Chapter 22 Super Duper Teacher

The next day, Celia felt sick. Her stomach turned sour, threatening to make her vomit up all the amazing food she had the night before. She looked at Roy, who looked back at her with a furrowed brow. He gently took hold of her hand, squeezing her fingers with a comforting touch. Even still, Celia swallowed a lump. She dreaded going into the school and actually interacting with the people, more so than. The person she wanted to interact with the least, ironically enough, was Ms. Tish.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked as they entered through the double doors.

Celia bit her lip. "I…I feel a little nauseous," she admitted. She swallowed another lump, this one having an acidic and foul flavor.

Roy's face softened. Despite the different people looking at them and giving them dirty looks, he put his hand on her shoulder and caressed it. With his gentle fingers rubbing her in a feather-soft motion, Celia actually did manage to feel better. Her nausea lessened. The fear she felt while on the receiving end of all the judging glares and looks of hate lessened as well. She felt better.

She wasn't at one hundred percent though. Why? Because there was one thing in her mind that didn't lessen in severity; her thoughts about Ms. Tish. As the four of them completed their meals and had dessert the night before, Celia could barely even look at her. The weight of the revelation weighed on her mind, soaking the rest of the night in awkwardness and discomfort. That wasn't something that could so easily be erased. That was something Celia theorized was going to impact the course of the school day. And honestly, she wouldn't blame Ms. Tish if that was the case.

"Are you thinking about Ms. Tish?"

Celia let out a breath. "Man, you can just read me like a book." She had told Roy about Ms. Tish's past after they went home, despite every inch of her mind telling her that revealing details about someone's personal life was wrong. She almost didn't tell him at all, only doing so because…well, he was her boyfriend. Of course she was going to talk to him. He was the one person who she felt comfortable admitting that she felt extremely uncomfortable with prying information out of her teacher like that. She certainly wasn't going to reveal it to the woman herself, especially when her son was present.

"Try your best not to worry too much," Roy said. He continued rubbing her shoulders, the sensation sensual and soothing. "You were just trying to help her last night. That's all."

Celia felt like sinking into the ground. "That's the problem, I don't think I did. I mean…what if I opened up an old wound that took a long time to heal?"

Roy paused. "Well…look at it this way. You weren't the one who brought it up. It was Basil who decided to reveal that part of his mom's past. So, if anything, it's Basil you can blame, the rascally little prick." He laughed, and Celia cast him a glare as he did. His laughter died and he sighed. "Okay, not funny."

"Most certainly not." Celia stomach ached again, causing her to swallow yet another lump. This one had probably the most unappetizing flavor Celia had tasted so far. "Man, I am not looking forward to class with her today."

Roy, who had just finished giving the middle finger to a student who had thrown an obscenity at the two of them, transitioned from patting Celia on the back as opposed to just rubbing it. "Well, try not to worry. There are many ways in the world to solve your problems, but worry isn't one of them." He smiled at her. "It's going to be okay. Ms. Tish will understand that you were trying to help. She'll know that you only had the best of intentions. Trust me."

"Hmm…" Celia thought about this. "I..I suppose you're right." She realized that they were right in front of her classroom door now. "Well…I guess this is where we depart."

"Yep," He started walking away. "Have a good day, Cee."

"You too." Just as he was about to turn the corner was when a concern popped up in her mind. "Are you gonna be okay? I mean, your classes aren't exactly welcoming towards…well, the people aren't big fans of you."

Roy seized up. "Oh, don't remind me. Those guys put the 'ass' in 'class.'" His eyes traveled between looking at Celia to looking at the hallway that would lead him to his class. "I…I can handle it though." He stood up straight and tall, puffing out his chest to make himself look bigger (and considering he was a big guy to begin with, seeing him like this was very impressive). "No matter how many swirlies I receive. No matter how many insults and jabs people throw at me. I will prevail. I WILL…" The bell rang overhead, causing him to gasp. "Oh crap! I'm late!" With that, he bolted down the hallway.

So, while gripping the straps of her backpack extra tightly, Celia opened up the door to her classroom. It was exactly the same as when she left it, and at the same time, different in all the wrong ways. The vibe could make anyone sick, and the sight of Ms. Tish out cold on her desk could ignite the worry inside anyone.

Celia stared at that last sight in particular. Ms. Tish slept like a rock, with a bit of drool coming out of her mouth and dripping onto the desk. Her hair was a mess; it could be scientifically identified as a tumbleweed. Reluctantly, Celia took a few steps toward her teacher. A creeping sensation overcame her spine, but she pressed forward despite that.

"Uh…" Celia hesitated once she got up to her, wondering if it would be appropriate to shake her. That was physical touch after all, and Celia didn't know if using that on an authority figure was necessarily a good idea. "Ms. Tish?" The teacher still didn't respond, so Celia decided that shaking her was necessary despite all of her reservations. "Ms. Tish, wake up! It's time for class!" She shook her, which thankfully acted as the push Ms. Tish needed. She bolted upright, blinking out her eyes as she looked at her student. Celia reasoned that her vision was blurry, as it took quite a bit of blinking for her to finally address her by name.

"Oh! Celia!" Ms. Tish wiped her mouth and sent her fingers through her hair, clearly trying her darndest to look presentable. "I..I apologize, I…I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Celia felt a pang. That sentence ignited another spark of guilt. It really did seem as if she opened a wound last night, a wound that shouldn't have been reopened. Celia hesitated, twiddling with her zipper as Ms. Tish tamed the ferocious knots in her hair.

"I…I'm sorry. I…I shouldn't have…"

"It's not your fault, Celia." Those words were strikingly similar to something that she said last night, and they didn't make Celia feel any better now. "No need to worry, I just…I just had a rough night is all. Didn't get a lot of sleep."

Celia nodded. "I…I'm really sorry." She turned toward her desk, feeling as though getting class started was a necessity at this point. "I shouldn't have asked you about your personal life."

"It's okay," Ms. Tish insisted. She got up from her desk, coming up to the front of the room (she thankfully didn't look as messy as she had while sleeping. "I'm actually glad you know."

Celia blinked. "You are? But…how?"

Ms. Tish thought about this before shrugging. "I'm not entirely sure. I guess…I guess part of me was happy to talk about it for a change. It…it was therapeutic."

Celia pressed her lips together. "I…I see." She looked into her eyes, which she now realized had dark circles under them. "But…but you still clearly had trouble sleeping…

Ms. Tish hesitated. "That…that is true. But that has nothing to do with you." She turned, writing on the board with a red marker. "Yes, what happened to me wasn't pleasant. And yes, it's hard to think about sometimes. But…but again, you have nothing to do with that. You weren't being actively malicious. You were just trying to help me last night; that much was obvious just from you following me into the bathroom." She smiled, despite herself. "You don't have to feel guilty for trying to help me. Believe me; I'm beyond grateful that you decided to do so."

Celia put her hand to her chest. That… actually did help her feel a little bit better. Sure, she wasn't at one hundred percent, but she did feel less worried. And really, that was more than enough. The awkward vibe that had been hanging in the air now felt a lot less prevalent, which was definitely a plus.

"Okay." Ms. Tish turned around. "Let's start the lesson, shall we?"

With that, the day got started. For about four hours, Celia sat in her desk and took notes of every single subject that her teacher talked about. The only thing that really bothered her over the course of the day was the fact that Ms. Tish…she clearly struggled with her sleep deprivation. She trailed off when talking, rubbing her eyes and yawning in ways that one didn't usually do before the evening hours. It was distracting, that much was for certain. Regardless, Ms. Tish still pressed on. In a way, this impressed Celia. By the time lunch rolled around, her respect for her teacher was at an all time high.

At least, until she saw her teacher collapse onto the desk. This made her guilt return, so much so that the thought of lunch migrated to the back corners of her mind. "Ms. Tish…"

"It's okay. I…I can sleep during the lunch break. I'll be right…right as…" she yawned again. "Excuse me; right as rain."

Celia recognized that as a lie, or at the very least a half truth. "You…maybe you should go home? Like, maybe you can get a substitute or…"

"No." Ms. Tish opened her eyes. "I want to be here. I want to teach you."

Celia blinked. "Despite the trouble you had last night?"

"Yes." She smiled. "Teaching is probably the most rewarding thing I've ever done. And I plan to do it to the best of my ability." She leaned back. "I haven't missed a day of school in six years, and I'm not about to start now."

"Wow," Celia whispered. "That's impressive."

"Thanks." Ms. Tish gestured toward the door. "Now, go have some lunch sweetie; I don't want you to starve."

So, Celia left the room. As she got her lunch, she thought about her teacher. The teacher that put her own personal baggage to the side for the sake of helping a student. A. Single. Student. She didn't let the worries and trials of her own life prevent her from coming in and teaching to the best of her ability. That had been true for the past six years, and it still held true this time around.

Celia actually smiled as she sat herself down. Man, Ms. Tish was a cool teacher. Possibly the kindest, most selfless one that she had ever had in her life. Sure, that wasn't a high bar considering how…prejudice some of her other teachers had been. But still, it was high praise. In a way…Celia was starting to find that she looked up to Ms. Tish. She looked up to her a lot. If there was anybody she had ever met that she wanted to be more like…it was her.

"Hey baby."

Celia beamed and scooted to the side to make room for Roy. "Hey! How was class?"

"It…it was better than I thought it would be."

Celia chuckled. "I guess that makes two of us." She took a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich, avoiding the watery tomato soup like the plague.

"Yeah." Roy was silent before speaking up again. "Hey, Cee? Is it okay if you help me out with something after school?"

Celia only hesitated for a second. "Sure." She didn't know what that "something" was, but she was willing to help her boyfriend out with it. Provided it wasn't too difficult.

Oh, please don't let it be too difficult…