There's an Invisible Man Sleeping in My Bed

Chapter 8

              Thalia slid into her usual seat in English only moments before the bell went off. She sighed, leaning back against the metal and wood seat, her books a precarious tower in front of her.

            “That was a close one.”

            She turned, nodding at her best friend Ruth. “You’re telling me. My alarm didn’t go off this morning.”

            Ruth shook her head in sympathy, her brown ponytail swaying with the movement. “Your mom have to wake you up then?”

            Thalia hesitated, then shrugged. “Pretty much yeah,” she replied. Trying to explain that it had been the invisible man who haunted her house mimicking her mom’s voice that had woken her up was not a conversation she wanted to have first thing on a Monday morning.

            “Not that it would have mattered. Everyone knows you’re Mr. Bowen’s favourite.”

            “Which I don’t understand. I’ve never been much more than indifferent to English. I much prefer Chemistry.”

            Ruth chuckled and dropped her voice, since Mr. Bowen had begun talking about how they’d all done on their final essays. “You forget, most of our classmate are barely capable of stringing two sentences together. Those of us capable of coherent thought look better because of it. And you, unlike me, don’t give him attitude when he’s being stupid. And you’re not arrogant like Leroy or a blatant brown-noser like Kristen It’s no wonder you’re his favourite.”

            Now Thalia shook her head but let the conversation drop. Less because she thought Ruth was right and more because Mr. Bowen had begun handing back their essays. She let her eyes drift, taking in the harsh fluorescent lights in the white ceiling and the dull cream of the walls only partially covered with posters of Shakespearean plays. The linoleum floor was scuffed with shoe and drag marks from the bare metal and unpainted wood desks that filled the room.

             Mr. Bowen neared them, the light hitting his hair in a way that showed the gray hairs that had mixed in with the blonde. He stopped in front of their desks just long enough to drop Ruth’s essay on her desk before moving off to the next student, leaving a buzz of conversation in his wake. Ruth rolled her eyes at his back and flipped the essay over. She shrugged and turned it so Thalia could see as well. The large red eighty-two was unmistakable. “Not bad. I’d probably have done better if I hadn’t picked a topic he liked better. Misogyny through the ages was maybe not the best choice.”

            Thalia had to smile. Ruth had a habit of picking topics that were not only unusual, but also most likely to irritate the teacher who had to mark the essay. “It was a better idea than sexism in today’s schools.”

            “I was saving that for a special occasion. But with our final essay worth forty percent, I couldn’t risk failing and having to repeat a semester of school. I want out of high school and this hick town as soon as possible. I will murder someone if I have to stay another year.”

            She winced. “Sister or mom today?”

            “Sister. I don’t know how that is related to me. Do you know what she did this morning? She rearranged the cereal shelf. So it was in alphabetical order. Who does that?”

            Thalia was saved from having to answer by the arrival of Mr. Bowen. He handed her her essay with a smile. “As always, good work Thalia. I enjoyed reading it.”

            Behind him, Ruth was making a gagging gesture, forcing Thalia to hold back a smile. “Thank you.”

            His smile widened and he nodded at her before continuing his meandering route through the students. Ruth reached out and bent Thalia’s essay back so she could see the mark. “Ninety-five,” she said, snorting. “I told you you’re his favourite.”

            “I wrote about the invention of penicillin and its effect on society. You know I do better if there’s some kind of science in my essay somewhere.”

            Ruth grinned. “Don’t be modest. We both know you’re more suited to Academia than I am. Now, what we need to talk about is-”

            She was cut off by Mr. Bowen raising his hands and calling for quiet. Rolling her eyes again, Ruth turned to the front. Thalia did the same, minus the eyes rolling. “I want you all to be aware that I was marking you as if these were university essays. This is your last year and you need to be preparing for the work you’ll be doing in post-secondary. This is a university-prep class and to be honest, I’m disappointed in a lot of you. I know you’re capable of much better. And for those of you who did put forth the effort, I’ll be rewarding you at lunch. Everyone who got above ninety percent should come see me in my office during lunch. The rest of you, pay attention to the mistakes you made and try to avoid repeating them next year. Now, I want you all to open to page one hundred and seventy-two. We’ll continue where we left off in 1984. Do I have any volunteers to read?”

            Watching Kristen’s hand shoot up, Ruth’s face twisted with disgust. “Please God,” she whispered just loud enough for Thalia to hear, palms pressed against each other. “Let Kristen’s brown-nosing one day screw her over. Please let her obvious sucking-up to teachers cause others to lose all respect for her. And please, let everyone see her bitchy true nature so that she’s treated the same way she treats those she thinks beneath her. But most of all God, please make sure I’m around to watch this miracle. I want to laugh as she crashes and burns.”

            Thalia had to cover her mouth to keep a giggle from escaping. A moment later, she had herself back under control. “I’d think that would be something you’d have to ask the Devil for.”

            Ruth considered it. “I suppose you’re right. Please Devil, suck your minion Kristen back to your side where she can torture those poor souls who get too close to her.”

            With the class hushed to listen to Paul read, no one was looking behind them. Which was good for Thalia and Ruth, whose shaking shoulders and fists stuffed into their mouths would have gotten them into some kind of trouble if noticed.