Class T1T5 - The Love Story

Tail of a Serpent

"Nothing new in the class except a substitute teacher." Michael reported as he put on his school uniform.

"What about your classmates?" Mr MuthuRaja asked.

"Well, JianHao was unhappy about Terry helping Ms Sherly with her things." Michael replied. "They were about to start a fight. I had to hold JianHao back."

"Hmmm" Mr Muthu Raja thought. "Do you think Terry plans to bring Sherly into his mess?"

"No idea, sir." Michael answered. "But, I will keep an eye on him. Nothing escapes me."

With that, the conversation ended and Michael left for school.

Meanwhile, Terry was doing the same. He packed his small sling-bag which normally contained a small notebook, a ballpen, and his wallet. However, he was anticipating a date with his teacher after working hours so he placed a checkered polo shirt in his bag. Then, he grabbed his car keys and made a beeline for his silver Toyota Vios. After he got in, he started the engine and drove off to school.

When he got to school, he met with his cousin before making his way to class. As usual, they were greeted by a lot of disgusted looks from their classmates. They were not bothered, to them it only meant that they were relevant. To Terry, it felt like his decision to enroll in his cousin's school was worth it since his classmates paid so much attention to him. For Vincent, his cousin's presence made him feel on top of the social ladder. Of course, only he thought of that. Students like Denise and Michael paid no attention to them.

After the students had settle down in the seats, they waited patiently for Ms Sherly. JianHao, who was sitting in front, turned around to face Michael and Jasmine who were seated behind him.

"Guys!" he whispered. "Terry had his moment yesterday. Today, it's our turn!"

"Whatever you say, JianHao." Jasmine groaned as she rolled her eyes. Michael simply laughed.

"Do what you must, bro." he expressed his support and held out a fist. JianHao smiled and bumped it. He stood up from his seat and peak outside the room's front door. His excitement went on another level at the sight of their substitute teacher. He grabbed a whiteboard eraser and cleaned the board as thoroughly as he could in a few seconds. Then, he grabbed a cloth from the table's drawer and wiped it clean just as Ms Sherly stood at the door.

"That's really nice of you!" she thanked him as her eyes sparkled in delight. "I don't get it. Mr Lakosh said that this section is terrible but you guys don't seem bad at all!"

"It's only right to be nice to our substitute teacher, right?" Jianhao smirked. His classmates rolled their eyes at his comment. He laughed sheepishly before going back to his seat.

"Alright guys, I just need an update on the progress of your class project." Ms Sherly announced. "After that, you're free to do whatever you want."

With that, the students gathered around Denise and Michael. The group in charge of the aircraft livery showed their proposed design to their group leaders who then graded their participation. The group in charge of the aircraft's lights were next. They showed a circuit diagram drawn over a Boeing 707, which was an aircraft very similar to the Boeing KC-135R that they were doing for their project. Michael did not take long to grade them. He sighed as he stood up from his seat. He hated the thought of needing to interact with the two cousins seated at the back of the room. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he walked towards them.

"May I see an update of the aircraft fuselage?" he asked politely. This surprised them. They expected him to be fierce. Terry took out his cellphone and showed him the progress of their work. Michael smirked an nodded his head.

"Vincent and I are taking our time." Terry spoke up. "We can finish it quickly though but I cannot guarantee a good output."

"From what you have showed me, it looks pretty good." Michael commented. "There is still quite some time before the day of the submission. Give me your best output."

The cousins nodded their heads and heaved a sigh of relief. Michael then passed the sheet of paper containing everyone's participation grade to Ms Sherly. After taking a quick glance, their substitute teacher allowed them to do whatever they wished to. Most of the students began whipping out their cellphones to scroll through their social media feed.

Ms Sherly, who was marking her final load of test papers, looked in the direction of Terry and Vincent. The latter was busy playing mobile games. Terry, on the other hand, saw Ms Sherly looking at him and winked. She rolled her eyes but she was blushing. When she was finally done with her final test paper, she gestured for Terry to meet her outside. She stood up from her seat and performed a few stretches as she exited the room.  Once they were outside, they went to a secluded part of the corridor.

"I have no papers to mark tonight." She said quietly, hoping not to attract any attention. "My shift ends at 4pm today. Where will we meet up?"

"I drove today." Terry answered. "But, not to worry. Vincent is the only person that knows about my car. His classmates don't know that I drive. I'll wait for you in the school's carpark. Silver Toyota Vios."

"I'll see you there, then." Ms Sherly smiled. Terry grinned and tried to lean in for a kiss but Ms Sherly immediately had her finger on his lips. "No, Terry. Don't get too excited."

Terry sighed in defeat but out of the blue, Ms Sherly pulled him towards her and crashed her lips into his. His eyes widened in disbelief but it wasn't for long before he was evilly grinning again.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Trev and JianHao had been observing them from afar. They did not see them kissing, but they were suspicious.

"What do you think he's up to?" JianHao whispered to Trev, frowning at the sight of them together.

"I don't know." Trev replied. "But we have to let Michael know about this. Ms Sherly could be swimming in dangerous waters."

Before any of them could say another word, Ms Sherly and Terry were already making their way back to the classroom. The two boys scurried back to their seats. JianHao immediately told Michael about what he saw. The Filipino boy was alarmed. He immediately took out his phone and texted Mr MuthuRaja.

"Let's hope nothing serious will happen." Michael mumbled to JianHao who simply nodded his head.

Ms Sherly gathered her things and exited the room. As she left, Terry and Vincent were smirking. Everything was going according to plan for him as the bird bit the worm which was actually a serpent's tail...