History
theme 78-history lesson
theme from darkangelsnapelover's infinite theme list challenge. pm her and she'll doc-x you the list.
-challenge from darkangelsnapelover and her boyfriend: "Use Sally McGill. Arthur and Sally cross paths again, Arthur age 16+"
Chapter 1-First Day
Arthur was a freshman at Elwood City Community College. He was going to school to study economics. He had to take his core classes first, English and math and whatnot. This included history. Arthur's first class was U.S. History-1860's to Today, or History 102. He took a seat at the back of the room.
At the top of the hour, the teacher entered. She was blonde with short hair. She wore a long skirt. It twirled as she turned to write her name and the course number on the board: McGill, History 102. Arthur blushed. His teacher was Sally McGill.
Arthur remembered her still. You don't just forget your first crush. His parents kept him updated about her anyway. She left town at age 18 and married that boyfriend of hers. It made Arthur mad because she was smart. No one knew if she was going to school or not, just that she'd left town. That was the last he heard of her. Now Arthur was 18. That made Sally 26. She didn't look it though. Arthur readjusted himself in his seat as he blushed: Sally was hotter than ever.
"Alright, we'll make this quick. You, glasses, front row, pass these out," Sally said, taking a seat on a stool. "I'll tell you a little about myself. I'm Sally McGill, and you can call me Sally. If you think that's too casual, you can all me Professor McGill or Miss McGill. Never call me Mrs. McGill, never," she said.
Arthur took note of that in his head: Sally must be divorced. He smiled a little; that meant she was single. He shook his head at that thought. She was his babysitter. That made any sort of relationship taboo. That's why it didn't work the first time, that and she was already taken.
"Here's how my class works. We read the text. Here's the book," Sally said, holding up the textbook. It matched the one Arthur bought at the college's book store the day before. "You'll have a quiz at the beginning of each class. Then, we'll lecture, and the cycle starts over again. We have 2 tests, a midterm and a final. Both are comprehensive. Take notes, study hard, and you'll be fine.
"Now, does everyone have a syllabus?" Sally asked. The kid with glasses approached Arthur empty-handed. He turned to Sally and pointed to Arthur, "He didn't get one. Do you want me to-?" "No!" Sally called, standing awkwardly. Her voice was too loud. Arthur blushed, wondering if she recognized him. She had, he assumed, otherwise she wouldn't look so out of place.
"Miss McGill?" a classmate called. Sally adjusted herself and sat down again, "Sorry, I'll handle it after class. Look on with someone," she said to Arthur. She lifted her copy of the syllabus and blocked her face. She read it word-for-word. When she was done, she kept the paper up and dismissed the class. Everyone but Arthur and Sally left the room. Arthur quietly moved to the front of the room.
Arthur looked as Sally dropped her paper. She'd been crying. Arthur swallowed hard. He had no idea what to say.
"Yes, I remember you," Sally whispered, sighing heavily. She handed Arthur her copy of the syllabus. "Do you mind changing classes or something? Life's been pretty hard for me, and I just...I don't think I can see you in here every couple of days and be okay."
"I don't understand. What do I have to do with anything?" Arthur asked. Sally cleared her throat and hung her head. She sighed and moved to the board to erase what she wrote. Arthur followed her, "Sally, you should-"
"I know! I owe you an explanation after saying something like that. Well, I know you remember. I was your first crush. You probably never forgot me," Sally smiled. She turned to Arthur. She was crying again. "I didn't forget you either, Arthur. I married my high school boyfriend because I was pregnant. He has the baby now. He's in Colorado living good, but I'm here. I couldn't take it. I...um...I can't talk about this here. Please, I want you to change to another class. I'll talk to the other history teacher. He'll understand."
"Sally, I want to hear everything. Can we meet somewhere else?" Arthur asked. Sally sighed, shaking her head, "I live with other professors. This our home town, so people will talk. Um...fine, I'll tell you here and now, but you have to leave right after. Okay?" she asked. Arthur nodded. "I...I had feelings for you. You were a kid though so I talked myself out of it. But I kind of never got over you, so yeah, he noticed and my marriage ended. I came back here to make a new life, hoping you were gone like all the other kids your age. Okay, now go."
"Sally, I-" Arthur tried, but Sally burst into tears. Arthur was confused. He didn't understand any of this. How could she have feelings for him? It made no sense. Her crying was loud, so Arthur decided to run. He ran to the campus library and hid upstairs. He didn't know what to do but he knew one thing: He was staying in Sally's class.