When Night Falls

Chapter 5

DREAM HOUR

"Okay, most of you should have the answer by now," said Mr. Burns. "What event took place in 1066?" Everyone looked down at the paper they just finished copying the daily question on that was asked after two minutes of class time.

"The Norman Invasion," the class replied in unison.

"And 1215?"

"The Magna Carta."

"Good," said our history teacher rising from his desk and went to stand at the front of the classroom. He was short and plump, and most students towered over him but he had control over just about every student; that is to say because he is considered one of the best history teachers there is. His pink face turned serious and he pushed his square glasses up against his nose as he spoke. "Today we are going to change things up a bit," he said. Then he began to smile after he made sure every eye was on him. "Today we are going to have a race. Yes John," he said as a student named John raised his hand into the air but let it fall realizing that Mr. Burns wasn't asking him what he was going to ask, but merely answering the question before he could answer it. "There will indeed be a prize for the winner," he said to John. "First things first; you need to divide up into two teams."

The class split into two.

"Now, we are going to create a timeline consisting of dates and their events. One of the teams will write on the white board up here," he said pointing to the white board behind him, "and the other team will use the white board back there," he said pointing his index finger in the back and all heads turned. "The first team to come up with the most dates and their events in a matter of fifteen minutes will win the prize. Any questions?" A tall blond named Ella raised her hand.

"What is the prize going to be?" she asked.

"You find out once the race is over. Any more questions? Okay, good. Get ready now," he said and half the class made their way to the back and the other half remained in the front. "On my word now . . . get set and go!" For the next fifteen minutes, people were busy writing on the big white boards filling them with loads of information learned throughout the year. Before the fifteen minutes ended, everyone was fresh out of dates and took more time standing around to talk then writing. By the time Mr. Burns checked our timelines, I could tell that the group I was in had many more dates and events than the opposing team. In the end, Mr. Burns announced the winning team was ours and each student was awarded with a jolly rancher. He told the other team to come up with three more dates and they would be rewarded also. Everyone received their jolly rancher and Mr. Burns moved on to our last chapter in history.

Math turned out not to be as bad as I expected it to be. Mr. Boyd took us head on into Trigonometry throwing new terms at us such as sine, cosine, and tangent. When I started working the problems out of the book, I found them to be quite easy. Of course, Jayden was with me in case I needed any help at all. He was the wiz of math; the man with all the answers, and it just so happened that it was Jayden's favorite subject.

Mr. Boyd started out with his normal lecture on the rules of the classroom including his no cell phone policy unless it was being used as a calculator, but nothing more. He announced this every day, so if someone got out of line, they immediately received detention or were sent to the office. Mr. Boyd does not like to play around. You're better off making a good first impression because he does not allow many second chances. He's the kind of guy that does not put up with anyone's problems, so ask your questions only if they're about math and stay clear of his space. He's not here to make any friends, nor enemies if he can help it, but to teach what is needed to be taught and nothing more. If there's one thing you shouldn't ask about math it is, "Are we going to use any of this material later on in life?" His response will be, "No you will not have to use everything in everyday life, but the school wants you to learn it. Deal with it."