"Okay, class! Are you guys ready for a new project?" Mr. Jenson was met with silence and awkward glances.
"You know what, just for that, I'm choosing your partners." The teacher huffed and the class collectively groaned with ad-libs of various complaints.
"I hope you all like each other! This project will go on for two months and you will have to study a kingdom with both a queen and a king. I know they can be one without the other, but it is important so you may split the work. Please include a cover sheet to present to me Monday. After I choose your partners, I will be handing you guys the worksheet that contains everything you need to do." Mr. Jenson grabs the cup of Popsicle sticks and began drawing random names. He then filed them to be with who he assumed were male and female.
"Alright! Stacey G. and William B."
"Thomas W. and Valerie P."
"Justine Q. and Brandon."
"Yolinda and Lance."
"Henry and Felicia."
"Poppy and Chris."
"Quentin and Francescha."
"Lily and Martin."
"Uh, Liam and.. ah - Liam and Aiden." Mr. Jenson seemed pleased with his choices as he dropped a Popsicle stick and paired the two together.
He paused when he felt Aiden staring daggers into his forehead. She was an exceptionally bright student, however, she was nothing but trouble and always turned her work in late. Though she was only 5'5, the small young lady was intimidating, causing him to clear his throat and try to give her a stern look. She clenched her jaw and scoffed, returning to doodling something on her notebook.
Mr. Jenson made eye contact with Liam, who was surely becoming the valedictorian, but Liam looked more annoyed than ever and refused to look at anyone.
He continued his pairings and handed out the worksheets.
"I'd like you all to swap numbers and become more friendly with each other. This will be a long project. Please work together and manage. Goodbye." The bell rang and everyone flocked to the door.
Aiden was the last to leave, giving Mr. Jenson a sweet smile that was surely hiding anger.
"You'll regret this, Jenson!" She sang with sugary venom before skipping out his classroom.
He only hoped she didn't kill Liam.
