Collecting paper is my hobby
There were many things I didn't know about when I was kid. These things kept me from improving to be what I could have been. It was mostly the uncertainty of my goals in life and the complacency of my attitude.
We could say I was a bully in school, but there was one person I could never bully. The biggest threat to me was fate.
She pushed me daily, taunting me about what I am and what I'm supposed to do. Taunting me even more, about not doing what I'm supposed to do for not knowing what it is.
We shall end this nonsensical talk. I have chosen to write a journal weekly, to see how it has shaped through the years. Surely, this will fascinate me when I read this in the last few days of my life. Everything will look immature and childish. Everything especially my decisions and the things I didn't decide on.
And I think I should prepare for the idea of me losing this journal of mine, so why not let you have the joy of reading it?
You see, reader, I am not normal than other people. Some say that I have talent, some say that I am lazy, but what comes after that I what I dislike the most. They start arguments, disagreements, and petty squabbles over things that have no productivity.
Let us start this journal on the Friday of the first week of August, and let me narrate my experiences from there.
It was the same usual routine. Same as any other day, the absence of the usual chatter of students in the corridors started my morning. Passing the deserted corridor, I walked towards my classroom. This was the start of the worst morning in my high school years.
And lo, guess who I find! It's my unbearably annoying and persistent English teacher, walking speedily to my side. I look away, my eyes darting from one thing to another, hoping that she just walks past me. We all know she's looking for someone to annoy, but it's worth a shot.
"May I ask what you are doing here fifteen minutes late for class?" a voice said behind me.
"Oh dear, miss, you shocked me for a bit." I said, turning to see who it was, a shocked emotion on my face.
"Well, mister Monte, I think it would be best for you to run along to your class. Six demerits for you, son." She said, her eyes darting to another late boy who had the unlucky thought of trying to run for his class.
Six demerits. Yeah right. I walked to my class, and entered the door on the back side of the classroom. Of course, the teacher would repeat the whole thing, tell me off, and say "Six demerits for you!" and let me get on with my life.
If only this wasn't as repetitive as it was, I wouldn't have done what I did next.
"Psh," I mouthed, sitting down.
The teacher's eyes tried to pierce my own, but sadly, I wasn't looking at him.
"Did you say anything, Mister Monte?" he said, with a cut-throat tone at the end.
"Of course not, Mister Flemington," I replied, with the same tone as his.
"Insolent boy, Get out of my room and meet me in the head teacher's room right now!"
"Oh no, I'm in for it now. I would most probably get another… Six demerits," I added with a smirk on my face.
The class laughed, until the teacher shot a glance at them, which made them force their laughter on their reddening cheeks.
"Not another word," he said, as I gently closed the door, striding towards the head teacher's office.
No one was inside when I got in, only piles of projects and batch property caught my eye. I sat down on the waiting seat and hoped to get it over with, but the more I wait for the teacher to open the door and start screaming at me, the longer time seemed to pass.
Woken up by a large slam on the door, I jumped and looked at the person. She was furious that she even got her skirt stuck on the door. When she turned around, she saw me looking at her.
She was beautiful. The most flawless work of angels, she was perfectly beautiful. Not only was her face molded into beauty, the way she brought herself towards the seat beside me was with utmost elegance as if gracefulness was like breathing.
Of course, staring too long had some effect on her, causing her to look at me with sharp eyes. As I quickly look away, I knew it was too late. I inhaled a few breathes before she…
"What are you looking at?" she said, nodding her head forward.
Just in time, my adviser came in through the door with the head teacher just behind him. It seemed like they both got to talk to each other just before they entered. The adviser smirked at me, his face filled with disgusting pride.
"Now what is the problem, young man?" asked the head teacher, as he sat down on his seat, motioning me to sit in front of him. I took a last glance at the girl beside me, and went to my chair.
"I see no problem, sir." I replied.
"This arrogant boy retorts disrespectfully to his teachers, not minding their authority." said the teacher beside me.
The head teacher looked at him, the look that says "Will you let me handle this?" which surely satisfied me. He went to his filing cabinet, took a folder and turned back to me. Exhaling deeply, he opened the folder and started skimming the pages.
I counted them all, there were four pages. After reading them, the teacher looked back at me. Although it was a tense moment, I couldn't resist but to glance at the girl. Sadly, my teacher was blocking the way.
"I heard that you replied disrespectfully to your teacher, just a while ago. Is this true?" he asked.
"Yes sir." I replied.
"Then you do know that there are consequences for this?" he asked once more.
"Yep," I replied again.
"Answer him properly boy, or I shall have you expelled," Retorted the teacher behind me.
"I don't think you're in the discussion." I said, not even looking at him.
Of course, this little side note enraged the teacher. He went outside and slammed the door, curses flowing out of his mouth, some words like "lucky to study here" or "ill-mannered kid" echoes in the corridor halls.
As soon as it went quiet, the head teacher leaned closer to me, making sure the girl far behind me wouldn't hear.
"We all know you have the skill, the intelligence, and the morals. It's just that you don't like doing what's right. Grow up and be man, this is your third year here and only two years left until you leave this school. Start the school year good and make the most of it." He said, handing me a slip about detention for two weeks.
Standing up and walking towards the door, he added "And do please stop getting detention, at least for a month just like last year. If you keep this up, I'll lose all my detention papers and my faculty."
"Yes sir." I replied.
I walked towards my classroom, memorizing the girl's face. I didn't even know her name, and we started off in a bad mood. I wonder what her name is. I went to my room, and of course, my teacher was there. I decided to just let the heat cool of the moment. I wasn't in the mood to piss him off anymore, anyways.
"What did you get?" asked Gregory behind me, tapping my back.
"I have something to tell you later," I said, hoping to tell him about the girl, " But I got nothing but the usual," I replied.
"Damn man, I thought you were going to change that habit of yours?" he laughed.
"Well you know me, Greg. Collecting paper is a hobby."