My Teacher is History

Chapter 9 - Second Impressions

The morning was a bit of a blur. Classes in high school seem shorter than they were in middle school. There is so much work that you don’t even have time to notice the clock. Ms. Barbara was dressed for a model shoot again, but that didn’t stop her from laying down the hammer on lab safety and how much writing we would be doing for our experiments. English was great, of course, and we wrote in our journals, discussed poetry, and even started reading The Most Dangerous Game. I don’t think that story is going to be about what I originally thought. It’s about hunters, but they aren’t hunting animals. Mr. Allen alluded to the idea that humans are the ultimate predators because no other species can reason like we do. Well, if someone was hunting me, I don’t know what I would do. Algebra was algebra. I was writing some equations down in my notebook when I felt a vibration in my pocket. I snuck a peek at my phone and saw that @Vamp_tchr had tweeted an update. I slid the notification and saw Tick-tock goes the clock!

And at that moment, the bell rang for fourth period.

I packed my things without thinking and floated out into the hall. I felt an emptiness in the pit of my stomach. My palms were sweating. I couldn’t make out the conversations around me. I felt like I was being drawn into the main hall and down that dark corridor into the history wing.I think I saw Kelli out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored her. I couldn’t do anything but put one foot after the other and walk toward that dreaded class. All of the bravado and nonchalance I had feigned that morning were gone. I wanted to run, but I had no choice but to move on.

I felt another buzz in my pocket. That sort of snapped me out of the trance I was in. It was a text from Marnie! Hey kid, something told me you needed a boost! Hope you are having a great time in high school. Be careful!

That was strange, but I was thankful for it. Thinking about how she had gone through four years here with Mr. Harris lurking nearby made me feel safer. She had made it out, why shouldn’t I? I got back into my “Amber, you’re being silly” attitude and walked into the classroom with my head a little higher.

The kids in this class were not from my circles. They seemed more the outsider types. Hoodie kid was here, though, so that made me feel a little more stable. There was actually more leather in this room than I had ever seen in my life. One kid even had leather pants! I noticed because I only looked at him like fifty times. He was cute. His hair was slicked back and he had a darkness in his eyes. He kind of reminded me of the teacher, but not in a scary way. All eyes were on me as well when I entered the room. Maybe they weren’t used to seeing people with fashion sense. Some of the girls looked at me like they were jealous. Luna was there, too. She half-smiled at me from the front of the room. She was arranging papers on the teacher’s desk. I wondered if she was some kind of aide or if she just liked helping.

The bell rang, and everyone got seated and quiet. I have never seen a class get settled that quickly, even when the teacher was there. A minute went by. Then two. I squirmed a little in my seat at the front of the room. I decided to take my notebook out and get ready to write notes. I wrote my name. I wrote the date. I wrote “History - Ancient Cultures” at the top of the paper. I looked around nervously, but all the other students just seemed to be staring at their hands. I was starting to get nervous. As much as I was dreading it, I would have given anything for Mr. Harris to be there at that moment. I looked at Luna, but she was reading some kind of pamphlet.

Then I heard it. Clop. Clop. Clop. Like a horse. I could hear those big black boots echoing down the hallway. I started twisting my pencil in my hand. After what seemed like an eternity, the hulking form of Mr. Harris darkened the doorway and he strode into the room. I let my breath out suddenly, and I think this annoyed him. He glanced at me sharply before putting his satchel down on the desk. Luna had gone over to the door and closed it behind him. It suddenly felt very stuffy in the room. It felt like the other students were sitting a little closer than they were before. I started to feel trapped.

Mr. Harris went to the podium, smoothed a stray strand of hair back against his head, and spoke:

“Welcome, everyone. Let’s begin.”