CHAPTER 4-Bully
Willow walked into her first period classroom hoping to find Joshua had arrived before she did. She was disappointed, however, when she didn't see him.
She did see Virgil Paige, and a part of her wanted to tell him to stop bullying people 'cause it just wasn't nice. She didn't though. She was only a girl and he was bigger than she was.
Paige stood at the back of the room, leaning casually against the wall as he talked to two girls who were sitting in the back row. As Willow had entered the room, they stopped talking and watched her. Willow tried not to let it bother her, but it did, especially when they continued to watch her as she took her seat in the front row.
With her back toward them, she pushed them out of her mind and watched the doorway for Joshua. She was very concerned for him. She could only imagine what it was she had seen fall from his pack earlier, and from the way Sylvia had looked at her, she knew it wasn't a good thing. Well, severe asthma was serious business. Willow could only think of one thing that the odd looking tube could possibly be- an Epi-Pen. She had heard Joshua talk about it once before. His parents wanted him to have one, and now he did. Willow had looked it up on the web. It was an Epinepherine Injection Syringe and it was something people used when their inhalers stopped working or when their airways were closing off. It was designed to open the airways, to keep the heart pumping and the blood flowing, and it prevented anaphalactic reaction. In other words, it helped a person to continue breathing until help arrived.
It was a drastic step, but it was meant to save lives. For Joshua to have such a thing only showed Willow that his asthma was even more severe than he had let on.
Willow sat there with those thoughts until she realized something. She looked down at the surface of her desk and frowned. There was a shadow crossing over her desk that hadn't been there before. Turning her head, she looked up and discovered Paige standing beside her desk. He regarded her with a look reserved for peasants.
"Why are you sitting there?" he asked her softly.
Willow looked up at him and it took her a second to register that he was indeed talking to her. "Uh, wh-what?"
Paige simply looked at her.
The look gave her chills. "Uh, wh-why am I sitting here?" She hesitated. "In-in this seat? Well, uh, it-it's where I sit. Uh, it-it's my seat for, you know, history class where I've been sitting since s-school started."
"You're taking a new seat," Paige told her. "This seat is taken."
Willow looked puzzled, and she hesitated nervously. "Oh, b-but Mr. Chomsky- -"
"--Is not here," he interrupted her. "Due to Mr. Chomsky's absence, there will be a new teacher. New teacher. New seating arrangements."
Willow didn't know what to say. "Oh."
Paige looked at her. "I don't see you moving. Find. A. New. Seat."
She swallowed. "Oh, uh, I'm-I'm sorry." She picked up her books, aware that her hands were shaking, and glanced at him. "Uh, I'll move." She got up, moved slowly around him, and went to the next seat in the front row. She sat down, trying hard to ignore the smirks she was getting from the other kids who had arrived. She thought it was over. Paige had bullied her and now he would go away.
But he didn't.
He was standing right there, beside her desk.
Feeling suddenly very afraid, Willow looked up at him.
Paige shook his head. "Wrong seat."
Willow tried very hard to comprehend why this was happening to her. Her throat felt suddenly dry. "Uh, V-Virgil, why do you want me to--?"
"Willow," Paige began with a hint of warning in his voice, "do not test me, and we're not friends, so don't use my first name. Or my last." He looked down at her. "AND if I tell you to move, you just do it. Without question."
"Oh," she said in a small voice. She had this strong, powerful urge to cry, but somehow, she kept herself from doing just that. She picked up her books, hugged them to herself- wishing her books were a shield- and got up once again. She moved over to the next desk, but before she set her books down, she turned to look at Paige with uncertainty.
He shook his head.
Please, leave me alone, she wanted to scream. Why are you doing this? I don't understand! She glanced nervously around, wishing someone would help her...but no one did. The kids who were present only watched as if it were the biggest entertainment they'd ever seen.
The two remaining seats in the front row were already taken. One desk was taken by a short, chubby boy with thick glasses, the kind that made his eyes bigger than they actually were. Like big bug eyes. The other desk was taken by a girl with dark hair down to her shoulders. They were both watching Willow and Paige. The boy was leering at her, but the girl was looking at her with sympathy.
Directly behind the seat Willow would have taken was a tall, blonde-haired boy. He sat with his arms folded across his chest. He was watching her, too. On the back of his right hand, she noticed a tattoo of a burning sun, but she didn't give it another thought until much later. It was the lack of expression on Bill Viccors' face that bothered her, and the coldness in his eyes that frightened her. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.
She wished she were invisible.
Paige grew impatient with her hesitation and he abruptly moved closer to her, holding out his hands. "Give me your books."
Willow flinched and backed up a step. "Wh-what?"
He scowled at her. "Do NOT make me repeat myself."
"O-Okay." She handed her books over to him. Then, she just happened to see the same tattoo Viccors had on the back of his right hand, but at the moment, she was too frightened to notice any connection. She didn't want to give Paige her books, but she didn't want any trouble either. With no one jumping to her defense, what could she possibly do to make him leave her alone? He never bullied her before now. What did she do to make him choose today to start?
Paige carried her books and he walked toward the desk behind Viccors. He set them down and looked at her. "This is where you'll be sitting from now on."
Willow didn't argue with him. She moved to her new desk and sat down as the bell rang. More students began to file in, including Joshua, and he seemed to be puzzled by the new seating arrangements. He headed for an empty seat on Willow's left, but Marc Shiva beat him to it.
Joshua looked apologetically at Willow and took a seat between Shiva and the window.
Shiva was huge. He had muscles that bulged, and Willow found herself staring at him, both fascinated and troubled. Shiva turned his head to grin at her. His right hand was on the surface of the desk and the back of his hand was facing toward her.
Willow stared.
She was looking at a tattoo of a burning sun.
She glanced toward the boy sitting ahead of Shiva, and to her horror, he also had a tattoo on the back of his hand. Willow felt a sudden chill run through her. She looked toward the door and wondered why the substitute teacher had not yet arrived. Why was he late?
She glanced to her right. The three desks on her right were occupied by boys. On her left, it was the same. Viccors sat in front of her, and she was seriously beginning to wonder why Paige had made her sit where she was now sitting. Like she was in the center, boxed in. Trapped.
Why?
She froze as a thought struck her.
W-who is sitting behind me?
Hesitant, she turned her head to look behind her.
Paige regarded her. "Do you have a problem?" he asked.
"Uh, no." She shook her head. "N-no problem."
"Then turn around."
Without a word, Willow turned back around and she decided to keep her eyes focused on the door until the teacher arrived. She couldn't understand why he was late, but she was so willing to bring in a bag full of apples if he would never be late again.
Paige slowly reached forward and he ran his hand through Willow's hair. She flinched and jerked suddenly away from him, eyes wide. She turned and looked at him, but he was sitting back in his seat. He wrapped a strand of her hair around his fingers.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.
He looked at her. "Relax, Willow. I happen to like your hair, so I took a strand. Is that really so bad?" He smiled at her.
She had no idea how to respond to that, but she didn't like it. Not one tiny little bit.
Paige paused. "Anything else troubling you?"
She forced herself to shake her head.
He leaned forward, bringing his face closer. "I want you to know something, Willow. Everything I do is for a purpose. This means that you have become my purpose." He paused. "How does that make you feel?"
Willow hesitated. "I-I don't want to be your p-purpose."
He paused intentionally, studying her face. "Turn around and keep your eyes forward."
Willow was stunned, but as she tried to understand what he meant about her being his purpose, she turned around again. She nervously placed her hands in front of her and watched the door.
Oh, where was the teacher? Why was this happening? Would it end?
She tried to look on the brighter side of things. History class was first period, and she had it on Monday, Wednesday, and every other Friday. If she made it through this class, she wouldn't have to be there again until Monday. This Friday, she had Study Hall, and Xander would be there with her. All she had to do was make it through this class.
"By the way, Willow," Paige said softly from behind, "nice outfit."
She froze. Thanks, Mom, she thought despairingly.
"That's probably a one-of-a-kind outfit, isn't it? It has to be." He paused for effect. "I haven't seen any other girls in this school wearing an outfit like that."
She closed her eyes. Please, make him stop.
"You look like one of those catholic school girls; you know, the little girls who all wear the same uniform." He watched her from behind and noticed how tense she was. He grinned. "Are you sure you're in the right school?"
Willow stared ahead at the door, and all around her she could hear some of her fellow classmates chuckling or laughing softly to themselves. Laughing at her distress. She tried so hard to ignore it but she couldn't. She unconsciously bit on her lower lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying.
It didn't help.
Her eyes began to fill with tears.
Paige turned his attention to Shiva. "Fury..."
Shiva moved his huge frame to look back at Paige. "Yeah?"
"Is Willow crying?"
Shiva looked puzzled. Then, he looked over at Willow as she turned her head a little to look over at him. She felt so helpless. A tear rolled down her cheek. Shiva clearly saw the tear and he then looked into Willow's eyes.
Abruptly, Shiva sat back and looked toward the front of the class. "No," he said casually. "She's not crying."
Willow glanced over at him in surprise. Shiva didn't look back.
From behind her, Paige let out a soft chuckle. "Well, good for you, little girl. If you had been crying, you would have shown us all what a Weeping Willow looks like."
There was more laughter.
Willow felt like weeping bitterly, but she focused on Shiva's one act of kindness and it helped. Even just a little bit. She wanted to thank him for it, yet she knew she couldn't- at least not at the moment.
The substitute chose that moment to arrive and Willow was overcome with a deep sense of relief. The new teacher was a tall, clean shaven man with broad shoulders. He carried a briefcase, which he placed casually on the desk. He then leaned against the desk, regarding the students.
"Good morning, class," he greeted them.
Most of the students responded with, "Good morning," back to him.
He smiled wryly at them. "I am Mr. Ronald Barr, and as you all know, I will be substituting for Mr. Chomsky who had a rather serious accident last night. He was in a car accident, and at this time, it is undetermined if he will be returning to his duties any time soon. I offer you my heartfelt sympathies, for I am sure he will be missed." He put his hands together in anticipation. "Now, I must apologize for my tardiness this morning. This I must also do in advance as I shall be tardy for every class by no later than ten minutes. I have other obligations that I cannot break. I spend my early mornings at Sunnydale University, and then I drive here to be with you young, aspiring students at Sunnydale High. After which I again drive back to SU for the remainder of the day. Ah, but such is the life of a dedicated teacher of fresh minds."
Willow didn't enjoy the idea of coming into this classroom knowing Mr. Barr would always be ten minutes late. Ten minutes could last a whole eternity, especially if being pushed around by the class bully and his goons.
Mr. Barr clapped his hands together with enthusiasm. "Now that I have told you who I am, let me get to know who you are." He pointed at a girl in the front row. "We'll begin with you. Stand up and tell us who you are. Give us your name, tell us something you like, and tell us something you don't like."
The girl rose to her feet, apparently not too shy about receiving attention. She purposefully shook her head so that her hair waved about her shoulders. "My name is Diana Williams," she said with a bright, happy smile. "I like boys, cheerleading, dancing, and boys. I don't like bad hair." She waved happily at the class and sat down.
The girl behind her stood up and told the class her name, something she liked, and something she disliked. They seemed to drag on. Willow was filled with dread, knowing it would soon be her turn and she only wanted to be invisible.
It was almost her turn. In growing horror, she watched each student stand...one by one.
Rebecca Rose. Rick Lewis. Todd Griswald. Sandi Dumas. The first row on Willow's right were done. The second row began. Roger Michals. Jon Bailey. Hal Levy. He was sitting at the desk on Willow's right. Garth Talbot. Jennifer Leigh.
Willow closed her eyes. It was her rows turn. When she opened her eyes, Rodney Willem was standing up. He sat down.
Bill Viccors rose to his feet. He said his name, he said his likes and dislikes, but Willow didn't hear a word of it. She was almost frozen in fear.
Viccors sat down and he turned in his seat to leer at her.
All eyes were now on Willow, and all she wanted to do was hide. The class continued to look at her as she remained seated.
She hesitated.
Finally, she managed somehow to stand, and tried to stop shaking. She opened her mouth to speak. "Uh, W-Willow Rosenberg," she said. She cleared her throat nervously, focusing on Mr. Barr as she tried to ignore the class. "Uh, I-I like playing the p-piano, and-and I like to study."
"Oh, give me a break!" Levy shook his head and snorted.
Willow winced and glanced at him.
"Go on, Willow," Mr. Barr said encouragingly. "What is it you don't like?"
Willow looked at him. "I-I don't like bullies."
She was done. With a sense of relief, she was about to sit down, but the unthinkable happened.
Mr. Barr held out his hand. "Wait just a moment, Willow. Don't take your seat yet."
Horrified, Willow stood still and focused on the teacher. She was only too aware that everyone was watching her.
"You say you play the piano, Willow?" Mr. Barr inquired.
She nodded.
"How well do you play?"
Willow hesitated. "Uh, oh, well, I-I play okay on the piano. Uh, not great, just okay. I'm-I'm really not that good, Mr. Barr. N-not really, no."
"Would you be able to play something for the class if I were to arrange it?"
"Uh, w-what?" Her face was turning a nice shade of red.
"Perhaps something historical! An interlude from the past."
Willow shook her head. "Oh, no-no. I-I couldn't do that, Mr. Barr. I--"
"We'll talk about it later," Mr. Barr said with an encouraging smile. "I'm also quite pleased to hear that you enjoy your studies. That is refreshing! I have seen your school records, young lady, and they are truly quite impressive."
Willow could feel the eyes of envy from her fellow students boring into her. She wanted the substitute teacher to stop bringing attention to her. She didn't want any of this.
"Uh, thank you," she stammered, and she abruptly sat down.
Mr. Barr, however, wasn't done with her. "Willow, let me assure you that there will be no bullies in this classroom." He looked at her reassuringly. "That's a promise! Okay?"
Willow wanted so badly to disappear. Why did she have to say she didn't like bullies? "Okay," she said meekly. She could feel Paige's eyes on her from behind.
For the remainder of the class, the rest of the students stood up one by one, and they each told their names, something they liked, and something they didn't like. When the last student took her seat, Mr. Barr began to tell the class that he was going to continue where Mr. Chomsky had left off. He told the class what he expected from them and that he was a firm believer in homework.
They would continue to look into the Civil War era. He expected every one to read the first five chapters of their History book. A discussion of the five chapters would follow with a quiz on Monday, much to the horror and dismay of the students.
Willow only half listened as Mr. Barr talked to them. She was still stunned by Paige's sudden "bulliness" toward her. She found herself wondering if she had done something to offend him. He never really bothered her before today. Why was he bullying her now?
A few times throughout the period, she caught Joshua smiling encouragingly at her. It helped her a little, but only just. When the bell finally rang, it was the sweetest sound Willow had ever heard.
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TO BE CONTINUED--
Willow walked into her first period classroom hoping to find Joshua had arrived before she did. She was disappointed, however, when she didn't see him.
She did see Virgil Paige, and a part of her wanted to tell him to stop bullying people 'cause it just wasn't nice. She didn't though. She was only a girl and he was bigger than she was.
Paige stood at the back of the room, leaning casually against the wall as he talked to two girls who were sitting in the back row. As Willow had entered the room, they stopped talking and watched her. Willow tried not to let it bother her, but it did, especially when they continued to watch her as she took her seat in the front row.
With her back toward them, she pushed them out of her mind and watched the doorway for Joshua. She was very concerned for him. She could only imagine what it was she had seen fall from his pack earlier, and from the way Sylvia had looked at her, she knew it wasn't a good thing. Well, severe asthma was serious business. Willow could only think of one thing that the odd looking tube could possibly be- an Epi-Pen. She had heard Joshua talk about it once before. His parents wanted him to have one, and now he did. Willow had looked it up on the web. It was an Epinepherine Injection Syringe and it was something people used when their inhalers stopped working or when their airways were closing off. It was designed to open the airways, to keep the heart pumping and the blood flowing, and it prevented anaphalactic reaction. In other words, it helped a person to continue breathing until help arrived.
It was a drastic step, but it was meant to save lives. For Joshua to have such a thing only showed Willow that his asthma was even more severe than he had let on.
Willow sat there with those thoughts until she realized something. She looked down at the surface of her desk and frowned. There was a shadow crossing over her desk that hadn't been there before. Turning her head, she looked up and discovered Paige standing beside her desk. He regarded her with a look reserved for peasants.
"Why are you sitting there?" he asked her softly.
Willow looked up at him and it took her a second to register that he was indeed talking to her. "Uh, wh-what?"
Paige simply looked at her.
The look gave her chills. "Uh, wh-why am I sitting here?" She hesitated. "In-in this seat? Well, uh, it-it's where I sit. Uh, it-it's my seat for, you know, history class where I've been sitting since s-school started."
"You're taking a new seat," Paige told her. "This seat is taken."
Willow looked puzzled, and she hesitated nervously. "Oh, b-but Mr. Chomsky- -"
"--Is not here," he interrupted her. "Due to Mr. Chomsky's absence, there will be a new teacher. New teacher. New seating arrangements."
Willow didn't know what to say. "Oh."
Paige looked at her. "I don't see you moving. Find. A. New. Seat."
She swallowed. "Oh, uh, I'm-I'm sorry." She picked up her books, aware that her hands were shaking, and glanced at him. "Uh, I'll move." She got up, moved slowly around him, and went to the next seat in the front row. She sat down, trying hard to ignore the smirks she was getting from the other kids who had arrived. She thought it was over. Paige had bullied her and now he would go away.
But he didn't.
He was standing right there, beside her desk.
Feeling suddenly very afraid, Willow looked up at him.
Paige shook his head. "Wrong seat."
Willow tried very hard to comprehend why this was happening to her. Her throat felt suddenly dry. "Uh, V-Virgil, why do you want me to--?"
"Willow," Paige began with a hint of warning in his voice, "do not test me, and we're not friends, so don't use my first name. Or my last." He looked down at her. "AND if I tell you to move, you just do it. Without question."
"Oh," she said in a small voice. She had this strong, powerful urge to cry, but somehow, she kept herself from doing just that. She picked up her books, hugged them to herself- wishing her books were a shield- and got up once again. She moved over to the next desk, but before she set her books down, she turned to look at Paige with uncertainty.
He shook his head.
Please, leave me alone, she wanted to scream. Why are you doing this? I don't understand! She glanced nervously around, wishing someone would help her...but no one did. The kids who were present only watched as if it were the biggest entertainment they'd ever seen.
The two remaining seats in the front row were already taken. One desk was taken by a short, chubby boy with thick glasses, the kind that made his eyes bigger than they actually were. Like big bug eyes. The other desk was taken by a girl with dark hair down to her shoulders. They were both watching Willow and Paige. The boy was leering at her, but the girl was looking at her with sympathy.
Directly behind the seat Willow would have taken was a tall, blonde-haired boy. He sat with his arms folded across his chest. He was watching her, too. On the back of his right hand, she noticed a tattoo of a burning sun, but she didn't give it another thought until much later. It was the lack of expression on Bill Viccors' face that bothered her, and the coldness in his eyes that frightened her. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.
She wished she were invisible.
Paige grew impatient with her hesitation and he abruptly moved closer to her, holding out his hands. "Give me your books."
Willow flinched and backed up a step. "Wh-what?"
He scowled at her. "Do NOT make me repeat myself."
"O-Okay." She handed her books over to him. Then, she just happened to see the same tattoo Viccors had on the back of his right hand, but at the moment, she was too frightened to notice any connection. She didn't want to give Paige her books, but she didn't want any trouble either. With no one jumping to her defense, what could she possibly do to make him leave her alone? He never bullied her before now. What did she do to make him choose today to start?
Paige carried her books and he walked toward the desk behind Viccors. He set them down and looked at her. "This is where you'll be sitting from now on."
Willow didn't argue with him. She moved to her new desk and sat down as the bell rang. More students began to file in, including Joshua, and he seemed to be puzzled by the new seating arrangements. He headed for an empty seat on Willow's left, but Marc Shiva beat him to it.
Joshua looked apologetically at Willow and took a seat between Shiva and the window.
Shiva was huge. He had muscles that bulged, and Willow found herself staring at him, both fascinated and troubled. Shiva turned his head to grin at her. His right hand was on the surface of the desk and the back of his hand was facing toward her.
Willow stared.
She was looking at a tattoo of a burning sun.
She glanced toward the boy sitting ahead of Shiva, and to her horror, he also had a tattoo on the back of his hand. Willow felt a sudden chill run through her. She looked toward the door and wondered why the substitute teacher had not yet arrived. Why was he late?
She glanced to her right. The three desks on her right were occupied by boys. On her left, it was the same. Viccors sat in front of her, and she was seriously beginning to wonder why Paige had made her sit where she was now sitting. Like she was in the center, boxed in. Trapped.
Why?
She froze as a thought struck her.
W-who is sitting behind me?
Hesitant, she turned her head to look behind her.
Paige regarded her. "Do you have a problem?" he asked.
"Uh, no." She shook her head. "N-no problem."
"Then turn around."
Without a word, Willow turned back around and she decided to keep her eyes focused on the door until the teacher arrived. She couldn't understand why he was late, but she was so willing to bring in a bag full of apples if he would never be late again.
Paige slowly reached forward and he ran his hand through Willow's hair. She flinched and jerked suddenly away from him, eyes wide. She turned and looked at him, but he was sitting back in his seat. He wrapped a strand of her hair around his fingers.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.
He looked at her. "Relax, Willow. I happen to like your hair, so I took a strand. Is that really so bad?" He smiled at her.
She had no idea how to respond to that, but she didn't like it. Not one tiny little bit.
Paige paused. "Anything else troubling you?"
She forced herself to shake her head.
He leaned forward, bringing his face closer. "I want you to know something, Willow. Everything I do is for a purpose. This means that you have become my purpose." He paused. "How does that make you feel?"
Willow hesitated. "I-I don't want to be your p-purpose."
He paused intentionally, studying her face. "Turn around and keep your eyes forward."
Willow was stunned, but as she tried to understand what he meant about her being his purpose, she turned around again. She nervously placed her hands in front of her and watched the door.
Oh, where was the teacher? Why was this happening? Would it end?
She tried to look on the brighter side of things. History class was first period, and she had it on Monday, Wednesday, and every other Friday. If she made it through this class, she wouldn't have to be there again until Monday. This Friday, she had Study Hall, and Xander would be there with her. All she had to do was make it through this class.
"By the way, Willow," Paige said softly from behind, "nice outfit."
She froze. Thanks, Mom, she thought despairingly.
"That's probably a one-of-a-kind outfit, isn't it? It has to be." He paused for effect. "I haven't seen any other girls in this school wearing an outfit like that."
She closed her eyes. Please, make him stop.
"You look like one of those catholic school girls; you know, the little girls who all wear the same uniform." He watched her from behind and noticed how tense she was. He grinned. "Are you sure you're in the right school?"
Willow stared ahead at the door, and all around her she could hear some of her fellow classmates chuckling or laughing softly to themselves. Laughing at her distress. She tried so hard to ignore it but she couldn't. She unconsciously bit on her lower lip in an attempt to keep herself from crying.
It didn't help.
Her eyes began to fill with tears.
Paige turned his attention to Shiva. "Fury..."
Shiva moved his huge frame to look back at Paige. "Yeah?"
"Is Willow crying?"
Shiva looked puzzled. Then, he looked over at Willow as she turned her head a little to look over at him. She felt so helpless. A tear rolled down her cheek. Shiva clearly saw the tear and he then looked into Willow's eyes.
Abruptly, Shiva sat back and looked toward the front of the class. "No," he said casually. "She's not crying."
Willow glanced over at him in surprise. Shiva didn't look back.
From behind her, Paige let out a soft chuckle. "Well, good for you, little girl. If you had been crying, you would have shown us all what a Weeping Willow looks like."
There was more laughter.
Willow felt like weeping bitterly, but she focused on Shiva's one act of kindness and it helped. Even just a little bit. She wanted to thank him for it, yet she knew she couldn't- at least not at the moment.
The substitute chose that moment to arrive and Willow was overcome with a deep sense of relief. The new teacher was a tall, clean shaven man with broad shoulders. He carried a briefcase, which he placed casually on the desk. He then leaned against the desk, regarding the students.
"Good morning, class," he greeted them.
Most of the students responded with, "Good morning," back to him.
He smiled wryly at them. "I am Mr. Ronald Barr, and as you all know, I will be substituting for Mr. Chomsky who had a rather serious accident last night. He was in a car accident, and at this time, it is undetermined if he will be returning to his duties any time soon. I offer you my heartfelt sympathies, for I am sure he will be missed." He put his hands together in anticipation. "Now, I must apologize for my tardiness this morning. This I must also do in advance as I shall be tardy for every class by no later than ten minutes. I have other obligations that I cannot break. I spend my early mornings at Sunnydale University, and then I drive here to be with you young, aspiring students at Sunnydale High. After which I again drive back to SU for the remainder of the day. Ah, but such is the life of a dedicated teacher of fresh minds."
Willow didn't enjoy the idea of coming into this classroom knowing Mr. Barr would always be ten minutes late. Ten minutes could last a whole eternity, especially if being pushed around by the class bully and his goons.
Mr. Barr clapped his hands together with enthusiasm. "Now that I have told you who I am, let me get to know who you are." He pointed at a girl in the front row. "We'll begin with you. Stand up and tell us who you are. Give us your name, tell us something you like, and tell us something you don't like."
The girl rose to her feet, apparently not too shy about receiving attention. She purposefully shook her head so that her hair waved about her shoulders. "My name is Diana Williams," she said with a bright, happy smile. "I like boys, cheerleading, dancing, and boys. I don't like bad hair." She waved happily at the class and sat down.
The girl behind her stood up and told the class her name, something she liked, and something she disliked. They seemed to drag on. Willow was filled with dread, knowing it would soon be her turn and she only wanted to be invisible.
It was almost her turn. In growing horror, she watched each student stand...one by one.
Rebecca Rose. Rick Lewis. Todd Griswald. Sandi Dumas. The first row on Willow's right were done. The second row began. Roger Michals. Jon Bailey. Hal Levy. He was sitting at the desk on Willow's right. Garth Talbot. Jennifer Leigh.
Willow closed her eyes. It was her rows turn. When she opened her eyes, Rodney Willem was standing up. He sat down.
Bill Viccors rose to his feet. He said his name, he said his likes and dislikes, but Willow didn't hear a word of it. She was almost frozen in fear.
Viccors sat down and he turned in his seat to leer at her.
All eyes were now on Willow, and all she wanted to do was hide. The class continued to look at her as she remained seated.
She hesitated.
Finally, she managed somehow to stand, and tried to stop shaking. She opened her mouth to speak. "Uh, W-Willow Rosenberg," she said. She cleared her throat nervously, focusing on Mr. Barr as she tried to ignore the class. "Uh, I-I like playing the p-piano, and-and I like to study."
"Oh, give me a break!" Levy shook his head and snorted.
Willow winced and glanced at him.
"Go on, Willow," Mr. Barr said encouragingly. "What is it you don't like?"
Willow looked at him. "I-I don't like bullies."
She was done. With a sense of relief, she was about to sit down, but the unthinkable happened.
Mr. Barr held out his hand. "Wait just a moment, Willow. Don't take your seat yet."
Horrified, Willow stood still and focused on the teacher. She was only too aware that everyone was watching her.
"You say you play the piano, Willow?" Mr. Barr inquired.
She nodded.
"How well do you play?"
Willow hesitated. "Uh, oh, well, I-I play okay on the piano. Uh, not great, just okay. I'm-I'm really not that good, Mr. Barr. N-not really, no."
"Would you be able to play something for the class if I were to arrange it?"
"Uh, w-what?" Her face was turning a nice shade of red.
"Perhaps something historical! An interlude from the past."
Willow shook her head. "Oh, no-no. I-I couldn't do that, Mr. Barr. I--"
"We'll talk about it later," Mr. Barr said with an encouraging smile. "I'm also quite pleased to hear that you enjoy your studies. That is refreshing! I have seen your school records, young lady, and they are truly quite impressive."
Willow could feel the eyes of envy from her fellow students boring into her. She wanted the substitute teacher to stop bringing attention to her. She didn't want any of this.
"Uh, thank you," she stammered, and she abruptly sat down.
Mr. Barr, however, wasn't done with her. "Willow, let me assure you that there will be no bullies in this classroom." He looked at her reassuringly. "That's a promise! Okay?"
Willow wanted so badly to disappear. Why did she have to say she didn't like bullies? "Okay," she said meekly. She could feel Paige's eyes on her from behind.
For the remainder of the class, the rest of the students stood up one by one, and they each told their names, something they liked, and something they didn't like. When the last student took her seat, Mr. Barr began to tell the class that he was going to continue where Mr. Chomsky had left off. He told the class what he expected from them and that he was a firm believer in homework.
They would continue to look into the Civil War era. He expected every one to read the first five chapters of their History book. A discussion of the five chapters would follow with a quiz on Monday, much to the horror and dismay of the students.
Willow only half listened as Mr. Barr talked to them. She was still stunned by Paige's sudden "bulliness" toward her. She found herself wondering if she had done something to offend him. He never really bothered her before today. Why was he bullying her now?
A few times throughout the period, she caught Joshua smiling encouragingly at her. It helped her a little, but only just. When the bell finally rang, it was the sweetest sound Willow had ever heard.
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TO BE CONTINUED--