The Stars

Ch 2: The Coincidence

     The bell rang, commencing English class. Again, it damn near scared the shit out of me. Realizing what time it was, the substitute got up from the teacher's desk with a dry-erase marker and began writing the date and his name on the whiteboard.

"Monday, 8/12/19
Mr. Arkansas."

Mr. Arkansas: "Good morning, class."

He was a white-haired man seemingly in his late 60's. He also wore a white button-up shirt with overalls, and he spoke in a monotonous and dull tone.

Mr. Arkansas: "My name is pronounced Mr. ar-KANSAS. It's spelled like the state of Arkansas, but it's not pronounced AR-can-SAW. I just wanted to clear that up."

The whole class sat in silence. No one seemed to like his joke.

Mr. Arkansas: "I'm serious. That's my name."

No one seemed to like his... name.

Mr. Arkansas: "*sigh* Alright. I'm instructed to begin class with a slideshow presentation of the campus expectations. Does anyone know how to put it on the projector?"

The majority of the class groaned. Another year beginning with some repetitive slideshow of the school's rules and policies. A brave soul volunteered to help Mr. Arkansas with the projector.

Mr. Arkansas: "Thank you, young man. Alright, now I will take roll. When I say your name, raise your hand."

I couldn't stop worrying about Stephen. He was outside for a few minutes now. I wanted to go talk to him, but I couldn't stop shaking either. I wondered if Tamrah was caught in some sort of accident. What if her bus veered off a cliff? What if she lost her phone and was taken to a camp elsewhere? What if she was kidnapped?

Mr. Arkansas: "Uhh... Is it... tie-VAN?"

He mispronounced my name, but I raised my hand anyway.

Me: "Mr. Arkansas?"

Mr. Arkansas: "Yes?"

Me: "May I go use the restroom?"

I didn't want to leave Stephen out there alone. He needed someone to talk to.

Mr. Arkansas: "Oh, of course."

Me: "Also, it's pronounced TY-vinn."

Mr. Arkansas: "Are you sure? T-Y-V-A-N?"

Me: "I'm serious. That's my name."

For this reason, I seriously hate my name sometimes. Mr. Arkansas glared at me. So did the rest of the class. Some faces held a slight grin. I don't normally give any attitude to a teacher, but today hasn't really been my day so far.

Mr. Arkansas: "Alright... Sorry."

I stepped outside and looked for Stephen. He was laying down on a bench across the hall with his arms covering his face. I sighed and began coaching myself as I approached him.