As Mr. Lincoln headed to History, he did feel a small presence pass him he did not see, after focusing he saw a mop of black hair on a girl wearing a black dress, with striped knee socks and sleeves, covering her limbs. She walked into the class and sat at the back. He looked at her and recognized her as Lucy Loud. She wasn't troublesome but she's been known to isolate herself, and be a little moody despite her 'emotionless mask'. Mr. Lincoln spun ideas in his head as he reviewed the lessons he's supposed to go over for the semester on paper. He put the sheet down on his desk and stood. "Good Afternoon, I am Mr. Lincoln and I will be this class period's English teacher." He walked over to each desk, passing out notebook paper, and had them write down their summer events. A student raised their hand and asked what this had to do with history
"Because you are apart of history yourself, and I wish to evaluate your memory, that matters in history in case you didn't know." After that, he noticed Lucy hadn't touched her paper or even gotten out a writing utensil. He walked on over and kneeled by her desk. "Miss Lucy, I see you haven't done anything. I just need you to write down one event over the summer. At least one." She just shrugged and looked away. He gave a small frown before putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Ok, then TELL me about it instead." She shifted uncomfortable as she spoke with a monotoned voice, seemingly hesitant but slightly comfortable in his presence.. "Well...Our brother died...So I can't think of anything even relevantly decent at the moment..." Her long bangs covered her eyes but he knew they were filled with sadness as she kept looking away, avoiding his unwavering gaze.
"I assume you loved him dearly. No one should go through that. You don't have to do today's assignment, but next time I won't be letting you off. Also, why are you do you seem to be always so... emotionless." He picked the term carefully, looking at her, eyebrow raised. She shrugged. "There's no point in involving myself in such things, the only thing I feel is suffering and darkness." He sighed and leaned towards her ear, whispering soft words, with heavy meaning. "The one's who cast their emotions aside, aren't the ones who are actively suffering, but to avoid it. The people who still go through life smiling even when deep down inside they are hurting, They feel the most suffering."
Mr. Lincoln stood and went around collecting papers, leaving her to stare at him and wonder at the words he spoke, trying to find the depth. After collecting all the papers and the bells rang. This was the end of his day, with no other students to teach because he wasn't going to be assigned to the elementary. Or maybe just not yet, he didn't know. He went to his car and saw he had a couple hours till he had to meet Luna and give back the guitar so he parked on the side of a road and ate a sandwich out of his briefcase. He spent the next few hours on Lucy mentioning the death of her brother.
Should he have asked what had happened? Who it was? He stopped himself, knowing that tye mourning period probably isn't over yet. "Chances are, she'll most likely let it slip." He said to himself. He checked his wrist watch, seeing that it was time he started up his car and drove off to the highschool staff parking lot. He grabbed the guitar from the trunk and waited for Luna. For the first few minutes, he actually tuned the guitar a bit and strummed some of the strings out of boredom and interest. He heard someone clear their throat, so he looked up.
He saw Luna standing there, hands outstretched. He handed it to her. "There, I hope we have no more misunderstandings in the future. You seem like a good student so maybe the future will be better." She nodded "Yes sir. Oh by the way, EVERYONE has been talking about you like crazy!" He scoffed "Just teenagers gossiping. Whatever it is, it isn't my problem." "Well, why ARE you here? you seem local but I've never seen you before." He shrugged and leaned against his sedan. "I came here to help the school district grades go up, and help them gain some reputation as a prestigious school. Of course, that's nearly impossible but they're paying and I'm tye closest thing to a professional they could find."
She just nodded thoughtfully, turns to walk away before Mr. Lincoln remembered something. "Wait! I was talking with your sister Lucy today..." She turned towards him curiously, knowing Lucy doesn't oftenly open up to people, even someone as Charismatic as Mr. Lincoln. "She mentioned a death in the family. I'm sorry for bringing it up but I'm curious about it..." He said sincerely. She gave a deep sigh. "Yeah...Car accident...It was a head on collision...He wouldn't have survived either way the doctor said. He was a middle child and a loving brother." Mr. Lincoln nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing. Have a goodnight Luna." He said before she walked away solemnly. He got into his car snd drove home.
When he got home, He ate dinner, got a shower and climbed into bed. But couldn't sleep. He layed there in thought. Right before he fell asleep, He asked himself a single question, which bore no response. "Why does my heart ache every time I met one of them..."
To Be Continued...
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I know, Short Chapter. Sorry.