Settling in an American History Class
I'm sitting next to these two girls on my right. The teacher isn't here yet.
I'm so mad at that bloody America! How dare he go to my boss and request that I attend one of his bloody high schools. Apparently, he thought that I needed to learn about their culture. Stupid Yankees. At least it's only for a month, and that's all.
Those two girls won't stop giggling. They haven't noticed me, the "new guy." None of the other boys and girls did, either.
"No-no!" One of the girls says, she has big, brown eyes, and long, dark brown hair. It reached her back.
"What?" Her friend asks. She has brown eyes too, but they are lighter than the other's. Her hair is black, with a blue streak. Her hair barely touches her shoulders.
"I've got a funnier way of saying it!" The long-haired girl says. She scrunches up her face, and then says, "Hetaliaaaaa," in a Russian accent. She makes her voice sound raspy and creepy.
It sort of reminds me of Belarus.
"I've got an even funnier way!" The short haired friend says. She inhales deeply, then says, "Like, totally, Hetalia!" She says the odd word in a Polish accent.
The two immediately start bursting with laughter. One pounds the desk with her fist.
I look around. Everyone else is too absorbed in their own conversations to recognize their weirdness.
…
Suddenly, a door opens, and a tall woman enters the classroom. I assume that this is the World History teacher. All of the students quiet down.
The teacher turns towards the class.
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning." The class replies automatically.
"How is everyone today?"
"Good." Everyone answers in the same monotone voice.
Wow, Americans must not be morning people.
The teacher puts down her things, and then organizes her desk before standing up.
"Class, we have a new assistant teacher with us today; I'm not sure if he has introduced himself; His name is Mr. Kirkland.
Oh, bloody hell. I hate this part. I was expecting it, but I dreaded this moment anyway. The class turns to face me, the one alone in the back.
The two girls that were whispering before stare at me, amazed. What is peculiar about them, however, is how they keep staring at me, even though the class has already dismissed my presence.
The teacher clears her throat.
Thankfully, the two young girls turn back to the front.
"Mr. Kirkland is here to observe the classes here in America." The teacher looked at me. "I would like Mr. Kirkland to introduce himself to the class, now." She smiles.
I politely ease my way to the front of the classroom.
The student's eyes follow me all the way up to the board.
"Hello, class. My name is Arthur Kirkland, and I am from the Great Britannia- I mean, England. As your professor has already informed you, I will be observing your high school classes for this next month."
The kids just stared.
I glanced back at the teacher. She gives me a nod, and I take my seat again at the back of the room.
The teacher gathers everyone's attention again, and she begins the lesson.
…
A half hour has gone by, and most of the class is obviously bored. Many kids have either put their heads on their desks, are sleeping, or even texting on their phones!
Such disrespectful children! They should know better than to doze off in class!
The only two people that I see that are actually partaking in the lesson are those two girls from before. They are sitting up in their chairs, intently listening to what their teacher is saying.
Another odd thing about the two is that they keep giggling at everything the teacher is saying.
Maybe I should take a listen to what the teacher is saying. I've heard that Americans often search for subliminal messaging.
"After the French and Indian War, England was in a lot of debt. This was when the monarch at the time, King George the 3rd, starting taxing the colonies. Examples of these acts were the Quartering Act, the Townshend Acts, and of course, the Tea Act."
Oh, dear god. She's talking about that time. I start to feel light-headed, but I dismissed it. I wasn't going to, this time. I promised myself I wouldn't!
"Can anybody tell me what the colonists did in response to the Tea Act?" the teacher asked the class. The two girls waved their hands in the air.
The teacher sighed. She pointed to the long-haired girl. "Yes, Ana?"
The girl named Ana grinned widely. I was hoping that she would get it wrong, but it didn't seem so.
"The Boston Tea Party."
I started coughing. I knew I would. Hopefully the other part wouldn't come. Please let the lesson stop.
Ana stared at me for a moment, then she whispered something to her friend. They both glanced at me, and then turned back to the teacher.
…
A few minutes later, and I am still coughing. The blood hasn't shown up yet. We haven't gotten to…that date yet.
The teacher turns to me after writing something on the whiteboard.
"Mr. Kirkland, are you alright? Do you need some water?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I'm alright. I just have a question though."
She nodded. The class full of students perked up once they heard the teacher.
"Well, how long is this, Revolutionary-"another cough, "W-War era going to last?"
The teacher walked to her desk, and picked up a green, fat book. She flipped numerous pages before settling on one.
"Well, my lesson plan says… for about 1 week and a half."
Oh, dear. There's no way I can last that long in a classroom…talking about…that.
"Mr. Kirkland, are you sure you're alright? You've turned pale."
"Oh, no…Everything is fine, I just have …" I thought for a moment. "…come down with a cold or something. The winter back home has been rough this year."
The woman just nods, and turns back to the board.
This was going to be a long month.