The Stronghold 3: Mikachi

Saved By The Bell

Slowly more pupils began to file into the classroom and I directed them to get a piece of chalk then join me and Rose in decorating the chalkboard. I stood back and let the pupils go wild and to my surprise there were very few rude drawings. Rose rubbed all the rude stuff off as soon as she saw it but her blazer sleeve was becoming a smudged mess of colour so I took over. I hadn't taken off my jacket and if it got coloured in cover, so be it because it was most likely I'd just be in my shirtsleeves all day. 

A bell rang suddenly and the pupils groaned. I looked at my now-colourful watch and saw that it was nine o'clock. My leaflet thing had said that registration started at nine until quarter past and assembly was quarter past until half past. 

"Register," I said, almost to myself. "Right." I looked at the sea of pupils sat on the carpeted floor in front of me and frowned slightly.

"I have no idea what to do," I said aloud. There were a few giggles but then an idea struck me. I turned around, whipped off my smart new suit jacket and used it to rub everything off the chalkboard. Once it was clean I motioned for everyone to stand up.

"As I'm new here and need to learn your names," I said, "you are all going to write your full name on the blackboard. Each day we'll add something next to your name and hopefully I'll know who you all are within the week. If not then you have permission to draw on me with Sharpie. Does that sound good?"

Enthusiastic 'yeah!'s were the response and I grinned, handing the girl at the front of the line a piece of chalk. She wrote her name on the board then handed the chalk to the next person in the line. This went on until every pupil had written their name and I counted them.

"How many people are in this class?" I asked.

"Thirty, sir," someone called.

"Someone's missing," I murmured. "There are only twenty nine names."

"That'll be Dmitri, sir," one boy said with a smirk. "He's always late."

"Sorry I'm late sir!" a boy shouted, bursting through the door. He was quite tall and was frantically patting down his hair and adjusting his uniform so that it was neat. An anxious smile was on his face and he bit his lip, waiting for me to speak, smiling all the while.

"I presume you're Dmitri," I said. He nodded and his smile faded slightly.

"You are literally Castiel," I murmured. He frowned and I shook my head. "Nothing. Ignore me. Write your name on the board, Dmitri, and don't be late again." 

The smile returned and he took the piece of chalk off the last person to write, a short boy who was called Oli, according to the board. Dmitri's handwriting was as messy as my own and he sat down on the floor after writing so that he blended in with the rest of the class.

"How long do we have? Ten minutes. Okay." I fished a different coloured piece of chalk from the desk draw and wrote further along the blackboard.

"As only Rose knows who I am - long story, ask later - you need to know my name and how to spell it," I said as I wrote, making my writing as legible as possible without smudging it all. "I'm Mr Shaade. That sounds really weird to say aloud, actually, so you can all just call me Shaade." I rubbed the 'Mr' off the board and put a smiley face there instead. 

"I have all your names there," I said, pointing with the piece of blue chalk, "and that's staying. I have you all first so I think we'll do some fun stuff. And when I say fun I mean fun, not teacher-style fun." I stopped and frowned at myself. "I'm not making sense any more, am I?"

"No sir," someone giggled.

"Hm. That's bad." I rubbed my nose and then looked down at my blue fingers. I looked up at the class and sighed. "I have a blue nose, don't I?"

"Yes sir," chorused back at me along with a lot of laughter.

"Brilliant," I muttered just as a bell went off. "Hell! That's assembly, isn't it? Go go go, out the door, shoo shoo shoo." I pushed the class out the door in a haphazard line and followed them as they filed into the hall. I leaned against the back wall as they sat down and the deputy headmistress, Mrs Michaels, glared at me. I waved back and she moved up to the microphone to speak.

"Good morning," she said and a rumble of 'good morning, Mrs Michaels' returned. 

"It's a new school year and we have a lot of new things to show you," she continued, "for example, some changes to the staff. Along with the new set of year sevens we have some new teachers. Miss Amaz in the History department, Ms Lecher in Biology, Mr Thomas in Drama and Mr Shaade, also in Drama. Mr Thomas is ill today but Mr Shaade is most definitely in." She looked at me and I grinned back. 

"Now, to start the term we have a serious assembly," Mrs Michaels said. "And this is about manners and taboo subjects. You do not talk about, for example, sexuality around children. And when asked politely to be quiet you do not respond rudely and mockingly.

'Let's focus on the subject of homosexuality. Homosexuality is a disease." As she glared around the hall I spoke.

"Sorry Mrs Michaels, I can't work today," I called. Every head in the hall turned to me and Mrs Michaels frowned.

"Why not?"

"You said that homosexuality is a disease and, well, that means I'm as ill as a black rainbow," I said. 

"Mr Shaade, stop being childish."

"You brought up the topic, Mrs Michaels, and made the point," I said, shaking my head and sighing deeply. "So I'm afraid I can't work today, Miss, 'cause I'm gay." I turned on my heel and pushed open the doors to the hall, waving as I left. "Cheerio."

Mrs Michaels spluttered down the microphone. I could hear her as I leaned against the wall outside the drama studio, my heart thundering in my ears. Fortunately the bell went and my class didn't hesitate to exit the hall, racing along the corridor and jumping around me. I ducked into the classroom so that they didn't block the corridor and that's when they all started cheering. 

"You go, sir!"

"Yeah! Stand up to the beast!"

"You have so much sass, sir."

"Sass king!"

"Sassy Shaade!"

"Nobody ever spoke back to Mrs Michaels..."

"Good on you, sir!"

"That was brilliant!"

"Mrs Michaels is stupid! You showed her, sir!"

"Are you going to teach us sassy comebacks in the lesson, sir?"

"If homosexuality is a disease then you can be the ill teacher that never leaves! You're the best!"

"Gay rainbows everywhere!" someone at the back shouted and let off some part poppers. I looked about in bewilderment at the sea of grinning faces and felt a smile slide across my own face.

"You're all bonkers," I said weakly. "And you know what? That's a good thing."