The Crisis in Class IV - B

Today was my second year in the high school I enrolled to a year ago in this isolated town. So far, so good. I sat at the back as usual. I looked out the window beside me and saw a dark rumbling sky. The rain pelted the windows so my reflection was blurred and disformed. If I neared my face a little to the window, I could make out my dark hair and brown eyes thanks to the bright light of my classroom ceiling lights and the dim orange light of the lamp post outside.

“Then you hold your knife like this, so slicing can be easier and without blisters.” My home economics teacher dragged on and on. I stared at the blackboard three rows away from me. I squinted my eyes a little to try to read the cooking tips she wrote before her demonstration about handling regular cooking utensils like knives, but it was no use. My eyesight was poor and I didn’t want to make my parents to make a fuss about buying glasses. I already look bad enough without them. “If you use your left hand, notice that the shapes of the chops are opposite that of when you use your right hand. So, it is best to use one hand throughout your slicing.”

She continued her discussion, but I wasn’t interested. The class droned on for twenty minutes. I stared at my reflection again on the mirror.

“Get one whole sheet of paper.” Miss Maggie suddenly announced the class. She put down the chalk and knife, and got the eraser. She motioned for one of my classmates, Benny, to erase the board. He got up lazily and did so. “We’re having a quiz.”

Everyone in our class groaned. Benny gave back the eraser to her and sat back down on his chair.

Miss Maggie started writing questions on the board; the chalk screeched loud.  We cringed.

“Hey, Alana.” My seatmate poked my shoulder. “Do you have an extra pen?”

Helena smiled a toothy grin. Like all of the girls in my class, she wore a white school blouse with a green ribbon tied beneath the collars and out in the middle. The skirt was a plaid green and blue and reached the bottom of her knees. The boys on the other hand each wore mint green polos and dark green pants that looked almost black.

Helena had brown hair and eyes of the same color. She wore small eyeglasses. She was my best friend so far.

“Oh, yeah.” I reached below my armchair to my bag and started rummaging through my books in search for my pencil case. When I found it, I opened it and gave Helena my old one. She didn’t seem to mind. “It might run out of ink at any time though.”

“No worries. Thanks, Ally!” She remembered her nickname for me. I don’t like it, but I guess it’s all right.

I reached for my pencil and pen and started writing down on my paper. I knew there was going to be a surprise test, so I had a paper ready all this time.

I looked at the clock. 3:45 in the afternoon. A few more minutes and class would be over.

“You have twenty minutes to finish this quiz. You may start.” Miss Maggie said. She clapped her hands a little to remove chalk dust from her hands and sat back down on his desk in front of the blackboard. He got a book from his bag and started reading. I squinted yet again at the blackboard and, surprise, couldn’t see anything.

“Hey, Lena,” I whispered to my busy seatmate. “What’s number one?”

Helena shrugged and continued answering. She didn’t like being disrupted. I pursed my lips and leaned closer to the person in front of me, Paige.

“Paige,” I whispered. “Hey.”

Paige froze and turned to me slowly. Her dyed red hair fell limp below her shoulders and her green eyes looked at me nervously. Thunder rolled outside and the rain poured down harder.