The Game

Chapter 17 - Faking a smile

Tori

I can't focus. Of all things my father has ever done, this is not even something to compare with.

Is this a joke?

Neal starts giving a presentation of himself.

"Hello class, my name is Neal Celtic. I will be your teacher until Mr. West returns. I'm sure this will be an easy task, if we all just collaborate. You will all be referring to me as Mr. Celtic. I'm sure you all expect something of me professionally and of course I will do my absolute best. This means that I will be expecting the same level of work from you. I will have you know that I have a special way of running things, and actions against the rules will have consequences. Any questions?"

This is definitely not a joke. He is dead serious.

"Are you single?" Carina, a blond girl in my English class asks. She has a flirtatious grin on her face. I feel my blood boiling. Neal annoys me. The girls staring at him annoys me. This is too much. He knows I'm in this class, but not once has he made eye contact with me. Who gave him permission to invade my privacy. He looks at Carina, with serious eyes.

"My private life is of no concern to you or any other student. So let me simplify my question. Any questions regarding my lessons, anyone?" Carina's grin disappears and is left with a blank face. The class grows quiet. Still this uneasy feeling inside my stomach won't leave. I feel so angry and frustrated. Neal continues his class, but I can't take it no more. As he writes on the blackboard, I take my books and school bag and walk towards the classroom door. As I am taking my leave, Neal without turning around asks

"Why are you leaving my class? The class hasn't ended, Miss James.."
Miss James? Why is he being so formal all of sudden?

"Tori. My name is tori."
"And I asked you a question."

So, this guy decides who I should hang with outside school. Where I should go and what I should do in my spare time, and now he's also my teacher. This authority thing is getting out of hand. I am not a child.

"I'm not a child, Mr. Celtic."
"Then stop behaving like one, Victoria."
"The name is Tori"
"Again, I asked you question". I'm just about to leave.

"Very well, lets do it your way. Leave. But I'll have you write me a paper on why you left class. 2000 words." This must be a joke.

He is kidding me right?

I open the door and smack it closed, as I take my leave. I hear him start talking to the class.

"This is going to be a good lesson" he says
"Now we can all get a feel for what kind of a person i am. What I tolerate and what I don't. Lets get to work." I look the door frame and i see him giving one of his smiles. Those smiles. The one that never reaches his eyes. My classmates might be fooled by his friendly smile, but I'm not. I see how fabricated it is.

Like the one my father used to give when his marriage was breaking. The ones he would give me and my sister whenever we asked him where mom was.

Sarah. God.. I feel my heart ache every time I say her name. I miss her so much. I feel my eyes tearing up.

"Stop thinking about her. She's dead. She's gone. Your parents don't care, then why should you. You're done" I tell myself. I'm done I tell myself. I walk away from the class, not feeling anything.

Serena

This is crazy, Neal our teacher? I can't take him serious. He lives at my place, how the hell can he be my teacher?

"Arent' you like only 20 or something? How can you be our teacher?" K.C says. His voice that once made me so happy, is now making me sick. I will never forgive him for what he did. I don't think I've ever been so hurt before- and that it was by him. He is the last person I thought would do something like that, I really trusted him. I know i screwed up, but I didn't deserve that. No girl deserves that.