The hallways were dirty despite the fact that they were cleaned five times every day, the lockers were broken, usually by students, and if they weren't broken they were rusted through, making them completely useless. The walls leaked constantly and the windows were always open, as a result the entire building smelled of mold and musk, which in combination wasn't a good thing for anyone, especially those who suffered from allergies, like Basil of Baker Street.
Basil was pacing in Room 304, he was dressed in a black suit and tie, for he wanted to be presentable. In his hand was his cane that he occasionally twirled to amuse himself as he waited for class to begin. He stared at the human sized tables before him and casually began to calculate their length, for they spanned the majority of the room, leaving enough for a walk way on either side as well as room for cabinets and a few sinks. Basil stopped for a moment and looked at the front of the room, laughing to himself as he stared at the large human sized desk that was meant for him.
"Welcome to the real world Basil" the mouse said to himself as he clambered up the side of the desk, "Let's put our best foot forward shall we?"
There were many reasons as to why Basil was a high school teacher. It began with a dream and the dream ultimately turned into a large project funded by Disney and Warner Brothers. The project, called The Possibility Initiative, was issued in an effort to recognize the cultural significance of the Golden Age of Animation and the resulting eras and to improve the relationship between humans and cartoons, who coexisted with each other. The Warner Brothers had the Looney Tune University, which was fed by the high school. The administrations accepted toons in both institutions, but primarily focused on humans, specifically those in low income communities, who benefited most from the opportunity.
The students filled the room one by one, each of them either inside of themselves or within their own groups talking about trivial nonsense; as they entered the room Basil was busy going over class notes and the attendance rooster, trying his best to remember names.
"Settle down" Basil began as the stragglers came in, "Welcome to chemistry. My name is Basil."
One of the students in the back row, the type of guy who wore a letterman jacket for the sake of fashion and not because he was on the football team, raised his hand.
"Is this some kind of joke?" he asked, "Seriously, where's the teacher?"
Basil laughed and shook his head pitifully, a small smile creeping across his face.
"What is your name good sir?" Basil asked curiously.
The student smirked and let out a ridiculous laugh.
"Mind your own damn business" the student replied, "Go back to your mouse hole Squeaky, stop messing with us, and bring in the teacher."
Basil said nothing and took out a piece of chalk and began to write his name on the board that was behind the desk. When he finished his name he continued until he reached the end of the desk, at which point he sat the chalk down and looked back at his class. Basil took in a deep breath and sighed.
Member of the Royal Victorian Order; Detective; Professor of English and Chemistry; Author; Counselor; Husband; Father; Brother; Son.
"These are my titles" Basil exclaimed, "The order in which they are written is irrelevant, for they are all of equal importance but they come nowhere close to describing who I am to any of you."
Basil looked around the room, staring at the faces, most of them blank and full of indifference.
"Your first assignment" Basil continued, "Is to list your titles and their meaning. Then you are to decide, each of you, why or why not these titles define who you are."
A second student from the front raised her hand. Basil turned towards her, flicking his whiskers to show his attentiveness. She was wearing a pink dress and white shoes, which complemented her dark skin and deep far reaching brown eyes that spoke of many things, both soft and hard, quiet and loud.
"Sir" she began, her voice calm and sweet, like that of honey, "What does any of that have to do with chemistry?"
Basil ignored the question and instead answered with one of his own, for he too recognized her beauty, both outer and inner.
"What is your name Miss?" Basil replied, never losing his gentlemanly manner.
"Josephine" the girl answered promptly.
Basil nodded and gave a small smile, delighted that the question had been asked.
"Chemistry , to put it simply, is a way of understanding the world around you" Basil explained, gesturing to the entire group, "How can you be expected to understand the world around you, if you do not understand yourself? Knowing yourself is the beginning of the war ladies and gentlemen. It is up to you to decide when to start fighting."
The first student, whose name was Jack, scoffed, brushing Basil off as a joke and a waste of time. Basil saw this and jumped from table to table, using his cane to propel him on his way until he landed next to him, at which point Jack stopped what he was doing and stared directly into Basil's face as defiantly as possible.
"What do you want mouse?" Jack asked, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Basil looked Jack up and down and shook his head pitifully, seeing nothing of particular interest.
"Busy?" Basil replied, repeating Jack's cadence, "Busy with what? Wasting my time with your interruptions? If you aren't going to listen then perhaps you might pick up your things and leave. You can come back when you decide to use the brilliant brain God gave you for something useful."
Jack moved to leave, Basil stopped him with his cane.
"You move when I say you can" Basil continued, "Now tell me Mr. Living what is going on that is preventing you from learning and me from teaching my class?"
Jack scoffed again and shook his head, letting out another laugh. Basil, at this, scurried up Jack's arm, got directly in his face, grabbed his cheeks and pulled down, using his cane as leverage by sticking it in Jack's open mouth and moving it with his tail.
"Physics teaches us" Basil began, still pulling down, "that torque is the tendency of a force to rotate-"
Jack began struggling, begging and pleading to be set free, Basil ignored him and continued pulling, he was almost on the desk.
"Around an axis, by either pushing or-"
Basil reached the desk and let go of Jack's cheeks, he then took out his cane and slapped Jack in the face.
"Pulling."
Jack breathed heavily and stared at Basil in complete disbelief, there was nothing to suggest that Basil was a mouse of great strength or able to physical threats and carry them out, but obviously looks were deceiving.
"Do not disrespect me" Basil said sternly, "Disrespect me or anyone else and I will personally make sure that you fail this class. In this room there is no difference between me and you. Are we clear?"
Jack did the only thing he could do and nodded, his eyes fixated on Basil's stare, which was stoic, void of all obvious emotion. Basil moved in closer, next to Jack's ear and began whispering.
"See me after class Mr. Living."
Jack nodded again and lowered his head. Basil, satisfied for the moment, jumped down and made the long walk back to the front of the room.