*Wish I was too dead to cry,
My self-affliction fades
Stones to throw at my creator
Masochists to which I cater..*
"Come on guys, what did you think of the book?" Harry Senate crossed his arms loosely and leaned on the front of his desk as he stared at 20 blank faces. No one responded as he looked from one indifferent face to the next.
"Did you even READ the book?" He uncrossed his arms and waited for one of his 'enthusiastic' students to speak up.
"I think it sucked," a male's voice from the back corner barked out and some other kids turned to look at him while others smirked in response.
"Well at least one of you is awake; why'd it suck?" he motioned to the kid wearing an upside down black visor. Harry had remembered back when those had been in style, when he was a kid. "The times they are a 'changing" Bob Dylan once sang. He was right.
"It's racist!" The kid named 'J' called out again. More smirks elapsed from the classs, including Harry himself. J thought everything and everybody was racist. He was an African-American sure, but so was half of his class.
"And just what's so racist about a war over pork?" Harry crossed his arms again intently waiting for J's big intelligent and well thought response. J leaned back in his desk and propped his leg up.
"They killed the black guy - he was kickass," he responded and slapped five with a buddy next to him named 'T'(or what Harry only could see on his attendence list, were John and Terry). He was about to answer when a student near the front, Sarah, swiveled around in her chair to face J.
"The 'black guy' was a murderer," she turned to face forward again, her long dark hair falling down her back.
"So whatchu racist now too? So the dude made a mistake. Maybe he took too much E, it happens," J slapped anther five with his buddy at his mention of drugs in his response. Sarah, about to almost shriek back, was silenced by Harry as he held up one of his hands.
"Anybody else read it?" He asked the remaining 18 half asleep kids. Nobody moved or even made notice that they had heard him, much less even know where the hell they were.
"Two people read the book, then," his face darkened a little bit and he recrossed his arms across his chest. J started laughing with his buddy from the back.
"Hey dude, I didn't read it.. But I did read the back," he laughed again, and Harry thought if he slapped 'five' one more time..
"Well.." he uncrossed his arms and walked behind his desk and desk and picked it up a pile of papers. "I was going to save this for later, but obviously all of you feel they don't need to waste time reading the book since you know all of the information for the test." He looked down at his desk and made sure the stack of papers was aligned.
"Test? I ain't having no-"
"How unfair is this-"
"Fuck that-"
The whole class erupted in disagreement, and all began to talk at once.
"Hey..Hey," Harry said loudly and the chatter died down.
"This is really unfair, Mr. Senate," a female Harry had known hadn't read the book just because of her history spoke up. Harry considered his words carefully, then pounded the stack of exams down on his desk.
"Unfair? You think THIS is unfair? What's unfair is you come into MY classroom to waste MY time. What do you think this is? A daycare center?" His face darkened even more. He was getting tired of the same crap everyday.
"I resent that!" T said quietly and laughed.
"You get paid," another kid, who's name escaped Harry at the moment, spoke up trying to be a hero.
"I don't give a crap about the money," he shot back to the kid flabbergasted that after all his years of teaching these kids, they would still think that's why he got out of bed every morning.
"Then why are you here?" Another kid asked and laughed. Harry left the tests were he had left them on his desk and walked back to the front of his desk.
"What is wrong with you guys? Why do you even come here if all you're going to do is fuck around?" Harry raised his voice and -nearly yelled to his classroom full of students. Not one of them spoke in somewhat shock. They knew it was clearly mad.
"Hey calm down man," J said from the back of the room. Harry noticed who said it and stalked up to him.
"Calm down? Maybe I should calm down just like you and fail a couple grades, never get higher than a 30% on any test, because of all the weed I'd be smokin? Yeah, that is just so cool."
J paused and looked at his friend T, still slouched down in his seat.
"Yeah man, just like that." He hid a laugh. The rest of the class laughed quietly at J's response and Harry looked around. What was he doing there? Not one peron in his room cared. Not ONE.
"Fine." He walked back up to his desk, took his suit jacket off the back of his chair, picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. "See if I care; go waste your lives.." he mumbled and left the classroom leaving them all in shock of his leaving.
Harry walked a fast pace down to the end of the basement hallway angry and frustrated. He just couldn't understand why they would be so careless. He remembered the girl, Stephanie who had been part of his class. She had been a hooker he had later found out. Upon his finding out and attempt to help her get back on her feet, she had left and finally dropped out of school. It had been his fault. If he just hadn't of gotten involved...
"Imbasols.." he muttered and tossed his briefcase hard onto the floor as it slid to the basement wall. He reached the stairwell going up and threw his jacket on the dirty floor as well. "God help me.." he muttered again and rested his arm on the stairway railing, putting his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. A headache was coming, he could feel his head starting to throb already as his heart rate quickened from agigtation. Only a moment later a voice alerted him.
"Harry?" It was Ronnie Cooke. A co-worker of his, and an ex-lawyer whom he had dated a couple times. He looked up at her as she stood on the stairs looking down at him with those concerned eyes she seemed to bare a lot with him. He diverted her eyes and bent down to pick up his jacket and briefcase, calmed down a bit.
"What's wrong?" she walked down a couple more stairs still staring at him with those eyes. Harry didn't look at her nor respond as he picked up hi things and walked up the stairs.
"Nothing," he said in the most calm, serious voice he could manage. He could tell by the way she didn't move from her position on the stairs that his voice hadn't been convincing at all. But who cared right? It was his teaching problem, not hers.
My self-affliction fades
Stones to throw at my creator
Masochists to which I cater..*
"Come on guys, what did you think of the book?" Harry Senate crossed his arms loosely and leaned on the front of his desk as he stared at 20 blank faces. No one responded as he looked from one indifferent face to the next.
"Did you even READ the book?" He uncrossed his arms and waited for one of his 'enthusiastic' students to speak up.
"I think it sucked," a male's voice from the back corner barked out and some other kids turned to look at him while others smirked in response.
"Well at least one of you is awake; why'd it suck?" he motioned to the kid wearing an upside down black visor. Harry had remembered back when those had been in style, when he was a kid. "The times they are a 'changing" Bob Dylan once sang. He was right.
"It's racist!" The kid named 'J' called out again. More smirks elapsed from the classs, including Harry himself. J thought everything and everybody was racist. He was an African-American sure, but so was half of his class.
"And just what's so racist about a war over pork?" Harry crossed his arms again intently waiting for J's big intelligent and well thought response. J leaned back in his desk and propped his leg up.
"They killed the black guy - he was kickass," he responded and slapped five with a buddy next to him named 'T'(or what Harry only could see on his attendence list, were John and Terry). He was about to answer when a student near the front, Sarah, swiveled around in her chair to face J.
"The 'black guy' was a murderer," she turned to face forward again, her long dark hair falling down her back.
"So whatchu racist now too? So the dude made a mistake. Maybe he took too much E, it happens," J slapped anther five with his buddy at his mention of drugs in his response. Sarah, about to almost shriek back, was silenced by Harry as he held up one of his hands.
"Anybody else read it?" He asked the remaining 18 half asleep kids. Nobody moved or even made notice that they had heard him, much less even know where the hell they were.
"Two people read the book, then," his face darkened a little bit and he recrossed his arms across his chest. J started laughing with his buddy from the back.
"Hey dude, I didn't read it.. But I did read the back," he laughed again, and Harry thought if he slapped 'five' one more time..
"Well.." he uncrossed his arms and walked behind his desk and desk and picked it up a pile of papers. "I was going to save this for later, but obviously all of you feel they don't need to waste time reading the book since you know all of the information for the test." He looked down at his desk and made sure the stack of papers was aligned.
"Test? I ain't having no-"
"How unfair is this-"
"Fuck that-"
The whole class erupted in disagreement, and all began to talk at once.
"Hey..Hey," Harry said loudly and the chatter died down.
"This is really unfair, Mr. Senate," a female Harry had known hadn't read the book just because of her history spoke up. Harry considered his words carefully, then pounded the stack of exams down on his desk.
"Unfair? You think THIS is unfair? What's unfair is you come into MY classroom to waste MY time. What do you think this is? A daycare center?" His face darkened even more. He was getting tired of the same crap everyday.
"I resent that!" T said quietly and laughed.
"You get paid," another kid, who's name escaped Harry at the moment, spoke up trying to be a hero.
"I don't give a crap about the money," he shot back to the kid flabbergasted that after all his years of teaching these kids, they would still think that's why he got out of bed every morning.
"Then why are you here?" Another kid asked and laughed. Harry left the tests were he had left them on his desk and walked back to the front of his desk.
"What is wrong with you guys? Why do you even come here if all you're going to do is fuck around?" Harry raised his voice and -nearly yelled to his classroom full of students. Not one of them spoke in somewhat shock. They knew it was clearly mad.
"Hey calm down man," J said from the back of the room. Harry noticed who said it and stalked up to him.
"Calm down? Maybe I should calm down just like you and fail a couple grades, never get higher than a 30% on any test, because of all the weed I'd be smokin? Yeah, that is just so cool."
J paused and looked at his friend T, still slouched down in his seat.
"Yeah man, just like that." He hid a laugh. The rest of the class laughed quietly at J's response and Harry looked around. What was he doing there? Not one peron in his room cared. Not ONE.
"Fine." He walked back up to his desk, took his suit jacket off the back of his chair, picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. "See if I care; go waste your lives.." he mumbled and left the classroom leaving them all in shock of his leaving.
Harry walked a fast pace down to the end of the basement hallway angry and frustrated. He just couldn't understand why they would be so careless. He remembered the girl, Stephanie who had been part of his class. She had been a hooker he had later found out. Upon his finding out and attempt to help her get back on her feet, she had left and finally dropped out of school. It had been his fault. If he just hadn't of gotten involved...
"Imbasols.." he muttered and tossed his briefcase hard onto the floor as it slid to the basement wall. He reached the stairwell going up and threw his jacket on the dirty floor as well. "God help me.." he muttered again and rested his arm on the stairway railing, putting his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. A headache was coming, he could feel his head starting to throb already as his heart rate quickened from agigtation. Only a moment later a voice alerted him.
"Harry?" It was Ronnie Cooke. A co-worker of his, and an ex-lawyer whom he had dated a couple times. He looked up at her as she stood on the stairs looking down at him with those concerned eyes she seemed to bare a lot with him. He diverted her eyes and bent down to pick up his jacket and briefcase, calmed down a bit.
"What's wrong?" she walked down a couple more stairs still staring at him with those eyes. Harry didn't look at her nor respond as he picked up hi things and walked up the stairs.
"Nothing," he said in the most calm, serious voice he could manage. He could tell by the way she didn't move from her position on the stairs that his voice hadn't been convincing at all. But who cared right? It was his teaching problem, not hers.