Lessons In Butterflies

Chapter 1: But It's Spelled-

1st Person:

I tapped my pen against my notebook, the rhythmic clicks blending with the low hum of voices around me. 

Dani sat next to me, flipping through her book, though I knew she wasn't actually reading. No one was. We were all waiting for the same thing—Mr. Caldwell.

Or rather, we were waiting for the storm that followed Mr. Caldwell wherever he went.

"I bet he's late again," Dani muttered, leaning back in her chair. "Probably stuck terrorizing some poor year 7."

"Or glaring at his coffee because it dared to get cold," I added, readjusting my glasses 

"Honestly, does that man ever smile?"

"Only when he's assigning homework," Dani deadpanned.

I snickered. The thing about Mr. Caldwell was that he had this way of making every classroom feel like a military drill. His face was permanently set in a scowl, his jaw clenched like he was mad at the world. 

And maybe he was. The girls in class often joked that his glare could stop a clock. Though, to be fair, they also said his brooding look was part of his charm.

Charm? Please.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and the chatter instantly died. Mr. Caldwell strode in, eyes dark and intense, as if he was already annoyed at something. 

Not like that was a surprise.

"Well, well, ladies," he began, his voice low and commanding. "I see you've started the day without me. How very ambitious."

I shared a quick glance with Dani, both of us stifling a laugh. 

Ambitious?

 If he only knew that most of us spent the last ten minutes talking about the latest episode of Love Island.

Just as Mr. Caldwell reached his desk, the door creaked open again, and a boy stepped in—one of the students from St. Thomas, the boys' school across the street. Our "brother school," as they called it.

Oh, this is new.

The boy stood awkwardly at the front, clearly unsure of what to do. 

The room buzzed with whispers, girls elbowing each other, glancing at him. He had that look about him—tall, kind of scruffy hair, with the air of someone who would rather be anywhere else but here.

Wasn't that how we all felt when we were exposed to this monstrous teacher?

Mr. Caldwell's eyes snapped toward him, sharp like a blade. "Well? Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to sit down?"

The boy blinked, clearly caught off guard, and hurried to find a seat in the back, knocking over a chair in the process. 

More whispers, more giggles.

"Poor guy," Dani whispered, leaning closer to me. "I give him two days before he runs for the hills."

"Two days?" I whispered back. "You're generous. I give him until lunch."

We both tried to suppress our laughter, but it wasn't easy. Especially when Mr. Caldwell turned back to us with that same permanent scowl.

"I see we have a lot to say today," he said, eyes sweeping the room. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested in gossip. Open your textbooks to chapter one."

I flipped mine open, glancing over at Dani, who gave me a knowing smirk. Mr. Caldwell was already launching into his lecture, something about economic theory and market demands, but my mind drifted.

 How could it not?

I mean, with a teacher that looked like he belonged in a GQ magazine but acted like he was on a mission to ruin your day, it was hard to stay focused.

That, and the new boy was still awkwardly trying to blend into the background.

"So," Dani whispered from behind her book, "thoughts on Mr. St. Thomas back there?"

I peeked over my shoulder. "He looks terrified."

Dani nodded solemnly. "I would be too. Mr. Caldwell barely tolerates us. He's probably going to eat him alive."

"Well, at least we'll get some entertainment," I murmured, flipping through the pages of my textbook, making a sour face at all the content we had to get through this lesson.

Mr. Caldwell's eyes flicked toward me, catching the expression before I had a chance to wipe it off my face.

"Something amusing, Miss..." He squinted at the attendance sheet in his hand, clearly grappling with the unfamiliar name.

Here we go.

"Shella," I said quickly, though I was already used to the awkward pauses when teachers tried to figure it out. It wasn't spelled like that at all, but it was just easier to give people the shortcut version.

Mr. Caldwell raised an eyebrow. "Shella?"

I nodded, bracing myself for the inevitable.

He stared at the name again, his brow furrowing in confusion. "But it's spelled..." He trailed off, his lips moving as he silently sounded it out like he was working through a tongue twister. 

"Shyla? Shayla? Sh-ell?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Dani was shaking with silent giggles, and I could feel my own shoulders trembling.

"It's Shella," I repeated, the corners of my mouth twitching.

He looked like he wasn't convinced. "It says..." He paused, clearly giving it one last shot. "Sh...Ella?"

Oh boy, here we go.

I tried to save him. "Shella, like, pronounced with an 'sh' sound at the start. Just forget the 'y' and the 'a' sound, I guess."

He stared at me for a second longer, clearly trying to process that information, but then shook his head and moved on. "Right. Miss Shella," he finally said, though the struggle was obvious.

I felt Dani nudging my arm, whispering under her breath, "I think he just aged five years trying to say your name."

"Tell me about it," I whispered back. 

"I should've just changed my name to something like Sarah. Simpler for everyone."

Mr. Caldwell, now sufficiently over our little name pronunciation adventure, moved back to the board. "As I was saying, you'll need to complete chapters one through five by next week."

There was a collective groan from the class, myself included. Five chapters in a week? 

Was he trying to kill us?

I exchanged a look with Dani, who mouthed, "This is ridiculous."

I couldn't agree more.

But as Mr. Caldwell turned his attention back to the new boy in the back—who still looked like a deer caught in headlights—I couldn't help but think that at least, for now, I'd managed to survive my first interaction of the term without too much embarrassment. 

Well, except for the name thing. 

But at least that was a start.

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Please Comment! I hope you enjoyed it. -Luna xx