substitute teacher
Train sat in his desk. He was tired of listening to the teacher babble on and on about trigonometry. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with math.
"Mr. Heartnet!" the teacher shouted.
Train snapped out of his thoughts and stood up. "Yes, Mrs. Harper?" he asked, seeming a little embarrassed. Everyone started laughing. Eve giggled, but Rinslet rolled her eyes.
"Not paying attention again, Mr. Heartnet?" Mrs. Harper asked in a shrill voice.
"N-no, ma'am," Train said, biting back the urge to chew her out in front of the class.
"Sit down," she told him, sounding disappointed.
"Yes, ma'am," Train muttered taking his seat. Why does she always pick on me? he thought. There are plenty of other people who never pay attention in this class! Why me?
"Looks like she picking on you again, huh Train?" Rinslet whispered to him.
"Yeah, she's been a bitch lately," he replied softly.
"Maybe we should pull a prank on her tomorrow?" Rinslet suggested.
"Sounds good, but I'll come up with it," Train answered.
Rinslet nodded just as the bell rang. The students stood, bowed and left the room.
"What class do you have now?" Rinslet asked Train.
"Health," was his grim reply. "At least it's a demonstration today. I forgot to do last night's assignment."
"That's good, I guess," Rinslet said, turning a corner and entering her English class. "Good luck!" she added before she walked to her desk.
Train entered his Health class a minute later. There was a man sitting at the teacher's desk. This confused him. Their usual teacher was a woman. Did they get a substitute today? That wasn't the only thing that confused him. The man had green hair, was wearing a suit and tie and a hat. The man looked at Train and smiled.
"Hey there," the man said. "You're cute."
Train shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and back. "Um…thank you?" he struggled.
The man chuckled. "Relax," he teased. "I'm only giving you a compliment."
Train started to blush as he took his seat. He set his backpack next to his feet on the floor and watched as the other students piled into the room. He had calmed down enough by now from the man's 'compliment.'
The man stood as the bell rang. He wrote a name on the board and turned to the class.
"Welcome, class," the man said. "My name is Mr. Vollfied and I'll be your substitute today. You can call me Sven if you want, though. I'm fine with that too."
"Good afternoon, Sven," the class recited.
Sven smiled. "Now I'll have to take roll," he told the students. "When you hear your name, say 'present.' Got it?"
The students nodded. Train was got a book out of his backpack and opened it up, starting to read it.
"Train Heartnet?" Sven called.
Train looked up. "Huh?" he asked.
Sven looked over at him. "Are you Train Heartnet?" he questioned.
Train nodded. "That's me," he said, blushing.
Sven marked something in the grade book. He called some more names and set the grade book back on the desk.
"Now it's time for a demonstration," Sven said. "I'll need a volunteer."
Many students raised their hands, but Sven smiled somewhat slyly.
"Mr. Heartnet," he said. "Come to the front. You'll be fine."
