Chapter 6 - The Road Taken
"Alright class, listen up" Mr Reynolds calls the class to order as Shelley takes a seat next to me.
"Morning" I whisper to her.
"Hey" she whispers while smiling, but then returns her attention back to Mr Reynolds. I suppose I will do the same.
"Every day for the next two weeks we will be looking at a different aspect of the English curriculum. We will go over different genre's like fiction, non-fiction, drama and we covered some poetry yesterday. This is to give you a feel for what we will be learning throughout the year. After our two week overview, we will go into more detail." Mr Reynolds says as he paces the front of the class.
Thats an interesting way of doing things I muse. I wonder what we are going to be covering today.
"Today, we are going to spend some time with Shakespeare. I want everyone to pair off for today's class and pick a Shakespeare work and discuss it amongst yourselves" Mr Reynolds instructs the class.
"Want to partner up?" I ask Shelley.
Shelley smiles and replies "Absolutely"
As the class is pairing off, Mr Reynolds calls for everyones attention again saying "There will be no assignments or homework over the next two weeks."
The class erupts into cheers, that I know are premature, then Mr Reynolds adds "But, there will be several throughout the year. So you have been warned"
As I suspected, the cheers quickly turn into groans as Mr Reynolds chuckles.
I cant help but smile in response to the award-winning smile Mr Reynolds shoots my way.
I feel my cheeks heat up, and mentally chastise myself 'Quit blushing!' Dammit!
Thinking back, maybe accepting that muffin wasn't such a good idea. Now he probably thinks I owe him something.
Shelley nudges me in the arm and then gives me a questioning look when she asks "So what do you want to do?"
"Uh...Sorry..." I mumble and quickly turn my attention away from Mr Reynolds and focus on Shelley.
Play it safe...Focus on Shelley...
"Im not fussed. You pick one." I reply to Shelley when my brain finally returns from vacation.
Shelley begins to think and then pulls out a pad and paper and asks "What Shakespeare work do you know of?"
Not wanting to show off, and tell her that I know them all, I just shrug and say "A few."
Shelley looks at me expectantly so I ask "What do you prefer? Comedy? History? Tragedy? Or Poetry?"
Shelley taps her chin with her pencil and then writes something on her notepad and then she replies "Comedy, because I like happy endings"
I smile at Shelley, thinking that it is typical that she would pick a comedy. Happy endings seem to fit her personality well.
English went by as Shelley and I discussed Shakespeare's works. A few times during class, Mr Reynolds walked past our desks and nodded in approval before moving on.
The way my body reacted to his proximity was getting on my nerves! I was relieved when the bell rang, so I could distance myself.
Next was my Calculus class with Shelley, that was as boring as hell. I found it really hard to keep awake, and Shelley was still taking notes furiously. I couldn't stand the teachers constant droning, so I nudged Shelley and whispered "What are you up to tonight?"
