Class was beginning, but it didn't stop me at all from playing my favorite hobby. Looking around for a person to read was my main conception to begin. Mrs. Carlson says something that I didn't catch for I found the perfect person to read. That would the one walking late to the schoolhouse- Edgar Kinks. He is a burly, strong, and stocky fellow with blonde hair who could act kind one minute then be down right mean. I chuckle a small laugh to see the teacher scowl at him while he just hung his head, saying, "Sorry for being late, ma'am."
"Well, sorry don't cut it at all, boy." Mrs. Carlson retorts. She adds with now a look of wonder: "This is your fourth time being late. You know… right?"
Focusing my eyes on Kinks, I could know that Kinks was thinking of bailing out on the the teacher. I smile that the fellow has been out taking care of his family who could possibly be catching the infamous disease. He was nervous as a criminal would be in court standing before a judge. Kinks's left foot was brushing the wooden floor and his hands were balled up in fists. I could tell by reading his face that he couldn't make up an excuse. The teacher with her circular face all scowled up was not going to have any of her students failing to come to an education. "As if it's so important", I mumbled through my breath. A person beside me- a girl- looks at me and says, "Did you say something?"
Without looking at her, I just shake my head. I was not ready to be like other guys who could go googly-eyed over some girl. To me, it didn't matter if someone loved me or not unless it was family. It would just take my mind off of the person's thoughts. Unfortunately, thoughts ran through my head and made me lose track on reading Kinks's mind. I mutter under my breath with my head to my hands that it was so wrong of me losing track.
Looking upward now, Kinks was walking near my row and had a painful expression on his embarrassed, red face. Reading his mind was so easy since I could tell Mrs. Carlson had already slapped him on the wrist with a ruler. Didn't need to see it since I could not be able tom but I knew I was right. Mind reading had been a talent of mine since I was just a little infant. Before Dad died, I could read his thoughts of fears of losing both Mom and I to the sickness that was spreading just a couple of months ago. Trying not to remember those awful times, I shook my head to wipe the nightmares away.
Kinks had already sat down in the row with his eyes set on his desk. I knew he was having a rough time, yet he wasn't the only one in here to have the same problems. Thinking to myself, I might have to just ruff him up a bit with being a jokester after classes are over. Looking to my left, the girl was still there beside me looking across the many rows at Mrs. Carlson. My classmate has long blonde hair with an expression of pain on her face. Her expression made it very easy to seep into her mind and read it. Smiling, I whispered, "Want to play a game of mine?"
The girl looked at me cautiously and whispered right back, "Sure, what type of game?"
Shifting my legs to the left side of my chair, I lean in closely to her and say quietly, "A mind-reading game. It's really fun."
She nodded her head and I whispered, "I'll go first in guessing what you are thinking."
"Fire away.", she says cautiously not to get Mrs. Carlson's attention. So I look deeply into her eyes to see she is nervously thinking of what Mrs. Carlson might do if she spots us. Aside from that, she was thinking of her younger siblings and parents who might be getting what was spreading. Another thing she was thinking about was hugging a panda bear. I laughed softly and she asks, "What was I thinking?"
Breathing in deeply to break away from laughter, I whisper, "You are thinking of hugging a panda bear."
She sits there amazed and turns back to face foreward and giggles with her head down in her crossed arms. I could hear through those arms her muffled voice saying, "Wow, you are freaky!"
To myself, I took it as a compliment though still felt confused of what her curiosity for what I said earlier. So typical for girls to get into a guy's personal hobby. Rolling my eyes to the window on the right, I thought about how Mom was doing right now. Hopefully she was doing fine at work without the company of a family member with her. So miss her…
Steps came closer and louder making it clear that I did something wrong. Setting my eyes on who was there right in front of me, there came a voice yelling, "Mr. Edward Masen Jr.! Stop your daydreaming or I will make you stay in after class ends."
I grinned with a smirk of pleasure, but Mrs. Carlson did not take it as an innocence and continued, "Get that grin off your face because this is not a thing to be smiling about!"
She went back off to the front in a fit of rage that just made me laugh right out loud. When she got there to turn her face in my way, I did my best to keep a straight face. There were some students giggling at this little phenomenon to start with and everyone joins in. The blonde-haired girl was the only one not laughing. She cries instead with her hands covering her face. I know for a fact that she was too much of a blonde to know that it was just a joke on the teacher.
Mrs. Carlson's face turns red and yells, "Children, QUIET!"
Everyone stops laughing, so she tunes down her voice by saying, "If Mr. Masen is going to be the class clown of this school corporation, I will have to make him do a subject that I know he won't like. It will be a good lesson that I'm sure he will do well for the younger students." She stares from her desk in my direction. "Won't it, Mr. Masen?"
Wait, what… me? On a subject that I don't like? Unfortunately, when I hear her answer that came through my mind, all my hopes slipped away.
