Michelle Ryker

Chapter Six: Surprises

Anderson ran a hand through his hair and smiled. "It's nice of you to finally show up to class, Michelle."

Everyone in the class was looking between us trying to figure out why I'd reacted the way I had. Tatiana was looking at Anderson specifically as if trying to understand why I'd react so strongly to our new teacher. Even though we'd spent barely any time together I had a feeling Tatiana was already starting to understand me.

I walked into the room and to the front where he was standing. "Why are you here?"

He smiled slightly and motioned for me to take a seat. "Teaching a lesson, obviously. Go take your seat and I'll be able to continue. If you don't mind, of course."

Tatiana seemed to regain her wits as she walked to my side. "Sorry Sir, but that's actually not possible. Would you mind coming into the hall with us for a moment?"

Anderson sighed and motioned us out of the room. "If you insist."

Tatiana smiled and picked up the attendance. "Oh we do. This way, please."

She strutted out of the room like the world was a stage which it kind of was at the moment. We had one hell of a captivated audience, at least.

With a roll of my eyes I grabbed Anderson's arm and walked out of the room. I shut the door behind us and leaned on the door, covering the window so when the class stood up to watch what was happening they wouldn't be able to see anything. I may come from a spy school but I wasn't stupid.

"What do you want?" he asked in his most patient voice. I knew that voice well. It meant he wasn't happy with the situation but was willing to see it through before making a decision on how to act.

Tatiana blushed slightly. "We need you to mark us present even though we won't technically be in class today. It's a school thing, one I'm sure you'll get to know eventually."

Anderson glanced at me, knowing I'd be more clear than Tatiana. "What's this about, Michelle?"

I sighed. "We just have a little practice during class today but it's been cleared by the office. All you need to do is mark us here for class and we'll catch up on any work we've missed. That's how this school works. If you'd like a more reliable source, feel free to call the office but I'm sure they'll just parrot my words back to you."

He nodded. "Fine. I'm more concerned about what you're wearing. I was under the impression that everyone at Ravenwood wore their uniform, not," he said giving me a quick once over, "that."

I crossed my arms over the word cheer on my shirt. "It's a uniform of a different kind. We have practice for cheer right now so we're wearing that uniform instead of the standard one. Most days you'll find the squad wearing the regular school uniform."

"Is that so?"

Tatiana nodded. "Yes sir. You see, we have this huge competition next week and since Michelle only just joined the Squad we need all the extra practice we can get. We're terribly sorry about skipping class but I assure you we'll get all of the work done. It's not something that happens on a regular basis."

Anderson motioned for me to get off the door. "Alright, whatever you say. Drop off the attendance on your way there, though."

He opened the door to the noise of chairs scraping as the class settled back into their seats. "Oh and Michelle?"

"Yes Er – Anderson?" I asked wearily.

"Is this really how you've been spending your time since leaving Clarabelle?"