You've never undergone torture until you've taught a class of ADHD and dyslexic demigods. That's a fact. Trust me, I would know.
Because I do so every single day.
And let me tell you, it gets a little tedious after a few millennia.
As I walked into the Big House classroom this afternoon five minutes before the Greek mythology class officially started, I headed over to the printer to copy the tests for my students. The exam was on a unit we had just covered about the minor gods and goddesses and a few myths about them. To be quite honest, I really didn't expect anyone to earn higher than a C on the test besides Annabeth, of course, and possibly Katie, if she could withstand Travis's constant desire to distract her while testing.
About ten seconds after the last exam shot out of the printer, I heard the front door open with the sound of rumbling feet on the wooden floor, along with comments only adolescents are capable of making (Travis and Percy definitely speaking the worst of these). I looked up to see Percy and Annabeth strolling into the classroom, holding hands while Percy mentioned something about the canoe lake after the campfire tonight. Soon Silena and Beckendorf entered (hands also intertwined), along with Connor Stoll, who was flirting pathetically with Miranda (although Miranda obviously deemed it quite charming). About a dozen more demigods filed in before Travis and Katie were the last couple to enter, Katie rolling her eyes dramatically and Travis smirking cockily.
After everyone took their seats, I shouted, "Listen up, students!" The noise in the room subsided somewhat, but I reminded myself that although there was still a great deal of whispering going on, this was probably the best the noise level would get, so I reluctantly surrendered to the whispers before saying, "Today you will be taking a multiple-choice exam on Unit 12, the unit we have just recently covered." Groans from everyone except Annabeth. "There are twenty questions, so each is worth five points. Good luck to you all," I continued over the moans before passing out the tests.
As I sat down at my desk and picked up my new iPhone 5 to listen to some music while overseeing the class, I heard a pencil being dropped onto a desk and a paper being flipped over, and I looked up to see Annabeth giving Percy a smirk, obviously finished with her test already. Percy just stared back at her with wide eyes. I love Percy like a son, but he really needs to put some sense into that brain of his. Annabeth is a child of Athena, so it's natural for her to be so intelligent academically. It's about time for Percy to start understanding his girlfriend a bit better.
After getting over his shock, Percy then proceeded to look down at his paper and stare at it blankly.
Meanwhile, Will Solace had taken this opportunity to begin composing a poem about how boring this class was. I silently rose from my chair at my desk and walked up behind him. It took about twenty seconds for him to realize that I was looking over his shoulder, reading his truly pathetic attempt at rhyming on a small scrap of paper.
Why I am a demigod I still do not know,
For horrible experiences I must undergo
Like fighting monsters that should be dead,
And taking classes that never seem to come to an end.
And that was only the first stanza.
I still don't understand why Lord Apollo is the god of poetry.
Will slowly raised his head to look at me before I said, "Now Mr. Solace, please refrain from writing your lovely poetry until after you've finished your exam." He quickly thrust his scrap of paper into his desk, picked up his pencil, and circled his first answer.
I sat down at my desk and looked around the room once again, my eyes falling upon Silena and Beckendorf, who were seated next to each other. Beckendorf was playing with a small piece of metal and some screws that he always kept in his pockets while Silena whispered to him aimlessly about some new makeup product. He looked up and smiled at her every once in a while just to show her that he was listening, although any man would be able to tell that he was pretending. I just decided to ignore them.
I turned my gaze to the back of the room where Connor and Miranda were sitting. Connor kept sending Miranda cocky smiles while she giggled uncontrollably.
Travis and Katie were sitting directly behind Connor and Miranda in the back of the room. Travis, as always, had absolutely no idea what the test was even about. He had given up trying to correctly answer after reading the first question. Katie was attempting to finish her exam. Travis, however, kept silently pleading for answers with a pouty face that Katie just couldn't resist. She resorted to giving him the answer to the first question. When he decided he needed more help, he began flinging small erasers at her that he must've found in his desk to get her attention. She looked up and glared at him with fake anger when he gave her another pouty face. She was just about to give into his begging when I decided to interfere.
"Mr. Stoll, I believe Miss Gardner and I would both appreciate it if you would stop flinging erasers at her and actually do your own work for once."
Katie shot him a smug smile while he just smirked and began randomly circling answers.
I looked to the front of the classroom again to see Percy poking Annabeth in the waist, attempting to get her attention so he could get some answers. He flashed those sea green eyes of his at her and gave her a pouty face much like Travis's. Annabeth, however, was obviously a bit more strong-willed than Katie, and she rolled her eyes and turned away from him before his pathetic look created too much temptation.
At least someone in the class had a bit of sense.
I turned back to my phone and ignored the students for the next half hour. At the end of class, I collected the tests and walked back to my desk, where I graded them. As expected, Annabeth received a one hundred percent, Katie earned herself a ninety-five, and the rest of the class received seventy-fives or lower.
This truly was a class of idiots.