know how to read?” I asked
after class. We met up with Jayce and Nikko at the end of the hall
and walked together to the next class we shared.
Brie laughed. “They can
read, but so many failed the test on To
Kill a Mockingbird that she’s convinced
reading it in class is the only way anyone’ll get through it.” She
glanced at Jayce. “And she might have a point.”
“ I read it,” he exclaimed.
At her look, he shrugged. “Well, the first page, a couple in the
middle, and then the end. But,” he said with a triumphant grin. “It
was enough to get me a C minus!”
Brie shook her head. “How on earth do you
expect to pass your sophomore year settling for a C minus?”
“ That’s all you need,”
Jayce replied. “Besides, I’m acing history and economics, so it’ll
even out.”
Brie and Nikko exchanged an exasperated look
as Nikko held open the door to our history class. The teacher, a
short, bald man with glasses, was busy writing facts on the
whiteboard in various colors of markers. I was surprised to see
that he wrote everything without referring to a textbook or
notes.
There were designated desks, so Brie and
Jayce sat near the front while I took an empty seat by Nikko at the
back. I heard a humming sound and realized it was coming from the
teacher as he finished the last of the notes and swiftly dotted a
few i’s that he had missed. He then turned with a flourish and
waved at the board.
“ Copy this down. It will be
on the test next Friday. Also, read Chapter Seventeen and it
wouldn’t hurt to brush up on some weapons of World War I while
you’re at it.” He wiped his hands on the front of his vest, then
sat down at the big wooden desk and pulled out a paperback book
that didn’t look at all history related.
I glanced at Nikko. He gave me a thumbs-up
and proceeded to copy down the notes. I fought back a wry smile and
did the same.
***
By the time the bell rang and we broke for
lunch, I felt like I had truly accomplished something. I was
surprised at what the students were learning. I would be hard
pressed to catch up, but it was a good feeling, like I had an
interesting challenge to complete that wouldn’t result in mastering
a new way to kill someone.
I followed the others through the lunch line
and was amazed at how much noise a lunchroom full of students could
make. We carried trays loaded with foods I had never seen before to
a circle of grass outside. I leaned back against one of the trees
and breathed in the fresh, rain-washed air that chased around us. I
propped my injured leg on my crutch and poked at the food on the
tray.
“ So how’d your first
official day of school start?” Jayce asked, biting into a pile of
gray and brown gravy-covered noodles.
“ Very interesting. I feel
like an undercover spy learning national secrets or something. It’s
weird.”
Brie grinned at me over her salad. “Don’t
worry; you’ll get bored of it soon enough, especially with Mr.
Derby’s art class.”
They all groaned and Jayce kicked Nikko’s
foot. “What’d you put him in that for?”
“ Dad thought art would be a
good outlet, and Kale said he was interested in broadening his
horizons.”
“ Mr. Derby’ll broaden them,
that’s for sure,” Jayce replied with a wince.
I shrugged. “Bring it on. The more I can
learn while I’m here, the better.” I finished my tray of
questionably smelling French fries, apples covered in cinnamon
syrup, and peas which actually tasted quite wonderful. We dumped
our waste in the garbage can near the doors and handed the trays to
a lady with a hairnet and an expression on her face that said she
would hit someone over the head with the said tray if they forgot
to throw their plastic ware into the recycle bin.
We turned down a side hall and Nikko held
open the door to economics. We settled on the back row, a theme I
noticed they followed in any classroom without assigned seating. I
was starting to feel confident that we had actually pulled
after class. We met up with Jayce and Nikko at the end of the hall
and walked together to the next class we shared.
Brie laughed. “They can
read, but so many failed the test on To
Kill a Mockingbird that she’s convinced
reading it in class is the only way anyone’ll get through it.” She
glanced at Jayce. “And she might have a point.”
“ I read it,” he exclaimed.
At her look, he shrugged. “Well, the first page, a couple in the
middle, and then the end. But,” he said with a triumphant grin. “It
was enough to get me a C minus!”
Brie shook her head. “How on earth do you
expect to pass your sophomore year settling for a C minus?”
“ That’s all you need,”
Jayce replied. “Besides, I’m acing history and economics, so it’ll
even out.”
Brie and Nikko exchanged an exasperated look
as Nikko held open the door to our history class. The teacher, a
short, bald man with glasses, was busy writing facts on the
whiteboard in various colors of markers. I was surprised to see
that he wrote everything without referring to a textbook or
notes.
There were designated desks, so Brie and
Jayce sat near the front while I took an empty seat by Nikko at the
back. I heard a humming sound and realized it was coming from the
teacher as he finished the last of the notes and swiftly dotted a
few i’s that he had missed. He then turned with a flourish and
waved at the board.
“ Copy this down. It will be
on the test next Friday. Also, read Chapter Seventeen and it
wouldn’t hurt to brush up on some weapons of World War I while
you’re at it.” He wiped his hands on the front of his vest, then
sat down at the big wooden desk and pulled out a paperback book
that didn’t look at all history related.
I glanced at Nikko. He gave me a thumbs-up
and proceeded to copy down the notes. I fought back a wry smile and
did the same.
***
By the time the bell rang and we broke for
lunch, I felt like I had truly accomplished something. I was
surprised at what the students were learning. I would be hard
pressed to catch up, but it was a good feeling, like I had an
interesting challenge to complete that wouldn’t result in mastering
a new way to kill someone.
I followed the others through the lunch line
and was amazed at how much noise a lunchroom full of students could
make. We carried trays loaded with foods I had never seen before to
a circle of grass outside. I leaned back against one of the trees
and breathed in the fresh, rain-washed air that chased around us. I
propped my injured leg on my crutch and poked at the food on the
tray.
“ So how’d your first
official day of school start?” Jayce asked, biting into a pile of
gray and brown gravy-covered noodles.
“ Very interesting. I feel
like an undercover spy learning national secrets or something. It’s
weird.”
Brie grinned at me over her salad. “Don’t
worry; you’ll get bored of it soon enough, especially with Mr.
Derby’s art class.”
They all groaned and Jayce kicked Nikko’s
foot. “What’d you put him in that for?”
“ Dad thought art would be a
good outlet, and Kale said he was interested in broadening his
horizons.”
“ Mr. Derby’ll broaden them,
that’s for sure,” Jayce replied with a wince.
I shrugged. “Bring it on. The more I can
learn while I’m here, the better.” I finished my tray of
questionably smelling French fries, apples covered in cinnamon
syrup, and peas which actually tasted quite wonderful. We dumped
our waste in the garbage can near the doors and handed the trays to
a lady with a hairnet and an expression on her face that said she
would hit someone over the head with the said tray if they forgot
to throw their plastic ware into the recycle bin.
We turned down a side hall and Nikko held
open the door to economics. We settled on the back row, a theme I
noticed they followed in any classroom without assigned seating. I
was starting to feel confident that we had actually pulled
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