A Year At The Opera

Chapter 2: A Bare-knuckle Brawl And The Bad Kind Of Secrets

Word Count: 7000 words

Eleanor

The words echoed in Eleanor's ears: I'm Drew Reynard and I'm your new history teacher.

And Eleanor was scared to say the first thought in her mind was of relief. Relief that he wasn't cheating on her. But soon, her brain finally began to process the situation. And the only thought in her brain was: That fucking bastard.

Eleanor shoved her head down onto her desk. Fuck. Oh, fucking fuck. He's going to see me. Oh no.

Eleanor had to put a hand on her mouth to stop gagging. Ugh, the shame. If anyone found out, she'd be labeled as the class slut. Screwing the teacher. But how was she supposed to know? Maybe you should've paid more fucking attention, Eleanor. He hadn't said it yet but she could hear Aaron's voice in her head. Oh, god.

She heard Drew clear his throat.

"Well," he began to say, "You know, I'm sure everyone had a great summer. But, unlike the first day of every semester, I thought I'd shake things up a bit. Today, we'll start learning. We'll keep the introductions for tomorrow."

Everyone in class groaned but Eleanor could only sigh in relief. Maybe he won't notice me then.

Drew instructed everyone to open their books. Eleanor, careful to keep her head down, slowly opened her textbook.

She was in no mood to study about the New England colonies.

"Let's start with the basic stuff. Can anyone tell me why the English invaded America?" Drew asked.

Eleanor slowly turned her head to the side, glancing at Aaron.

"Yes, you." Drew said, pointing at someone.

The boy next to Eleanor rose in his seat and answered the question.

"Aaron." Eleanor whispered.

Aaron turned his head towards her. "What?" He whispered back.

"That's him." Eleanor said.

"Who's who?"

"Him. That's Drew." Eleanor pointed towards Drew as furtively as she could.

"Seriously?" Aaron asked, stifling a laugh.

Eleanor nodded slowly.

Aaron looked down into his book, almost snorting.

"Aaron." Eleanor whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked, grinning.

"What do I do?"

"Don't let him see you." Aaron said, putting on a serious face, "Meet me behind the cafeteria during lunch break."

"Okay." Eleanor nodded.

The period seemed to stretch on forever. Drew kept on talking and Eleanor kept her head buried in her book. He didn't notice her. Or maybe he did and was trying to avoid her.

So that's why he was being so slippery today. Oh, Drew, you are fucking dead.

And, for some reason, Eleanor suddenly felt she should be calling him Mr. Reynard.

But, the period did finally end and Drew dismissed the students who began to shuffle out of class; Eleanor managed to sneak through the crowd unseen.

The rest of the periods went smoothly enough. Though Eleanor had a hard time concentrating on whatever the teachers were saying. She wasn't even disappointed when she was stuck with the worst Algebra teacher in the entire faculty. She was anxious for this to be over. She didn't get a chance to talk with Aaron between periods. He only shared two more subjects with her and he either sat too far away or he was busy listening to whatever the teachers were saying.