Thrilling. Horror. Evil.

The Art Teacher

The Art Teacher

What is a masterpiece?

A person's greatest piece of work?

Well, I can tell you that from the three years I had in Dawkins Art Academy, I do not have a masterpiece.

My teacher said so. No matter how hard I've tried, how many nights I've spent for art projects, my teacher will always tell me, "You call that art? I call that trash. Since it's a trash, kindly throw that into the dustbin for me." And I did. Ten weeks of work down the drain. Or should I say, dustbin.

And that teacher, who caused me sleepless nights, is called Mrs Goodwill. What an appropriate name for a harsh, mean, in no way good, teacher.

I'm still surprised that I managed to stay in the school despite countless harsh remarks from Mrs Goodwill. She could get me expelled or even banned from humanity. She. Is. That. Evil. Those three years in Dawkins had been etched deeply in my mind and I would never, ever forget Mrs Goodwill, the bane of my existence. She was the one who caused me a bright future ahead of me. I was going to be a professional artist and I wished to be as great as Leonardo Da Vinci. But, that inhuman destroyed that hope for me by giving me grades that are screaming 'C-'s in my report cards. Even till this day, I still can hear the screams.

Anyway, after graduating from that school, which is another surprise for me, I managed to be an art teacher at a local high school. I taught only a small class for the seniors and I have taught them the fundamentals of art. But now, I have something in mind. Let's just say that their lives are gonna change drastically.

My class consists of five boys and five girls. Their names are Aaron, Derrick, Carter, Nathan, Winston, Chloe, Belle, Veronica, Odelia and Christina. I'm sort of their favorite teacher and they look up to me, which is great. I need their trust for this major project.

And this project is going to be my masterpiece.

*****

"Good morning, Mr Murray," The class greeted me in unison.

Before I could greet them back, Carter came rushing into the classroom. "Sup, Daniel! Sorry, I'm late."

I rolled my eyes at him. "How many times do I have to tell you, Carter. Greet me like anyone else and call me Mr Murray. Got it?"

He scratched at the back of his head and said sheepishly, "Sorry, Mr Murray."

"Apology accepted. Now, go to your seat, Carter. And, good morning to you all. Welcome to The Art Project. It's a brand new project I want you guys to work on for this semester." I stated, hearing groans and murmuring between the students.

"Now, this isn't your ordinary art project. It's extraordinary. In fact, it'll be life changing. Amazing to the core." They were all confused, especially Veronica, who raised up her hand.

"Yes, Veronica?" I said, noticing her.

"So, what is The Art Project?" She asked.

"I'm getting to that. I will tell you on the day of submission. The Art Project only requires each and every one of you to bring the person you hate to class. I won't object to you guys bringing more than one." I explained.

This has caused many responses. "What?" "Why?" "Hell no!"

"Settle down, class. This will be a test, whether you are brave enough to ask the person you hate and convince them to attend art class with you. However, it must be a student studying in this school. I'm sure, you guys have people you hate!" I explained further.

I begin to see nods but Aaron asked me, "Why must we do that?"

"I can only tell you on the date of submission, which is next week." Many people was shocked and they argued in protest.