Brown Slime Stories

Rebecca

There are thirty-two desks in the classroom, each one with a chair painted dark brown. The windows in the room have been opened slightly to let in some fresh summer air.

On the wall, the clock ticks slowly. It is exactly twenty minutes before eight.

The morning sun shines through the windows and lights up the faces of the students, who are all in their third year of high school. Today is the first day of class after the summer break, and several of them are still talking about the events at the county fair yesterday.

Others are talking about their teacher, and speculating why he isn't there yet.

"I wonder why he's late," says Katrina, a girl with long blonde hair. "Do you think he overslept or something?"

"Maybe he's sick," responds Kevin, with the thick-rimmed glasses. "That would make sense."

A few people nod.

Suddenly the door opens and the students turn to see a flustered-looking man in his late thirties standing there, breathing hard.

"Sorry I'm late, guys. I'm your substitute today," he tells the students. "Mr. Karson has the flu."

There are a few disappointed looks around the room, but they are quickly replaced by expressions of interest.

"Oh," says Katrina, "well, that's okay. Are you from around here, or...?"

"Yes, I am," he responds. "My name is Mr. Miller. And I was born here in the town of Ransom."

The students look at each other while the dark-haired instructor sets his bag on the desk, then glances around at all their faces with a smile.

"Anyways, let's get started," says Mr. Miller. "First of all, your school has apparently made a few changes from last year. So, I'm supposed to give you these handouts..."

He holds up a small stack of papers and shows them to the class.

"It's the first day of a new school year," he says. "So, I guess this is pretty standard stuff."

After handing them out, he walks back to the front of the classroom and sits down on the desk in the front corner of the room.

"Maybe instead of me reading all these out to you, we could go around the room, one by one? Then if you have any questions, you can just ask me at the end."

There are some nods in the class.

"All right, sounds good," says Mr. Miller. "Who would like to read first?"

A green-eyed redhead in the front row raises her hand timidly.

"Okay, great," says the substitute, with a friendly smile. "Please tell me your name and then read the rule."

"Alright," says the red-haired girl. "I'm Katie. Rule number one is that students must arrive to all classes on time?"

She looks up at Mr. Miller for confirmation and he nods his head.

"Very good," he says. "Let's continue with the girl to your left."

He glances over at the blonde girl with the long ponytail sitting right next to Katie.

"Umm, hi. I'm Emma," says the girl. "Rule number two is that students must follow the dress code. You are responsible to bring a change of clothes."

"Good," says Mr. Miller, looking around the room. "The dress code is in your handbooks. Next?"

The next girl is tall and slim, wearing a white and green checkered shirt and black slacks. She has her auburn hair tied back in a braid and smiles confidently before she begins reading.