Chapter 2: English

"Ok, just go and tell the teacher why you can't change in front of everyone else.." Josh said, pushing his step-brother forward. Drake pulled away, scowling.
"What makes you think that I want to tell my TEACHER about that? I didn't even want to tell you! Megan tried talking with me about it once, but I shut her off...Her never touched her, so I just couldn't tell her what happened." Drake pushed Josh and walked out the doors. Josh sat on the floor for a while, wondering what to do. Maybe if the teacher knew what was happening with out Drake knowing... Josh smiled. He was such a great brother! Josh ran to the library with confidence. Sure enough, Josh was able to find a few new articles about what had happened so many years ago. Josh retrieved the articles from the printer and slide them into the gym teacher's mailing slot.

Drake sat on his bed strumming his guitar, somehow silent while doing this. He sighed deeply and picked up his ringing phone.

"Sup, Emma?" Drake leaned back, smiling. Emma was hot. Dumb, but hot and a great kisser. "So, want to meet up later? Yeah! Yeah, great."

"Drake!" Josh burst into the shared room.

Drake groaned. "I'm on the phone! Ugh, sorry Lindi, I gotta go...Oh, yeah, I meant Emma..Yeah, bye."

"Drake, we need to work on your English! Now come on! Mrs. Hayfer said she'll tutor you in fifteen minutes!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Drake shot up in bed. "TUTORING? Mrs. Hayfer HATES ME!"

"Maybe, but she's your English teacher, remember?" Drake groaned. Josh added, "And you can probably meet Emma there after. She has cheerleading in a few minutes."

"Well, why didn't you start out with that?" Drake laughed.

"I don't like you," the English teacher declared as Drake walked into the classroom.

"I know," Drake sighed. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Hmph," Mrs. Hayfer grumbled. "Let's start with this week's vocabulary." Within five minutes of the tutoring session, Drake was already clearly struggling. He tapped his pencil briskly against the desk. Mrs. Hayfer rapped her fist sharply against his desk.

"Stop that!" She frowned. "Now, focus!"
"I am focusing!"

"Then read this passage aloud to me, then tell me five examples of literary elements found in the rising action."

"Sh-She looked up at the moon with m-m-menalocony-"

"MELANCHOLY, Drake!"

"I can't do this," Drake whispered. "I'm sorry, I can't do this!" He held his fingers to his forehead as if he was actually in pain.

Mrs. Hayfer tapped her foot impatiently. "You're problem is that you don't TRY. You think that you-"

"I try."

"Hmph, I sincerely doubt that, Mr. Parker."

Drake seemed to fire up at this comment. His cheeks turned slightly pink, and his fists clenched. "It's not like I can read as well as everyone else. Dyslexia does that, you know."

Mrs. Hayfer was unfazed. "Dyslexia, Mr. Parker?" She asked.

"Trauma dyslexia. You know, dyslexia that occurs after head trauma and all that stuff? Mine's pretty bad, apparently," Drake said, attempting to sound bored, as if this wasn't a big deal.

"And what would have caused your head trauma, Drake?" Mrs. Hayfer lowered herself to his desk, looking him directly in the eyes.

Drake shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "You know, just, uh, stupid little kid stuff. On the playground. Yeah."

Mrs. Hayfer stood slowly, turning around. "You're lying," she laughed slowly. "Now, unless you want a month's worth of detention for attempting to deceive me, you had better stop pretending to have dyslexia and get to work."

There was a moment of dead silence. Just the English teacher staring out the window, and Drake staring at her back.

"My dad caused it." He said in a monotone voice.

Mrs. Hayfer didn't turn around. "I don't believe you. Describe the events that occurred leading to the incident."

Drake looked past her blankly. He bit his lip nervously, his leg quivering. "I don't remember." The teacher shook her head. "No, really! I just..Woke up in the hospital. I remember..I just remember that I was so excited. I had taught myself to play the guitar, and I wanted to show my dad. I remember strumming a few chords for him, then..then, nothing but pain. Then I woke up, and never saw him again."

The unconcerned teacher clasped her hands behind her back. "That is quite an elaborate story you have manifested."

After the tutoring session, a disgruntled Linda Hayfer decided to do her research. Abused. Why, the nerve Drake had! Linda was abused herself as a child. Nothing severe, and it had never gotten far, but she had been abused nonetheless. Furiously typing away, she sent quite an angry email to the Nichols-Parker household. In a few minutes, Drakes mother had responded with nothing but a link. Curious, Linda visited the article to find what she never would have expected. Her seemingly frozen heart appeared to be sinking with each passing word. As her hurriedly clicking heels led her out of the school building, she ran into the gym teacher, Samuel. He dropped a stack of papers, and Linda knelt to gather them. She gasped as she saw what the papers were.

"Samuel, I.."

"Shush, I don't think he wanted anyone to know. It obviously didn't come from him, and-"

"Samuel!" He looked up.

"I-I know about it too." And with those words, the two teachers took a ride in Mrs. Hayfer's car as they discussed the next step. With a sudden jolt, they came to startling realizations.