In the Woods Somewhere

Chapter 2

My first day of classes was like any other day. I picked up the syllabus from the front of the room, and sat down in the middle row.

Majoring in Education wasn't really my plan. I'd wanted to be a psychiatrist, but medical school cost a fortune and I was planning on using all the money I had to get me a decent apartment once I found a school I wanted to teach in.

But that was all way ahead of this. First, I needed to graduate.

I watched as students poured in at the last minute, and still, there was no professor to be found.

"I heard he's always late," The boy in front of me whispered to his friend.

The friend snorted, "I mean, what do you expect from an imp?"

"Don't be racist, Dereck," the boy scolded.

The exchange was strange, no doubt. What did that mean? An imp? How was that racist? Was it some sort of Kansas slang that I'd never heard about.

The professor, Professor Lichen, arrived fifteen minutes late. He must've had some form of dwarfism, because his extremely small stature forced him to stand on a stepping stool to reach the podium. He was white, in fact, an extremely pasty, almost greenish version of white. I wondered if he was ill for a moment, but he seemed perfectly fine as he hopped on the stool and cleared the phlegm from his throat.

"Welcome to Introduction to Education. I'm Professor Lichen, and I've been doing this for the past three hundred years, so you've come to the right place to learn."

There was a smattering of laughter among the students, but most stayed silent. It was a corny joke, and it didn't feel natural to laugh, so I didn't either.

"That wasn't a joke," Lichen scolded.

No one laughed this time, which seemed to satisfy Lichen. He started to lecture about the importance of education, and enriching growing minds. I listened while chewing on my fingernails, a disgusting habit which I could now indulge in without my nagging mother slapping my hand from my mouth.

When the lecture was over, the two boys started to talk again.

"He wasn't so bad, for an imp," Dereck said.

"Oh, get over it, dude." The other said.

The girl sitting beside them glared, "You really shouldn't call him that. The politically correct term is 'person of short stature.'"

Dereck snorted, and his friend looked sympathetic, but instead of addressing her in return, they just looked at each other, "I'll give her a week," the one that wasn't Dereck said.

"No, they usually catch on a lot quicker, give her three days," Dereck insisted.

The girl scoffed, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Dereck grinned at her, "See ya later, normie."

The girl's face flushed red as they walked away. I stood up, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

"Don't worry, I thought it was kind of rude too," I told her.

She seemed relieved that someone agreed with her, "I know right? Completely disrespectful!"

I nodded, "So you're an education major?" I asked.

She smiled, "Yeah, I'm looking to teach mentally disabled children."

I was in awe, "That's really great of you. Those kids need lots of help, but it'll be worth it!"

"I agree. My little brother has Down Syndrome, and a lot of his teachers treated him like a chore, I want to offer these kids a helping hand!" She cried.

She was so passionate about this, "That's awesome," I said, "I'm planning on teaching middle school. Seventh grade was the hardest year of my life, and the teachers never really helped. I want to be different."

The girl laughed, "Now that's a noble goal. I can't stand those gremlins,"

I laughed with her. This was nice, I was making a friend.

"I'm Jen," The girl said, a crooked smile marked her face.

"Cara," I responded.

-

Neither Jen, or I, had any more classes that day. We went out to get lunch in town.

For a small town, Peculiar wasn't very peculiar. It had old buildings, a couple of shops and restaurants, a small hospital, and a Walmart.

Jen insisted we try out the sushi bar, and I complied. It was a nice little place, with dim lighting, and fancy pictures on the walls. Jen ordered three fancy sushi rolls for us to share, and I got some fried rice for myself.

"I've always liked sushi places," Jen said, "my parents took me to these kinds of places from a young age, for me to 'connect to my culture'. It wasn't until I was about seven that we realized that sushi wasn't even Chinese, it was Japanese."

"You're parents aren't Chinese?" I asked.

"They're black. They had fertility issues, and decided to adopt one of the many female orphans that China has to offer."

"And your brother?" I asked.

"He's theirs. They had him in their forties, he was an oops baby, and you know all sorts of complications can happen when you're older and having kids."

"Do you miss them?" I ask.

"They're like, twenty minutes away, over in Great Bend. I can see them any time I want," Jen said, "but it is weird not seeing them every day. How about you? Do you miss your family?"

I shrug, "Not really. We never got along. I'm from over in Jefferson City, in Missouri, I came all this way to get away from them."

"That sucks, but you know, sometimes it's like that," Jen said, downing the rest of her water in one gulp.

I smiled, "Yeah, you're right."

-

Something I noticed as I walked back to my dorm room. The students here are all a bit odd looking. Some are model attractive, others are backdoor ugly. Some have skin so while you could count the veins on their fingers, others are so dark you'd swear they were carved from ebony. I tried not to stare too hard at the girl with flowers for hair, her wig was extremely realistic, a few bumblebees were hovering about her head like a halo.

But there were normal looking people here too. I was reminded of that when I opened the door to see Imani and Navdeep vegging on the couch eating fruit roll-ups and watching How I Met Your Mother.

They seemed to be making fun of Ted through puns, all while having an obscene amount of fun. I smiled at them in greeting, and they waved back.

I took some almonds from our cabinet and poured them into one of the plastic bowls, then proceeded to take a water bottle from the mini-fridge. I decided it was time to read the assigned sections Lichen gave us, and retired to the room to study.

-

Hey guys! I hope you liked the second chapter! Feel free to comment, and don't forget to click on that star if you liked it! Thanks for reading, and I hope all of you have a wonderful day!