Chapter 3

Sam drove to the coffee shop on the way to the high school and met Jack at 0700 on the dot. They seated themselves, ordered two cups, black, and sat looking out the window at the dawning day.

"Well Jack? What's the scoop?"

"What do you mean?" He had a guilty look on his face. Sam knew something was up.

"You wanted to meet for a reason. What is it?" Sam eyed him.

"I have to admit, there's a little more to this job than I first told you about."

Sam nodded. "Uh huh, I had a feeling there would be."

He looked Sam in the eye as he admitted, "You're not just the substitute history teacher. You also have to take care of two periods of phys ed."

Sam laughed. "Is that all? Why phys ed?"

Jack's eyes bored into him. "The history teacher is also the gym teacher, so you're stuck with it. Can you handle it?"

"I can handle it just fine." He leaned across the small table and asked, "Do you think any of the punks are going to be in class?"

"Your chances are better with that than the history class," Jack answered with a crooked grin.

"Nice. Good thing I have some stuff in my trunk. I was thinking maybe I could hit the track after school and get a little run in before going home, but, well, at least I'm prepared for this little twist."

"Sorry, Axeman. It's not like I was trying to lure you into it. I just found out about it myself after we talked yesterday."

"No problem, Jack. This might actually be kind of fun, if the rowdies don't show themselves, at least not right away."

"I wouldn't count on that." For the first time since he proposed this job, Jack looked concerned for his friend. "Watch your back, Sam."

"I'll be fine, if I channel a little drill instructor into me, show 'em I won't take crap and just get down to business." Sam smiled thinly as realization suddenly dawned on him. "I see now why I was given the history class. This is where the trouble is, isn't it? And the teacher couldn't handle the kids." As he spoke he watched Jack's face, knowing that he hit on the truth. Sam shrugged. "No worries. I can do this."

"I'm sorry, man. I should have been up front with that yesterday, but I was afraid you wouldn't take the job and then I'd be stuck."

"You didn't think you could take on these kids?"

"No. Carl said he wanted someone who could actually teach in that classroom, not someone who's specialty was busting heads. That's me, I'm a head buster. You, Axeman, you've got more than that."

Sam smiled and nodded. "You know I'm committed to this now, you don't have to butter me up anymore." He glanced at his watch. "Uhoh, better get going. Don't want to be late the first day!"

"Be careful, man." Jack shook his hand.

"Even though times have changed, the punks will always be punks. We'll take care of 'em."

Sam walked in through the main entrance of the school. He wasn't sure what to expect; he just knew that the charter school was housed in an old high school from the 40s that had been mothballed for a couple decades previously. The architecture still bore the style of a simpler time, and as he walked past the rows of metal lockers, he wondered if they were the originals with a good coat of paint. The hallway was jammed with teenagers getting their books, talking with friends, hassling other students. Yep, nothing's changed. He had to smile to himself at that thought. Even though they dressed differently from his days, he could pick out the punks in the crowd as he walked to the office. They caught his eye, and as he passed one kid, he mimicked a gun, pulled the trigger and blew across the barrel.

Sam only narrowed his eyes at the young man and smiled. I've got your number, kid. If you're in one of my classes...

He reached the office and the door swung out abruptly. Good thing his reflexes were still in top form. He grabbed it just before it hit him in the face.

"Sorry!" A girl with pink hair and piercings all over her face rushed past.

Sam raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and swung around the door before it closed. He got one more look at the girl as she walked away. If Espie thinks she's going to look like that some day...she's got another think coming!

"Can I help you, Sir?" A young girl stood behind the counter sounding respectful enough as she greeted him with a friendly tone.

Sam glanced around at the activity and focused through the rumbling chaos in the room as he asked, "Is Mr. Larkin available? I'm the substitute history teacher."

"Oh yeah, just a minute!" She hurried into another room and quickly returned. "Mr. Larkin is waiting for you. Just come on in here." She led him to the office where a slim graying man sat in his office chair scanning a sheaf of papers.

"Mr. Axe!" His eyes rose as Sam entered the room, and he stood, stretching his six foot four frame. The papers he dropped onto a pile in the center of his desk and held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" He briefly turned his attention to the girl. "Stephie, thank you for showing Mr. Axe in. You can go back to the front desk now."

"Yes sir, Mr. Larkin!" She grinned, showing off a row of metal mouth, and hurried back to the main office. She closed the door and put a barrier between them and the noise.

"Nice kid." Sam took the seat that Mr. Larkin offered him.

"We've got a lot of them here. Good kids who want to learn, but there are a few..."

Sam held up a hand. "Jack told me. That's why I'm here."

"He told you about the gym classes?"

"Yeah. I'm ready for that." Sam held up a small bag that held his gear. "And I've gone through the assignment the other teacher gave the kids. I'm ready to go."

Larkin smiled as he took in Sam's tan shirt, white pants and casual shoes. "I didn't know what to expect, but I should have known when Jack told me you served with him that you'd be like two peas in a pod."

"Except, like he says, he busts heads, and I take a more...cooler...approach. I only bust heads when necessary." He paused. "One thing I have to say, Sir. I hope you're prepared for a little, um, shakedown, if it becomes necessary. If there's a gang in this school, treating them with kid gloves is not gonna get the job done."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Axe. Or should I call you Commander Axe?"

Sam laughed and shook his head. "No, Sir, Mr. Axe is fine. Or Sam, when we're behind closed doors."

"Alright, Sam." Larkin smiled wider and leaned forward, tenting his hands over the pile of work on his desk. "You can call me Carl behind closed doors. Now, before I let you run off to your classroom, I want to give you some information." He sorted through the pile quickly and pulled out a file folder a half inch thick. "These are the records of the kids who have been giving us trouble. Look over the file and you'll see that a few of them are in your second period history class and the fourth period phys ed."

"Well, at least they're not coming at me all at once," Sam joked. He accepted the folder, and set it on top of the history book, the roster, and a leather portfolio in which he had his notes, and stood. "Now, Carl, if you don't mind. I should get to my classroom before the class arrives, don't you think?"

The two men smiled. "It's on the second floor. Room 201."

"Thanks." Sam left the office with the books tucked under one arm and the bag in his other hand. He navigated through the sea of young faces and found the room easily. There were already a few students sitting in desks, talking, writing on notebook paper, and one sat in the back with his earbuds firmly planted in his ears as he bopped to the music that sounded more like hissing from where Sam stood. The kid looked at him as if he were invisible. Sam didn't care, at least not for the time being. He would deal with him soon enough.

As he settled into his role, more kids arrived and took their seats. Some of them seemed genuinely surprised to see a stranger in their midst. Sam gave a couple girls who sat in the front row a charming smile, and they returned the smile, albeit shyly. He turned to the board, wrote his name on the upper right side, and then drew a long horizontal line across the surface. He divided it with vertical marks and wrote labels above them, marking off the years in the decade they were about to cover. The last of the stragglers came in, and most of the kids visited, while very few sat riveted on what he was doing.

Sam dropped the chalk in the tray as the final bell rang, turned, and swiped the white dust off his hands as he scanned the room and wordlessly sized up his class. He cleared his throat with enough volume to get their attention. The kid with the earbuds played out a beat with two pencils on his desk, causing the girls in front to snicker.

"Hey Buddy, the concert's over." Sam called out and his voice carried across the room, but the kid didn't hear him. The others laughed. Oblivious, he drummed on, and Sam walked the aisle until he stood over him.

The kid noticed a shadow fall over the desk and he pulled out one earbud. "Dude, whassup?"

"Whassup is that the drum solo is over, Mr. Rich," Sam answered him.

"Huh? The name's Slash."

"Sorry, but that's a dumb nickname for a drummer, Mr. Nicholas Spencer." Sam knew studying the seating charts would come in handy. "I was referring to you as Buddy Rich, once one of this country's best drummers."

The kid smiled, taking Sam's words as a compliment. "Thanks, man."

"But like your little drum solo, he's history...man...and you're not here to create it, but to learn it."

Sam picked up the phone and as the other earbud popped out of Nicholas's ear, dissension filled the young man's eyes. "Hey man, that's mine! You can't take that!"

"Oh no? I don't think you bothered to read the school manual did you, huh, Mr. Spencer? No cellphones are allowed to be used during school hours. And don't make excuses that it's an mp3 player. That doesn't fly in my classroom." Sam turned on his heel, wound the earbuds up around the phone and dropped it into a desk drawer. He noted it wasn't the only one there.

Nicholas stood up and cursed Sam. "You got no right!"

"I have every right. You broke the rules, I confiscate. Just going by the book here, Mr. Spencer, like everybody else. Now sit down and shut up or you're going to be cruising to Mr. Larkin's office." He watched with hidden satisfaction as the kid sat down and the others in the room stared at their new teacher, some with fear, and others with respect. Sam didn't miss a beat as he stood in the center of the front of the room and changed his tone of voice to something more pleasant. "Okay, now that we've got that business taken care of...welcome to my classroom." He smiled slightly. "My name is Mr. Axe, and I'm your substitute teacher in...definitely."

"Where's Mr. Hamlin?" One of the girls in the front asked with one hand half raised, the other twirling her hair absently.

"Mr. Hamlin is taking a short leave of absence, and I've been hired to replace him. Any other questions before we begin?"

A hand went up near the windows. Sam pointed to the young man. "Yes sir, Mr. Brewster?"

The kid's eyes widened, clearly impressed that Sam knew his name. "Mr. Axe, were you in the military?"

"Yes, I was. Why do you ask?"

"I noticed your timepiece. It's a Special Forces watch."

"You're right, it is." He nodded. "You're interested in the military?" The kid looked a little geeky, but you never knew until the chips were down what kind of man sat before you.

"So you're like some commando guy, huh?" Nicholas sneered.

He hadn't expected to face such resistance first thing in the morning. But Sam played it cool. He crossed his arms and leaned his backside against the desk. "Okay, I suppose we can do a little getting to know you session here. My name is Sam Axe, and I was a Navy SEAL. I left the military a few years ago as a Commander after serving for over 20 years." He glanced at the geeky kid who sat with rapt attention and let his eyes stray around the room as he continued. "In 20 plus years, I spent time in half the countries on this planet. I've been shot, stabbed, nearly drowned, kidnapped, tortured and beaten to within an inch of my life for state secrets, and suffered much worse than you, Mr. Spencer." He locked his gaze on Nicholas.

"Did you get to kill guys like Bin Laden?" The question came from the middle of the room.

"I'm afraid I can't really talk about what I did. It's all classified. But I can tell you that if you're looking for a career that requires your best each and every day, and you're willing to push yourself beyond what you think you can do, the military is a good choice."

"Be all that you can be, dude." The class laughed at the heckler's remark.

Sam gave him a look that said he was hardly amused. "Wrong branch, Mr. Tozer. Don't you know anything? Jeez. Of course, that's why you're here... to learn!"

The kid gaped as the others laughed. Sam could see it was starting to dawn on the tougher ones that he did his homework on them. He wouldn't be so easily shaken.

Sam let out a breath and stood on his feet. "Alright then, why don't we talk about your assignment, which was chapters ten through thirteen." Groans followed him as he moved around the desk to open the textbook.

By the time the bell rang, the only groans came from the students who soaked up everything Sam talked about during class and were sorry to see it end. He made history come alive for them in ways they'd never experienced. He wasn't afraid to act out scenes from the past, and he used volunteers to illustrate and make history relevant. As they filed out, some of the kids gave him smiles and spoke to him.

"Looking forward to next class, Mr. Axe!"

"That was pretty awesome, Mr. Axe!"

He nodded and thanked them for their comments. Only Nicholas glared at him as he left the room. He stopped and turned back. "Can I have my phone back, man?"

"No, because it's against the rules for you to even have it. And besides, do you really think I'd give it back when you can't even show me a little respect?"

"You dissed me, man. I diss you."

"No, you started it by bringing the phone to class, playing your music loud enough to be heard up front, and banging away on your desk." Sam paused. "That wasn't just disrespectful to me, but to every other student in the class. Think about that, and if you can offer up a heartfelt apology, maybe I'll consider giving you back your phone. Tomorrow."

The classroom had emptied out by the time Sam finished his lecture, but a few kids stood in the hall watching. He hadn't meant to call Nicholas out in front of them, but now that it happened, he was afraid he'd just lost whatever respect he earned from the others. He was surprised when they clapped, and cheered, and then went on their way.

Nicholas shook his head as he glared at Sam. "You're messing with the wrong guy, Axe. Count on it, dude."