The Stranger

7

Erik has shown up in time for our first class, even though his face is quite unhappy. But for now, I am just fine with his presence.

Entered the classroom, he has simply tossed the backpack on my desk and looked around the room, avoiding my gaze and my attempts to start a conversation.

When I look at him now, I can't help to think about his brother and the way he ran away from me. A week has passed without a sign of him, letting me fully understand that our acquaintanceship was over; although, every day my hopes to meet him or simply talk to him about Erik were still high, until yesterday, when Erik come to me informing me with zero emotion that he agrees to take part in the program.

And that was it. Matt now hasn't a reason to interact with me. He has done his job: persuading Erik to accept my offering.

For a split of a second, I was even resolved to talk with my student about his brother; ask some random question; trying to sound normal; attempting to sound interested in Erik's life. But then, I thought that Erik could tell everything to Matt, and I would be seen like a stalker. So I decided to quit the interrogation, even though I am dying to know more about him and his life, that I can feel is rather complicated.

I remove these unsatisfying thoughts and I get started with the work immediately, to get everything ready for our students.

This classroom is a lot bigger that my formal one and I am a bit uncomfortable, but I will get used to it in no time. We have changed the arrangement of the desks and chairs in a big circle to make feel everyone at easy. This is our first class, and I don't want to jump in the teaching mode without know all the people who have joined my English course. Moreover, I need to use another kind of approach with them, especially when the people here are all grown up, with jobs and family.

We have positioned a blank sheet on every desk to let the students fill it with their personal information. In this way, I can pass all the data to the administrative office and they can go ahead to register it in the system. Erik is helping me, but he is matching every movement with a groan or a snort, showing his annoyance in doing this job.

"Erik came on."

"What? I am doing the job, but you have to know that I am not happy."

"I can tell," I say arching my brows a bit annoyed of his childhood behavior.

"I am doing this for my brother," he states softly this time.

I guess, they are really close and determined to support each other, with a bond stronger than mine with my sister. Maybe, because we grew up in a happy environment, with our parents always present, looking after our studying and our education. With a father that crossed our home door every evening with a smile on his lips, ready to share a hug or a kiss with us, listening to my stupid stories and helping me with homework and indulging me with my hobbies that weren't football or baseball, but collecting insects. And he took me every weekend in the woods or near a lake, driving for hours with the only purpose to make me happy, catching strangest animals, with my mother and my sister annoyance; because we had for years the house full of jar and box with slimy little beasts.

My father and I knew really well the irritation of my mother about my passion; so we were constantly teasing her, calling the house: The zombies' little castle or The monsters' house. Not to mention my wish to be a real zombie: wearing torn clothes and her makeup to make my face paler with violet bruises and red scars. My childhood days were an eternal Halloween and I loved it. My dear mother not too much, especially when we had guests and I walked through the rooms with no shirt, a worn out pair of jeans and dirty feet and my hands replete with worms, letting my parents' friends a little astonished and disgusted.

I can't forget my sister fourteen's birthday, when we found three bugs in the cake, and my mother started to yell at me and my father like Annie Wilks in Misery; while we were trying to refrain our laughs with our faces big and red on the verge to explode at any moment. My sister instead sat still on the chair crying, with all her friends watching the show.

She didn't speak with me for two weeks because the girls at school had started to call her: bug eater, the queen of bugs or bug sister. Not very creative as nicknames, I know. Then, she simply forgot about that issue and started to bother me like always.

Our relationship was made of fights day in and day out. Our hours were stuffed with a war of words, punches, food, soil, stealing toys; and when we were teenagers, we started with bad jokes and spelling out each other's secrets to our parents, until she went to college and we understood that our endless war was stupid and luckily we became friends. Although, I always will be a bit intimidated by her evil queen's attitude.

She has been the first person I come out with, even though my parents knew the truth before I did, but they stayed quiet till I was ready to confess my 'sin'. And that day, everyone was relieved because the only secret that shadowed us was finally swept away. My mother began to find me sweet and cute boyfriends, letting me discover new levels of embarrassment; meanwhile, my father started to think that every man on the planet, except for him, was gay; and my sister showed a new kind of fondness for me, becoming my guardian devil/angel.

Instead, I can say that Erik's and Matt's relationship is made of loyalty, respect, and fear from Erik's side. The words used by my student to talk about his brother seems more like words that a son use to talk about his father, and this intrigues me even more, increasing the number of questions that I have for Matt. And for this reason, I can't judge their relationship with almost any elements.

I observe my new students timidly enter the classroom. Someone has red cheeks and eyes down; meanwhile, others look at me nervously. There are young and old people. Men and women, and some children. I welcome them with a big smile and I give a soft punch to Erik, letting him understand that he has to do the same. Manners are the first thing we need when we interact with others. And for a teacher, this is the rule number one because we stand as a model for the new generations, even though some of my colleagues forget this simple rule most of the time.

When all the students find a place to sit, I clear my voice and I introduce myself, explaining what I teach and what we are going to do together; then Erik do the same with a slice of annoyance in his voice but I can tell he is also excited, and I can understand him very well. I felt the same thing when I found myself in front of my first class. It was during my last year of college and I find a job in a private school attended by children with disability.

I was so nervous the first day that I threw up in the principal office, and from that episode, I should have guessed that my relationship with principals would be complicated.

But more than anything, I was scared for my lack of experience with children and teaching in general.

That was the first time that I interacted with more than one young person at the same time, and their need for extra care didn't help at all.

However, thanks to my sister that threatened me to skin my body with her nails if I wouldn't face my responsibility, I was able to survive that year. And I can proudly say that it has been a great experience of life.

Now I can endure anything and I can give some advice to Erik.

I start asking random questions and the students answer me in Spanish, but I forbid speaking this langue during the class because they need to practice English even though at the beginning they feel uncomfortable and make a lot of mistakes. One step at a time they will build their vocabulary and produce a full conversation in English without my help.

After my questions, I give them time to talk about themselves and explain the reason they are here.

Each one of them has multiples reason: finding a job, start a new school, begin a new life with their family, give a better future to their children, dreams, hopes, desire to change.

They ask for things that I longing, that every person longings and that only education and knowledge can offer.