Everything's Fine

Chapter Four

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." -Maya Angelou

Ben Anderson didn't want to be a teacher.

He grew up imagining himself doing daring stunts in movies or being a professional biker like most kids do. As he matured his intentions were still not clear and he wrestled his way through college indecisively until he may or may not have accidentally earned his teaching degree. He still had little to no recollection of actually wanting to become a teacher, but look where that ended up. He couldn't help but admit he was a little ashamed of himself for not doing something he actually cared about, but teaching had grown on him since he started nearly eight years prior and here he was at 35 teaching high school for Christ's sake. He still wouldn't take stunts over teaching, however. Being an English teacher was a tad safer than the former.

He had started his job at John Laurens, 33 and completely assured it was going to be one hellish experience after another. Not to his surprise, he wasn't entirely wrong. The staff was pleasant enough but not very consistent and sometimes he'd be teaching two different subjects a day to cover for an absent teacher or a teacher that had been MIA for forty-two days. He took pride in whatever difference he made in literally any student's life, insignificant as it may be. Perhaps that was why he was involving himself in the matters of three of his eighth grade students. Although he knew his intentions weren't the wisest, there was something about the urgency in Nico Reed's eyes and the way he was terrified that Ben knew something he wasn't supposed to.

He had kept a close eye on the kid so far, being told by multiple teachers already about his tendencies to be rude and disruptive, which he was nothing short of. He hardly turned in his work, was on the verge of failing three of his classes, and skipped more often than not. Unfortunately, what the other teachers seemed to have forgotten about was the times he limped into class or showed up with his bangs covering half his face to hide the prominent black and blue marks on his face. Nico Reed wouldn't give up pride nor confidential information easily, which was why he had called the meeting with Nico's friends included. He wasn't going to watch some kid just slip through the cracks because he was 'trailer trash' in the eyes of every other teacher in this school. He didn't give up so easily.

He watched as the three eighth graders filed into his empty classroom, taking notice of Nico's paled face. He looked drained, eyes blank and a mess of dark hair covering his forehead. He had obviously been released from the nurse's office with no treatment and had probably refused to call his parents for help. His friends shot him worried glances as they all sat down in three vacant desks, Nico taking a bit longer than the other two. He cleared his throat, pushing back his seat and moving to stand in front of the three wide-eyed kids.

"So," he started sharply, pushing a hand through his hair. "your friend feeling any better?" He turned on Jack and Annie first, the third drumming his fingers against his desk impatiently. His restlessness a sure fire sign of anticipation and nervousness. He looked like a bomb was about to go off somewhere in the room.

"I wouldn't know." Jack replied with a sigh, Annie only offering a half shrug. Their attention was fixed on Nico, concern evident in their gazes.

"You like keeping your friends in the dark, Reed?" He addressed the third next, hoping his lesson wasn't lost on the defiant teenager. The boy's eyes flickered with fear as he too shrugged and Mr. Anderson sighed. "You ever tell your friends about anything going on at home?" He interrogated, trying a different approach.

"It's none of their business." He insisted, not meeting the other's prying gazes. His leg was going a mile a minute, the constant bouncing of his knee somehow comforting to him.