The Forbidden Talent (ON HOLD)

Chapter 3

After a few minutes, the seats filled up part of the way, but the majority of them were still empty when Mr. Zabinski walked in. I didn't know anyone in the room. I guess this will be a really small class. I should have known, though. Not many people would want to do extra work if they don't have to. Yes, this class is in place of P.E., thank goodness. I hate P.E.

"Alright, class. This is actually the smallest class I've ever had. 7 people. That's really small. Wow," Mr. Zabinski said as he walked into the classroom. "Well, I guess this is everyone. Hello! I'm Mr. Zabinski, if you didn't know. Sorry to put you guys on the spot here, but since this is such a small class and you'll be working in groups a lot, I would like each person to stand up, say your name, and tell us one thing about yourself that you would like everyone to know or you think would help future lessons. Now, who would like to go first?"

A small boy near the back of the room raised his hand slowly.

"Yes?" Mr. Zabinski said to the boy. "You want to go first?"

"Yes, please," he said in a small voice as he stood up. "My name is Lawrence Farris. I think this fact about me would be helpful in future lessons: I don't like to be put on the spot like this."

That last sentence earned a few chuckles from the people in the room. I think I like this Lawrence guy. Not like like, just like. Had to clear that up.

"Okay then, Lawrence. I won't try to do things like this anymore." He laughed a little. "Who's next?"

I still had no idea what I was going to say. I wanted to say I loved to draw, but of course that's not allowed. Stupid rules.

A girl about my size raised her hand.

"Yes?" Mr. Zabinski said.

The girl stood up. "My name is Megan Thorn. The fact about me is that I like to read a lot."

"All right, Megan. Thank you. Who's next?"

I suddenly got an idea for what I was going to say. I love the looks on people's faces when I tell them what I'm about to say. I'm going to enjoy this. I raised my hand.

"You're up next." He pointed to me.

I stood up. "My name is Alexis Ramilla. My favorite food is fish fingers and custard." I smiled like that wasn't the weirdest thing ever.

The class and Mr. Zabinski looked at me like I had five heads.

Lawrence scrunched up his nose and said, "You like what?"

"Fish fingers and custard. It actually tastes really good. You should try it sometime."

Another girl said, "You mean fish stick things, like, dipped in custard?"

"...Yeah," I said.

“Uh, okay then, Alexis. I've never heard anything like that before. Um, who wants to go next?" Mr. Zabinski asked.

I sat down with a small smile. A few people were still looking at me weirdly, but most had turned their attention to the next victim, Elizabeth Haddock. I soon learned that the other three people in the class were named Leslie Lewis, Faith Coleman, and Kyle Hunter.

By the time everyone finished, there was still an hour left of class. It only took 15 minutes for everyone to introduce themselves.

“Umm... Okay," Mr. Zabinski said. “There's still a lot of time left, so I'm going to give you all your first project. Don't freak out, it's not due for three more weeks, but I know some people like to start early. You can start on it in class today if you want. Anyway, what I want you to do is this. This class is called Problem-Solving for a reason. I'm going to give you a real-life problem that some of you might have had before. Actually, I bet all of you have had this problem at least once in your life. I would like each of you to create your own solution to the problem. It has to be at least two pages long, single side, and typed since I know some people write really sloppily. No offense if you're one of these people, but your penmanship needs to improve. Any questions?"

Kyle, Leslie and I raised our hands.

"Yes, Kyle?" asked Mr. Zabinski.

"What is the problem we're trying to solve?" Leslie and I put our hands down.

"Ah, yes. Right. The problem is, 'What do you do when you forget something really important?'" He said this as he wrote it on the board. "There must also be a title on the paper that you come up with. Any other questions?"

I raised my hand.

"Alexis?"

"When exactly is this due?"

"Three weeks from today, which would be October 6. Any other questions?"

No one raised their hands.

"Okay, good. I would suggest writing it down first and editing it like one of your English papers that everyone knows is really boring and then typing it. If you don't want to do that, I have some computers in the back over there that you can use. You can start now and I'll let you know when class is over. Good luck!"

I decided to write it first like he said even though everyone besides me and Megan went to the computers immediately. Of course, me being the special, artistic one, I had some great ideas for some drawings that would be perfect for my writing, but there goes that stupid rule again. Oh well.

The whole class was surprisingly quiet for the rest of the class until Mr. Zabinski dismissed us.

The rest of the day was uneventful, as usual. I have such a boring school life. When I got home, the project was the first thing I worked on because I like to get things done early. I'm so glad I have that class every day. I don't know what I'd do without the laughs I get from that class.

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Author's Note

Hello again! Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been too busy reading other Wattpad books. ;D

Could you please try to spread the word about my book? I know, three chapters and a prologue aren't much to go by, but 5 reads and 3 votes isn't a lot either. I'm not begging for people to love and publish my book for the whole world to see, but I'd like people to know I'm here. Also, vote, comment, follow, stuff like that (if you want to). Enjoy! :)