His Mask

Chapter 1/Intro

The anticipation rose as the announcements flew by.

The excited, the weary and the worried all took their seats. All eager to begin. All eager to leave.

However, only one among the crowd stood truly unique.

Only one was free, more free then them all combined.

Only one could truly see and had nothing to hide.

Only one could look anyone straight in the eye.

Only one expressed herself freely and truly didn't care about image or how she seemed to anyone out there.

She curled the paper in her hands until it was a perfect cylinder. She let it go, caught it as it hit the desk, then placed her text book over the single sheet of paper. She looked up and scanned the classroom. All the same. Never different.

Sherry, in the back, popped the bubble gum, and John was drooling after her.

To her right, Jonathan was stoned and was working on his current vandalism. Jake was only harassing and interrogating him so that he wouldn't be staring longingly at Sherry.

Olivia sat still and upright, in the first row, in front of Sherry, cleaning her desk and seat with Lysol wipes and stealing the occasional glimpse at Sean.

Sean, diagonal to Olivia, was ignoring her and shamelessly flirting with the two girls, Liliana and Alyssa, who always bombarded his desk during this time.

Matthew sat slouched, drawing, he sat next to Olivia and continued to look toward the door.

Carris, Carrie, Catherine, Cathleen, and Kathy all stood gathered around Cam, in the center of the room, discussing the gossip currently going around. Three of the six being triplets. Two identical.

Harry and Kris were standing behind the girls arguing about the football game last night.

Behind them stood Samantha and Zeke. Zeke has been chasing her since she stepped into the classroom this semester, she was secretly hoping, all along that he'd ask her out.

The girl sat quietly by the door waiting for the silence that would never come and the teacher that would surely arrive within moments.

She would wait ten minutes before the teacher finally arrived, bursting into the classroom as his scarf was coming loose from his neck, his hat had fallen, his jacket was unzipped and his bag still over his shoulder.

However, in this moment, in which she was observing, she noticed the absence of the only person who seemed more depth than the sea itself.

This person was never absent, never unhappy, never scared to speak.

However, his heart was in ruin and it was simply a mask put on for the time of the show. A mask that was not obvious. No one, not even those closest to him knew of this.

The mask wasn't shiny like plastic. It wasn't dull like wood. It was only the best of himself multiplied by ten. Only sometimes would he peek out and show a glimpse of himself to the world.

He was beautiful in every way a man possibly could be, but his past was dark and unhappy. It had changed him for the better but it could still bring him to tears and destruction. To say the least it brought out the worst in him.

As she pondered on with this thought her classmates had begun to pack, the teacher, had merely six minutes to arrive.

In reality, this particular class seemed simple, but once you were in, you realized how hard it would get.

It was like a hard pastry coated in chocolate. Tempting, sweet and lovely if done right, you can get to the middle if patient and determined. However, when done wrong the middle becomes unreachable and an option on how to detach a loose tooth. However, either way, rewarding and impacting.

Three. Two. One. In that moment, he had burst into the classroom as if a musical would break out, and a whole dance number start. However, to this comment there would only be a chorus of disappointed students and a smiling girl in the corner who loved this class secretly in the depths of her mind.

"Okay, I'm so sorry, but we can still start the presentations today," he paused to put his jacket on the chair along with his hat and scarf. He dropped his bag next to the chair and continued, "Okay, I will call you randomly and you will stand and present your masterpiece."

The girl, unlike the rest, was excited. This class always made her day bright and exciting.

Her creativity and writing wasn't the most flourished of the class but she loved it so dearly that she couldn't help but become giddy with excitement every time she was allowed to voice her opinion.

It was a rare and blessed occasion.

He began to go through the people on the list, one by one they were called and presented shallow poetry and short stories. Not really caring about their grades or even bothering to see the point in the assignment.

It was, as the teacher had stated the week before, 'an assignment on something that is you, you can speak of a personality trait or physical trait. Anything of the such. Anything that you are proud that you posses.'

"AJ?" he paused to peer at the student and then spoke once more, "yes, you, you will be the last of the day."

"Okay well on this assignment I decided to just go with what I thought and see if I could make it sound lovely at all," pause. Breath. Continue:

"Just a thought is all you need.

It's all you need to make a new.

It's all you need to rebel and see what others can't.

What others can't and don't dare to.

Just a thought is all you need to spark the flame.

The flame that is sparked will light the way.

Just a thought is all you need to realize that no one opinion matters.

No one opinion matters because you are no better than I and I am no better than you.

Just a thought is all you need, so therefore, darling there's only one thing left to say.

That is darling, that I don't give a damn about what you say, I am who I am and that's pretty damn great."

The clapping began as she began to move toward her seat. It ended after she had already relaxed in her seat and was slouched carelessly as she always was.

"So what are you exactly proud that you posses?" The teacher said after a pause.

She sat up for a moment, to explain.

"Well, I'm confident in my own skin and I'm confident with my words and I'm not afraid of anyone. I won't take crap from anyone, I don't find the use in it. Why fear when none of us is better than the next? We're all different and pro- should be proud of that."

"That's brilliant AJ," he paused and began to clap, when no one else followed he looked at the class, "Well! Claps for Ms. Singer."

At that moment the bell had rung and Ms. AJ Singer was in the hallway and up the stairs before the teacher could even turn and ask to speak to her.