Tatiana tapped her pencil on her writing pad as Mrs Zimmerman taught the class about when and why the Jim Crow Laws were adopted. She rested her chin on her left hand and stared out the window, the sharpened lead of her pencil creating a sprinkling of grey specks in the corner of the blank page, like a cluster of freckles on pale cheeks. Despite the fact Tatiana almost fell asleep on numerous occasions in history class, she was glad she had claimed her seat beside one of the windows, jealous of every person that was free to roam the streets whilst she was trapped in this juvenile prison. The sun beamed brightly, seeping through the luscious green leaves and plump clouds, which seemed to be growing heavy and grey as time continued.
The car park did ruin the green scenery, but it was entertaining to guess who's car belonged to which teacher based primarily on their personalities.
'Chevy Corvette, probably Miss Green's. Triumph Spitfire, maybe Mr Peterson's. Lotus Elan, almost certainly Mrs Reynold's...'
"Miss Franklin, I want to be out of this god forsaken classroom as much as you do, so would you do me a favour and at least pretend to be interested in what I'm saying? I'm sure our day would go much quicker if you did so." Mrs Zimmerman placed her hands on her hips and scowled, displaying how irritated she had become from Tatiana's exhausted and bored manner.
"I apologise, Mrs Zimmerman. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Tatiana gave her a timid apologetic smile, Mrs Zimmerman pursing her lips.
"No reason to be catching up on your lack of sleep in lesson time. Keep your eyes on the board and listen to what I'm saying." Mrs Zimmerman demanded, Tatiana sighing.
"Yes ma'am." Tatiana caved in, watching as Mrs Zimmerman turned to the blackboard with her small piece of chalk, scribbling down things relating to the Brown vs Board of Topeka incident.
"Try to redeem yourself here, Miss Franklin. Which famous Civil Rights activist died earlier this year?"
"Malcolm X. And he didn't die - he was murdered, ma'am." Tatiana corrected her, Mrs Zimmerman seemingly more impressed than offended that one of her students had shown better knowledge than herself. Maybe it showed that Tatiana actually did listen.
"Very good. We're going to compare him to Martin Luther King Junior. Could you start us off with one difference or similarity?" Mrs Zimmerman turned back around to the board, writing both of the activist's names on either side of the blackboard, dividing them with one vertical line down the centre.
"Erm, Malcolm X believed more in African American people fighting for their rights, whereas King wished for all races to integrate, using primarily peaceful protests." She explained in as little detail as possible so that Mrs Zimmerman had the time to abbreviate most of the words and write them down.
"Brilliant, Miss Franklin! Now, someone else tell me a similarity between the two. Anything at all..."
Tatiana's eyes seemed to involuntarily focus on the two names written in the worst case doctor's handwriting that she had ever seen, drowning out the answer another student had finally decide to respond with.
Malcom X. Martin Luther King. Malcolm X. Martin Luther King...
Tatiana's stare seemed to only intensify, the names still playing on repeat.
Malcolm X. Martin Luther King. X. King. X. King
X. King.
"I've have an idea!"
Tatiana stood abruptly, almost knocking the table and the chair over. She breathed the words with a stare, a smile reaching upon her face.
There were a few seconds of silence (obviously of sudden shock due to Tatiana's untimely eureka moment).
"I beg your pardon, Miss Franklin?"
Tatiana was snapped out of her daze by a very unamused Mrs Zimmerman, her arms folded and her lips pursed. Tatiana then realised the rest of the class was gazing at her like she was psychotic.
"I said, u-uh..."
There wasn't a single bead of sweat that rolled down her forehead, however she felt like she was absolutely melting under the multiple burning spotlights that were the eyes of the others.
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Her mind instantly tried to rhyme anything with what she had just said, however what would also fit into the environment around her.
"I would like a beer!..."
No.
"Oh my gosh, a deer!..."
Nope that wouldn't work.
"Give me a cheer!..."
God no...
"I said I've got diarrhoea, may I please excuse myself?"
A few quiet chuckles came from a few members of the class, the teacher furrowing her brows and staring Tatiana up and down, a disgusted expression on her sour face.
"Yes. Yes, go!" Mrs Zimmerman shooed her out of the room before any 'accidents' could happen, Tatiana muttering a thank you and rushing out of the room before she died of embarrassment.
As soon as the door closed behind her, she leant against the wall and cursed under her breath, hearing the laughter of the others and Mrs Zimmerman attempting to calm them down.
"Diarrhoea?! Why did I have to say diarrhoea?!" She scolded herself almost silently, before calming herself down and counting to five with closed eyes.
Once her five seconds of meditation were over, she ran to her desired destination, which felt like it was in a completely different part of the country due to the distance she had to go.
Tatiana had made it after a solid 3 or 4 minutes of jogging, pausing outside the door and regulating her breathing, clearing her throat and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She knocked and opened the door, the teacher looking at her questioningly.
"Mr Henry, a Ford Fairlane is being towed outside, the receptionist told me to spread the word."
"I just got a new paint job!" The distressed teacher barged past her, sprinting through the corridors and yelling profanities.
Tatiana entered the room fully and allowed the door to swing shut, standing at the front of the class.
All eyes were set upon her, however she tried her best to remain as confident as possible. She smiled to almost reassure the class, despite the fact she felt highly intimidated.
She received a few smiles back, the words finally coming from her mouth when she felt ready.
"How would you like to be greasers for a day?"
•••
"Whom I love so dear But meanwhile I got to work right here"
