"Come on Cory," Shawn tells his best friend, "In the trailer park, the main source of entertainment was the old man across from us getting the kids all around and playing the spoons on his knee." He was explaining some of how people there had fun. "I tell you, he could play anything with those things after listening to a song just one time."
They were between classes and on their way to English class. Getting in just before the bell as usual, they were surprised to see someone else writing on the board. He was a slender guy with curly hair, wearing a sweater and khakis, he turns around to greet the class. It was another subsitute teacher.
"As you can tell, I am not Mr. Turner." he says beaming a smile, "I am Mr. Seaver and will be filling in for at least this week and the next. I fully am aware that he was in a motorcycle accident and has been recovering. But at the same time, he's been grading your assignments." He takes a stack of papers on the desk and passes them out. They were the quizzes from the previous week.
"Better news, I will be your last subsitute before Mr. Turner comes back. So enjoy me while you can." Mike tells the class, to which almost everyone cheered. By what he knew, Jonathan was a very popular teacher. "Please turn to page 384 in your textbook..."
"Cory, remember how about we pull off our little prank for the subsitute?" Shawn whispers to his best friend as the the teacher droned on about "Hamlet", "I got what we need right here. He takes out a straw and little wads of paper rolled up. Letting one soak in his mouth before pushing it up into the straw, he blows it out, hitting him smack dab in the back of the neck. Bullseye. Right in back of the neck. Score one for the Hunter.
Mike turns around, wondering what just happened. He felt the back of his neck and finds the wet wad of paper. "Okay, who did this? Do I have to assign detention for everyone in here?" Takes me back to my high school days. Some things never change. He thinking as a small smile crosses his face.
The class points to Shawn, who was sitting back in his desk, in an attempt to play innocent. But he had forgotten to hide the straw and that's what got him busted. "What's your name?" Mike asks while wiping the spitwad from his neck with a tissue.
"Shawn Hunter, John Adams High troublemaker in residence." he says with a big smirk on his face. He always liked to mess with the subsitute teachers. In his opinion, they often make some of the best entertainment. "If you need a bit of excitement to a boring class, I'm your man to do it."
Mike stands there, it was like seeing himself again at that age. "Okay, how about tommorrow after school? You right here for an hour with me?" I have to talk to Jonathan about this kid when I drop off the work at his place later. He gives Shawn detention for the next day and resumes with the lesson like nothing happened.
That evening, Mike goes to Jonathan's apartment to drop off the assignments from all his classes for grading. "How was rehab today?" he asks as Jonathan takes all the papers from him. He had the casts removed about three weeks ago and working on regaining muscle.
"Lot better. I may come back a little early." he says, stretching his long legs some across the couch. "The therapist says my progress is better than he expected. How's all the kids? They still miss me?"
"Sure. They got all excited when I gave them the news you would be back soon." Mike says and then tells him about Shawn and what he did in class. How he had given detention for the boy. "Even I wasn't that accurate with the spitwads at his age."
"Shawn was here with me for a while. Good kid, just a messed up home life. He went back to stay with his parents not long ago. Before the accident." Jonathan starts to recount those times. He still regrets not signing those papers. Things may have been different if he had.
Mike upon hearing all this, thought of Luke, a kid him and his family took in. Much like Shawn, Luke was one who needed guidance and people who cared for him. Only he was homeless and a runaway. After some time with them, his father comes back into his life and Luke decides to go with him. The last he saw Luke was at his high school graduation. Now he was a college graduate, out in California somewhere developing software for a video game company. They still kept in touch after all this time.
Jonathan then starts to yawn, he was already tired enough by the long therapy session and still had to grade papers. It wouldn't take too long anyway to do it. "Thanks Mike, I'll have this done for tomorrow. And be gentle with Shawn, let him catch up on some work if need be. That's how I do it after a stern lecture. He comes by here to help keep the place neat sometimes."
Mike could see the dedication this man had for teaching and for his students. It was something he admired about Jonathan. Shawn did remind him so much of Luke though..."Thanks for the advice. I could put it to good use." He leaves and makes a mental note to call Luke in the next few days, it had been a while.
The next day, Shawn was nervous about detention. He thinks he can pull one over on Mr. Seaver. "Cory, I may be able to pull off a stomach ache from having the cafeteria food here. The mystery meat they served today didn't taste quite right to me." Shawn then proceeds to fine tune his vomiting look.
"Just go and get it over with. You know the drill, with all the times we had to sit with Feeney." Cory assures him, "Maybe Mr. Seaver will let you catch up on some of that missed work." Then he pushes his best friend into the English classrom, where they see the subsitute at work.
It was just Shawn and the teacher now. Mike lifts his head and notices him. "Hey, good to see you got here on time. Mr. Feeny tells me you have some history homework, including a quiz tomorrow. So how about you work on that and I'll be right here if you need me." Mike then goes back to Mr. Turner's desk, sits down, pulls out an answer key and begins using it to grade some quizzes from earlier.
Shawn pulls out his History book and the assignment given him. But after about twenty minutes, he had enough, choosing instead to take a quick nap. The next thing he remembers is the sound of a ruler steadily tapping on the desk. Mike was standing in front of him, showing his way of waking up sleeping kids in his classes. Over the last few years, he had to develop certain tricks as a teacher to get attention from the students.
"Some things never change. You know, I was just like you at sixteen. Wish I had that kind of skill with a straw and spitwad." Mike gives an assuring smile, then pulls the chair from behind the desk up front and sits down in front of Shawn. He could tell that something was up with the kid.
"Listen, Mr. Turner told me about you staying with him for a little bit. For a time one of my students stayed with me and my family. He had nowhere else to go, he had been homeless because his stepfather had tried to kill him. So he ran away." Mike explains, trying to get Shawn to talk a little. "Luke and I still talk from time to time, he's attending college out west."
Shawn had his attention then. Mike continues. "You know, I see a lot of me in you. We could have been friends if we were the same age. I also know Mr. Turner cares a whole lot about you. He told me so. That accident really did a number on him."
The boy agrees, telling Mike about seeing him laid out in the hospital bed and his little talk with God. About begging Him not to take his teacher and mentor. And about the small miracle that happened afterwards. "I have been there for him these last five months, like he was with me." Shawn says, never being this open about the whole thing before.
"I almost lost my sister Carol. She had a boyfriend and they went to a place that served alcohol. They drank and Sandy was driving her back when they got into a wreck. She was okay, more shook up than anything." Mike had to collect himself a little bit. Then he continues.
"Less than two minutes before her, Mom and Dad came in, a friend of his called. Told me Sandy just died from internal bleeding the doctors didn't catch in time. I had to tell them the news, she was devestated to say the least. It took her time to recover, but Carol learned to love again." Mike was quiet then.
Shawn was stunned hearing this. "I'm sorry, glad your sister is okay though. By what I know, Mr. Turner's accident was a result of a idiot who didn't know how to drive."
He recounts sitting at his bedside and begging God to not take his friend and teacher.
"My prayer was answered that night. And I guess I should be grateful for those who truly love me. I have no idea of where I would be if he died." He wipes his eye of a stray tear, and for once, didn't feel any embarassment about it.
"It's okay," Mike says, feeling like he formed a bond with Shawn like he did with Luke. "Now, since we have a little bit of time left, how about you do some work? I can help however I can." He gives a small smile.
"Mr. Seaver, I'm sorry about yesterday and all just so you know." Shawn says, feeling a little better. "Thanks for the talk." He takes out some homework and starts on it.
Mike could see his talk reached him. He goes back to the desk and makes himself a note. Call Luke tonight. Remind him how much he is loved. Him and Shawn would have been great friends. I don't think I could handle the combined talents of the two of them though...