Magiland (Welcome back)

2 The New Teacher

2 THE NEW TEACHER

'Good morning! Little ladies and little gentlemen,' greeted a man who was standing in front of the medium sized classroom of 28 students. 'Your English teacher had transferred to new school, teaching students who are better than you all. Now, my role here is to torture you with boring English lessons. Unless you learn to love me and English, you will not feel being tortured at all. Call me Mr. Barrowman.'

'What a weird introduction he has there,' Alice whispered to Jack who sat left to her. He couldn't care more about the new teacher; he had his mind on thing more interesting than his class. He wouldn't even notice if the teacher was happen to be the man in suit from yesterday. He scribbled on his A4 paper, drawing the terrible looking creature which occupied his mind ever since.

Big eyes, sharp teeth, fierce expression, buff chest, enormous wings, scaly skin and big feet, he tried to in every details he could remembered to his drawing.

'Mr. Scribbler. Is your monster more appealing than my class?' the teacher approached him after sometimes when he found him to be not paying attention to him. He stared at his weird drawing and continued, 'Well, if you have not realised it, our topic today is writing plot. Since your friend, here, likes monster so much,' he held up his drawing to let the class see it, 'I want you all to write me a story based on fairy tales by next week.'

Everyone growled and let out a huge sigh with the task. 'Make sure you use what you had learn from you previous teacher. Characters and settings are vital part of story too,' he reminded them. 'Don't let me down by giving a useless crap! Put some effort! No, lots of effort!' he raised his voice as students dashed out of the class right after the bell rang.

Jack was still stunned, not because of the homework which was caused by his absent mind in class, but with the teacher's sudden appearance! He was the fine man whom he had seen standing in front of his restaurant, the man who grew wings when he had an upset stomach. He was sure of it.

'Hey, let's go! We have next class to catch,' Alice nudged him and helped him packed his books which he didn't even open for the whole one hour period. 'Where did he say he come from?' He whispered to her while glancing past her back.

'He didn't say. Did you know him, somehow?'

'He is suspicious,'

'He is!'

'No, I mean, he is... more than suspicious. Like...' He said, 'dangerous.'

'Enough Jack, we are going to be late,' Alice rushed out of the class while Jack followed her.

Alice had been his friend since she moved in the town two years ago. Upon the fall when new semester started, she was enrolled to the only Upper Secondary School in the town, West Cliff Secondary School. She was the type of person who rarely asked in class but excel anyways. Despite her achievements in class she was a modest person to hang out with and hence Jack befriended with her. When she was free, she would come to the Magiland's Diner to hear him playing violin. Furthermore, that depressing place needed a visitor, once in a while.

He glanced back to the teacher-who was not even looking at him- and clicked his tongue when he could never find anywhere in him that made him a monster. Alice who realised his pace had slowed down dragged him along the corridor that was now swarming with students rushing to their respective class.

...

This is going to be dangerous, he thought at himself as he peeked behind the bushes, near the teachers' staff room. He was thinking to follow the new teacher to his house to, perhaps, discover a little bit more evidence. He squatted upward again -while still indiscoverable- to look who was the person who just walked down the path. It was still not the teacher who, he wanted to stalk over. He sighed silently looking at his clock. He was supposed to meet someone after school.