the loudest portable alarm on the market.
The noise rocked the bathroom and the eardrums of Dhiraj's attackers. The decibel level was higher than most airplanes taking off and had two of the teens on their knees in seconds. Travis grimaced but swung for Dhiraj anyway. His eyes gave away the punch and Dhiraj shifted to the side. Travis' fist missed Dhiraj and made a cracking noise against the marble. At least, Dhiraj assumed that's the noise it made, given the overwhelming alarm noise that was beginning to get to Dhiraj as well. As Travis held his now-broken right hand with his left, two janitors unlocked the door and entered the bathroom. Dhiraj switched off the alarm.
"What's going on in here?"
Dhiraj walked toward the door. "Just giving these gentlemen some sound advice." He smiled at Travis. "Team Ted doesn't go down easy."
As Dhiraj exited the bathroom, the adrenaline that had been keeping him up crashed at once. He walked to his first period desk as quickly as he could and collapsed into it as the bell rang.
Chapter 10
Albert Redican could hear himself speaking the words to his class, but he wondered if anyone was listening at all. There were five or six faces making eye contact with him, though he knew that two of them had the worst grades in class. The majority of the students were either looking down at the book or pretending to take notes. Albert could easily tell the difference between drawing a doodle and writing down a cohesive thought – he didn't need to spend several months getting a substitute certificate to figure that one out. Another three of the students were using their classroom time to stare at the opposite sex. He wasn't surprised to see that Ted Finley was one of the three.
In his decades on this world, Mr. Redican had rarely seen a living soul he felt was worthy of the challenge.
"What does it mean when Hal tells Falstaff, 'I know you not, old man'?"
He could see the eyes of his students grow dim. It was as if they were all expecting someone else to fall on the grenade. The students reminded Redican of his own people: they were always willing to live with the status quo. Not him. Not anymore.
Redican stepped onto a chair and stood up on his worn, wooden desk. When it lurched a little to the side, he thought it might not hold his weight. The desk settled into place and all the students turned their gazes toward him.
"I've been holding back too long," he said. "I act like I'm your friend. Like we're equals." Redican beat his hand against his chest. "I'm smarter and better than all of you. Most of you don't even deserve the education I have to give." Redican lowered his voice. "I'm likely to forget every last one of you the second you leave this school."
Several students shifted in their seats, sending the sound of metal scratching against linoleum echoing through the silent room. Redican let his proclamation rest for at least 10 seconds, though he imagined it felt longer for the students. He thought he saw tears in Beth's eyes. Then he broke the tension with a smile.
"How some of you are feeling is how Falstaff might have felt."
Several students sighed and matched Redican's smile. Ted and Erica looked over at each other and shared a laugh. Beth dabbed her cheek as the teacher continued.
"So, how did you feel?" Redican hopped back down to the chair and planted himself on the edge of the desk.
"Abandoned." Beth sniffled.
"Good," Redican said. "Not good that you felt abandoned, but a good answer."
Beth chuckled, and a few others in the class joined in.
"I felt cheated." Travis adjusted the bandage on his hand as he spoke. "Like you weren't who you said you were. Like you were pretending to care about us."
Redican nodded. He thought it might be the first non-joke he'd heard out of Travis since he'd arrived there.
"Great answer." Redican hopped off the desk and moved as close as he could to the front row. "Now I bring back my original question. What does it mean when Hal tells
The noise rocked the bathroom and the eardrums of Dhiraj's attackers. The decibel level was higher than most airplanes taking off and had two of the teens on their knees in seconds. Travis grimaced but swung for Dhiraj anyway. His eyes gave away the punch and Dhiraj shifted to the side. Travis' fist missed Dhiraj and made a cracking noise against the marble. At least, Dhiraj assumed that's the noise it made, given the overwhelming alarm noise that was beginning to get to Dhiraj as well. As Travis held his now-broken right hand with his left, two janitors unlocked the door and entered the bathroom. Dhiraj switched off the alarm.
"What's going on in here?"
Dhiraj walked toward the door. "Just giving these gentlemen some sound advice." He smiled at Travis. "Team Ted doesn't go down easy."
As Dhiraj exited the bathroom, the adrenaline that had been keeping him up crashed at once. He walked to his first period desk as quickly as he could and collapsed into it as the bell rang.
Chapter 10
Albert Redican could hear himself speaking the words to his class, but he wondered if anyone was listening at all. There were five or six faces making eye contact with him, though he knew that two of them had the worst grades in class. The majority of the students were either looking down at the book or pretending to take notes. Albert could easily tell the difference between drawing a doodle and writing down a cohesive thought – he didn't need to spend several months getting a substitute certificate to figure that one out. Another three of the students were using their classroom time to stare at the opposite sex. He wasn't surprised to see that Ted Finley was one of the three.
In his decades on this world, Mr. Redican had rarely seen a living soul he felt was worthy of the challenge.
"What does it mean when Hal tells Falstaff, 'I know you not, old man'?"
He could see the eyes of his students grow dim. It was as if they were all expecting someone else to fall on the grenade. The students reminded Redican of his own people: they were always willing to live with the status quo. Not him. Not anymore.
Redican stepped onto a chair and stood up on his worn, wooden desk. When it lurched a little to the side, he thought it might not hold his weight. The desk settled into place and all the students turned their gazes toward him.
"I've been holding back too long," he said. "I act like I'm your friend. Like we're equals." Redican beat his hand against his chest. "I'm smarter and better than all of you. Most of you don't even deserve the education I have to give." Redican lowered his voice. "I'm likely to forget every last one of you the second you leave this school."
Several students shifted in their seats, sending the sound of metal scratching against linoleum echoing through the silent room. Redican let his proclamation rest for at least 10 seconds, though he imagined it felt longer for the students. He thought he saw tears in Beth's eyes. Then he broke the tension with a smile.
"How some of you are feeling is how Falstaff might have felt."
Several students sighed and matched Redican's smile. Ted and Erica looked over at each other and shared a laugh. Beth dabbed her cheek as the teacher continued.
"So, how did you feel?" Redican hopped back down to the chair and planted himself on the edge of the desk.
"Abandoned." Beth sniffled.
"Good," Redican said. "Not good that you felt abandoned, but a good answer."
Beth chuckled, and a few others in the class joined in.
"I felt cheated." Travis adjusted the bandage on his hand as he spoke. "Like you weren't who you said you were. Like you were pretending to care about us."
Redican nodded. He thought it might be the first non-joke he'd heard out of Travis since he'd arrived there.
"Great answer." Redican hopped off the desk and moved as close as he could to the front row. "Now I bring back my original question. What does it mean when Hal tells
Similar Books
