I Wish That You Knew My Name {mxm} | Love is Love

4; Are These... Butterflies?

I walked into the class with my head down, hardly acknowledging Mr. Josiah as he greeted me. I went right for my seat at the back of the class, palms sweaty as another wave of nausea washed over me. Ever since I had gotten out of bed, my stomach hadn't seemed like it wanted to settle.

"What are we doing today?" I heard someone ask the teacher.

The small man behind the desk sighed loudly. "I'll tell you, and everyone else," he emphasized, "in a moment."

And so he did; once the bell had rung for first period and we had stood for the national anthem, he addressed everyone in the room. I paid no attention to what he was saying for the few minutes he spoke, though I heard the person sitting in front of me sigh dramatically. Without having to ask it, he answered my question:

"Aw man, I can't believe he's pairing us up for this! That totally sucks."

Well, I thought, that explains it. I rolled my eyes, however I wasn't sure whether it had to do with the annoying jock in front of me's reaction or the fact that Mr. Josiah would be forming our pairs. Knowing myself, it was probably a combination of both.

I forced myself to pay attention to my teacher's words, though I would have much rathered sleep through his schpeel. At the same time, I hoped to whatever almighty force out there that I wouldn't be paired up with someone like Colin Maiz or any of the other neanderthals he was shared a brain with. They were bullies and total meatheads, and unfortunately made up about 80% of the class.

"Yes, yes," Mr. Josiah said firmly above my classmates' moaning and groaning. "I have already picked the pairs for this project, so quit your whining. It will get you nowhere; what's done is done. Now, just keep in mind that the only instance in which I will separate a pair is if one student proves to not be working and is making their partner just so they can take the credit. That is unacceptable, as you all know yet sometimes ignore, so if this occurs the pair will split and be required to do the project individually."

What he said got my hopes up: maybe, if I end up with a bigot or total idiot, I could go to the teacher and tell him they're not doing any work or that it simply isn't working. Maybe then I could do the project on my own. At least then I'd know what to expect for an end result, I knew.

The murmurs in the room started and grew louder quickly. People were shouting protests from across the room as friends shared their disagreement with each other and everyone else in the room. The teacher, who must have been annoyed, looked unfazed by everyone's outburst. I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face, though: out of everyone in the class, he looked like he wanted to be there the least.

I saw him breath deeply before bellowing: "Silence!"

Everyone went quiet immediately, some people looking at Mr. Josiah with a mixture of awe and fear in their eyes. One girl had been so surprised by the sudden boom of his voice that she had nearly fallen off her chair the guy next to her, who most likely would not have minded if she had.

"Now that we've got all that out of the way," he mused, running a hand quickly through his salt and pepper hair. "Here are the pairs..."

I listened for the first few pairs, wondering who I'd be paired with. "Zach and Liam, Gabbie and Brandon, Tina and Albert, Celeste and Timothy..." I quickly lost interest, though I was glad Celeste had been put in a pair with someone that actually tried. Tim wasn't the brightest lightbulb in the shed, but he never gave up on trying to complete or understand something.

"And last but not least," Mr. Josiah took a deep breath. This must be me, I thought. No, I hadn't been paying any attention to what he was saying, but I was sure it would have registered had he called my name. "Alex and - "