stand up and make sure he's okay. Soon enough, he pops up from the ground, picking up his satchel.

"Sorry, guys," he says, not sounding very sorry. He places his satchel on the desk and faces all of us. "Turns out they lock the doors after 8:15."

He shakes his head as Zack whispers to Freddy, "Should we tell him the side door's always unlocked?"

"No," Freddy replies, and I smile, knowing that if I'm ever late, I can always get in the side door. "This way's more fun."

Mr. Finn sits down on his desk, right next to his satchel. He claps his hands together, and everyone falls silent. "Listen up, students of rock," he says, and I frown slightly. Why is he calling us students of rock? "We've been doing stuff your old teacher's way for a week. But we're gonna be ready for --"

Tomika hops up from her chair, scraping it across the wooden floor. "The trivia games Principal Mullins always makes us participate in," she says, throwing her hands up in the air. She doesn't look like she believes in what she's saying, which is another indicator that something weird is going on here. "Isn't that right, Mr. Finn?"

He slowly nods, almost like he doesn't know what she's talking about. She nudges his shoulder and then looks in my general direction, but I know my cousin better than that. She's motioning toward me, the one who interrupted their class when I joined yesterday. "That's right," Mr. Finn says. "So, let's get learning!"