The Classroom

Homeroom

In this world, fear is everything; I have long outgrown fear though. The screams that echo through my past are now just distractions; things that disturb my much needed concentration. I looked at the room before me. It was a small place, my little classroom as I called it; a simple eight by ten room, dark and windowless. The only light was brought by a single bulb hanging naked from the ceiling. There was no sun here; there was never any sun. The classroom was in a building that was abandoned many years ago; it's now overrun with gangs, rapists, and murderers. I was sitting on a chair looking at a man in his mid thirties with cuts and scratches on his arm. He was coming out of anesthesia I gave him. His eyes looked around the room confused and dazed.

"W-where am I?" He slowly sat up but was not able to get up; the rope that tied him to the chair prevented it. His eyes now were watching me closely as I stood up and picked up a file lying on a small table. I sat on a chair facing him. "Where the hell am I? What kind of fucking game is this?" I only smiled.

"Welcome Mr. Douglass, my name is Teacher; I'm glad to see you had a calm sleep." He was trying to force the rope off his arms and legs.

"You're fucked up. Get me the hell out of this." He kept shaking.

"Why Mr. Douglass, feel like killing some more people today?" I said with a smirk. I stood up and he watched me with piercing eyes. I sighed and looked at his face; he had black hair and was pale. He would be taller than me if he could stand up. "How long has it been?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How long have you been doing this Mitch?" I threw the file on the ground and the contents scattered. Police records, photos of dead bodies, mug shots, even a family photo. His eyes looked around the floor. I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a serious face. "Mitch let me tell you what I do for a living. I take people like you; show them their past and how much pain they caused. If I can't help them I don't, simple as that. Now, any questions?"

"Yeah, I do have a question lady." I took a step back and kneeled down. He went silent and a smirk drew onto his face. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He laughed. "Fucking psycho. Everyone wants a piece of Mitch" His smirk faded, and he spit at me. "Tough shit. They have places for shit like this you know. I have friends in high places; they won't take kindly to this. They will find you and when they do, they will make you wish you were never born."

"Your so called friends, Mitch." I wiped the spit off of me and stared at him. "They're next."

First Period

We went back and forth for another hour until finally he calmed down. "Fine, I'll play your stupid game." He snapped. I bent down and picked up the police records.

"May 15 1987, Mitch Douglass, 22, was suspected of armed robbery of a local gas station. Defendant found not guilty." I crumpled the paper and tossed it at his face. "September 27 1988, Mitch Douglass 23 was convicted of breaking and entering and sexual assault. Sentenced to four years in jail and a fine of $20,000." Crumpled up the paper and threw it at his face again. "April 3 1993, Mitch Douglass 27 was suspected of First Degree murder. There was no evidence to support a conviction. Defendant declared not guilty." With the last paper I threw it at his face one last time.

"Look lady, what does this have to do with anything? Why am I here?" I pushed my hair behind my ear and cleared my throat.

"I already told you, Mr. Douglass. Maybe you should have taken notes." I gave a small giggle.

"You're just living this shit up, huh?"

I smiled softly, eyes on him as I walked closer. "The funny thing is Mr. Douglass that police don't always catch on to the things people do behind closed doors."

"Neither can God, you know girl; maybe we can work something out? I can get you anything you desire." His tone was sweet but he was far from it.

"Anything I want?" I said acting like I cared.

"Anything. Name it and it will be yours."

"I want justice. Can you give me that Mr. Douglass? No, I suppose you can't, can you. That would be too easy."

"Go ahead and untie these ropes, I'll fucking show you justice." I walked over and slapped him right across the face."What the fuck is your problem?"

"You are failing this class, stupid ideas only cause pain Mr. Douglass. It's time you learned that."

"Well then Ms. Psycho, how about I teach you about taking what you want?" I bent over to line his face with mine.

"I always get what I want, Mitch. I'll just have to show you that, now won't I?"

Second Period

The room walls were getting smaller and smaller with each passing hour; we made no progress what so ever. He said smart ass remarks to me and I sent them right back. People like this is what makes the world as dark as it is, they only think about themselves. They don't care about any life they taken away, any souls they corrupted, the scars left on the heart; no, this world, the world I'm trying to make is going to be pure. Nothing can stand in my way.

"Look lady, I've got places to be, haven't you ever heard of giving up?" He sighed and laid his head back.

"Mr. Douglass if I gave up on you, you'd be dead." I was standing up against the wall staring him down.

"I'm already dead." I stood up and whipped his chair around to face the other wall.

"You see this Mr. Douglass. This is a wall of my students," The photo's lined all across the wall very few had gold stars on the bottom left, other, well most had a red X from corner to corner. "I helped everyone on this wall, I took the time to care, to help change their life around. Though, not everyone passes." His eyes scanned the photos carefully.

"What are the gold stars for?" He finally asked.

"The students who passed." I stood by the wall and pointed to the red X's. "The ones who didn't pass my class were expelled, permanently."

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Douglass let me ask you something. What was the darkest thing you ever did to anyone? Feel free to tell me every last detail." I sat down and looked at him.

"Look lady, that's none of your business. Who the hell do you think you are?" there was a pause I think I've heard of you, I lost a partner because of your little fetish; you get off on taking criminals in and breaking them like toys. What about my justice?" Calmly I set down the coffee that I was drinking.

"My punishment is living. And justice isn't just given away."

Third Period

I looked on the floor; there was the family photo next to a small note. I picked these both up. "Tell me about your family, Mitch, how many years has it been since you left them?" I showed him the photo; he looked down away from it. "Oh that's right, I forgot, your sister was murdered wasn't she, by your partner Miguel. Hmm such a pity, your own sister killed by the man you trusted the most. What happened? She wouldn't put out for a scum bag?" At these words he started struggling against the ropes. His wrists were being cut into.

"How would you know what it's like to have your family killed?" I punched him in the face.

"What gives you the right to say that? Do I need to bring up the fact you kidnapped young girls, raped them then ditched their bodies in the ocean?"

"I don't give a fuck."

I grabbed his face and held the photo in front of it. "Mitch, I'm telling you this straight up. The girls, the guys; every living soul you took; their families felt what you felt. Remember what it's like to find out that someone you loved was murdered. The pain you felt cursing through your body is the pain that others have suffered at your own hands."

"Where did you even get all this information? You've been spying on me haven't you? We're exactly the same. You stalk your prey waiting for the chance to attack."

"That's where you are wrong Mitch; I'm doing nothing more than watching my students. I have photos, recordings and more then you know."

"If you have all this then why not just go to the police, I'm sure that they wouldn't hesitate to go and get my ass in a cell, look at me; you even wrapped me up ready to go." I crossed my arms and stared down at him.

"That would be too easy. God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well. If you sit in a jail cell then how can you embrace the gift of life?"

"Life has no meaning to me; do what you want until you die, that's what I say. Life isn't a gift, it's a curse."

"We'll continue with our lesson tomorrow Mr. Douglass; I can see we're not going to get anywhere today." I said signing to him. He yelled and screamed at me as I stood up and left the classroom, locking the door behind me as I went.

Ninth Period

People get away with the most outrageous things you can think of. The authorities are there to help us, to make sure our streets are safe from harm, and to protect the unprotected. I once believed in this when I was younger; but after what happened, I could never trust another soul as long as I live. I had been talking to Mr. Douglass for days on end and my teachings have gotten no where. We were both tired, the pointless hours as he called it were draining us both down. He had been calm the last two days, and maybe if we could pull on just a little bit more, he'll pass.

"Teach, when is this going to all end?" He muttered hanging his head down.

"When we both feel that you have passed my class Mr. Douglass. You're so close to passing, but we have to work harder. My next lesson will wake you up I hope." I went over to the table and picked up some photos of a little girl. In the photo she had stabs over her body and burses. "This is my last lesson Mitch, if you can pass it then I have to say goodbye." I sat down on my seat in front of him and stared at the photo. This girl was the key to everything in why the student was here. "On July 27th 1999 there was a family cerebrating a little girl's birthday. She was turning seven years old. Her father was the owner of a major car dealership, and her mother was a head nurse. On her birthday the little girl went to go play outside with her friend. She saw a car pull up and two men walked out of it. They looked at the girls playing and then walked into the house; the little girl thought that they were her mom and dad's friends. Later it was getting dark out and she went home. When she walked through the door she came onto a horrifying scene. Both of her parents were murdered and the house had been robbed. She screamed and ran to call 911. The men she saw earlier walked out of her parent's room and stopped her. They beat her; and violated her; then stabbed her, the knife cut into her legs more then anywhere else. When it was pitch black out the men moved the bodies into the trunk of the car. They drove to a different city and stopped by an open area. One by one the men threw them in the ocean."

"One of my most favorite crimes." Mitch said with a large smile. "You know what Teach, it's not like anything happened after that. It's mostly been robberies and rape now."

"Wrong, something did happen after that Mitch." I took my glasses off and folded them on the table. "The girl lived." He had a shocked look on his face and then worry.

"No, you couldn't be." I looked at him right in the eyes. "No." I bent down and rolled up my pant legs. There were old faded scars left from eleven years ago.

"Scars don't always fade Mr. Douglas."

"How can you be alive?"

"You weren't as thorough as you might have thought." I folded the pant leg back down.

"I killed you; I threw you in the ocean."

"You thought you did."

"Oh, that's just wonderful." He smiled. "So this is your revenge?"

"I don't believe in revenge, I believe in redemption."

"So you're giving me another chance to kill you?"

"I'm giving you another chance at life."

"What happened that day, how did you live?"

"Well after you threw me in the ocean I was saved by a fisherman. He took me to the hospital and the cops questioned me. I couldn't tell them, no, I wouldn't tell them. Your face though, even now it's burned into my mind. For a long time I hated you, even feared you. Everyday I imagined what it would feel like to kill you, to get my revenge. Then I met a man, he took me in and saved me from myself. He taught me there was more to life then hate; there was love. I learned then that people can change, and if given enough chances they will. So here we are, eleven years later, our roles reversed. The difference between you and I though, is that I'm going to show you mercy."

To be continued…?