The Evil Inside

Chapter Three - ALEX - Why Maths is Fun

“Why is maths fun?” This is a question asked by children, to their teachers and parents, all over the universe. There is one simple answer: it isn’t. However, note to self – never actually say this to your maths teacher. Especially if your maths teacher is Mr Miller. Yep, especially then.

There is normally a way to ignore him, get by and just about survive. Yet today, I found there wasn’t. Sitting next to Kate with a plaster on my nose (paper planes are dangerous – this one gave me a graze), probably looking mildly ridiculous, my attention span just wasn’t with it.

Gary Pritchard wasted no time on commenting on my nose injury. That’s probably the one thing he’s good at picking up on, other people’s misfortune.

“Hey, nice fashion statement Alex” I smiled sweetly at him, but he knew he’d got to me. Sometimes, I think my life would’ve been better if Pritchard had never been born. Who am I kidding? I think that all the time. So does everyone else I know. And that includes Kate.

Kate. I don’t really know what to think about her right now. About her secret. We’ve been friends since… well, years back, and we’ve never had secrets. Well, not from each other any way. I mean, if Kate liked someone and she told me, it’s not like I’d tell the person that she fancied that she fancied him, is it?

I would never tell them. They would never know. So why doesn’t she trust me enough to tell me about her secret crush? It’s not like I really want to know, it’s just that I’m not being trusted, and that’s what hurts.

I mean, we’re best friends. We always have been. We always will be. Right?

While I was trying to keep quiet and get on with my maths (Mr Miller doesn’t allow you to talk) there was this feeling burning up my insides. I knew what it was. Curiosity. For the whole of the lesson, I restrained myself from bugging Kate more than I already had.

“Shut up Alex,” I told myself, “If Kate wants to tell you, she will. If you keep nagging her, she’ll get annoyed, and then you might jeopardise your friendship even more.”

That was the other thing. What had I done to suggest to Kate that I wasn’t trustworthy? Nothing, at least not that I could think of. Nothing at all.

One whole hour later, I was ready to snap. My insides and my brain were conflicting and over rationalising, and that wasn’t a fun feeling to be on the receiving end of.

At the end of each lesson, Mr Miller would put up a slide on the interactive whiteboard that says, “Why is maths fun?” And each lesson, he would pick different people to answer this question. Each one of these chosen pupils would lie through their teeth about how much they enjoyed maths. Except Brian Cambridge, the class nerd, who genuinely did. Seriously?

“Jordan,” Mr Miller asked “Why was maths fun today?”

“Maths is fun because it teaches you how to read data.”

“Very good Jordan. Susan, Why was maths fun today?”

“Maths is fun because without it, we wouldn’t be able to count anything, Mr Miller.”

“Excellent Susan. Have a sticker.” He walked up to her desk and gave the sticker with the words ‘Maths is fun!’ emblazoned on it, to Susan. “Alex, why was maths fun today?”

“Sorry sir?” I hadn’t been concentrating.

“Wash out your ears McKinley”, he said ‘Why was maths fun today?’” The class laughed, and suddenly I saw red. Something inside of me snapped like a rubber band. Tension.

I stood up. “Maths wasn’t fun today! Maths is never fun. Especially not when the most boring teacher in the whole world, no, in the whole UNIVERSE is teaching it! And everyone knows it! Every lesson, you ask that stupid question, and then you look smug as we all blatantly lie to please you, but it is not fun, and it will never be fun!” I shouted.