Greetings everyone! Back to deliver another chapter for you! Happy Reading!
It was another typical day in Ms. Baker's class, as Clarence and his fellow peers were listening to their teacher's lecture; some were eagerly paying attention, others weren't and a few were indifferent.
"Alright class…" Ms. Baker began. "Raise your hand if you know what the capital of Japan is."
Only a handful of students raised their hands by seeing a particular student who had her hand higher compared to the rest.
"Yes, Haru?"
"Is it Tokyo?"
"Why yes, yes it is!" Ms. Baker happily clapped her hands. "Alright everyone, since we finished our lesions early you guys have free time until the bell rings."
Shortly afterwards, the teacher left the classroom, leaving the students to their own devices. Clarence, in particular, decided to go to Jeff's desk and play with him.
"Jeff!" Clarence greets his friend.
"Hey Clarence. What brings you to my desk?" he asked.
"To play with you, silly! What else would I be here for?"
Jeff shook his head. "Sorry Clarence, I'm trying to read this book I checked out from the library, so I can't."
"Aw…" a disappointed Clarence groaned but left his friend alone. He then searched for Sumo and quickly spotted him talking to Robin, as the two were clearly enjoying each other's company.
"Hey, Sumo! Hey Robin!"
"Hey there, Clarence," Sumo was the first one to greet.
"What are you two doing?"
"Just talking about the adventures I had over the weekend," Robin replied. "It involves me riding a bull after stealing from the Purple Dragons."
"Who are they?" Clarence curiously asked.
"From what Robin told me, they are just a bunch of snobbish hooligans," an unimpressed Sumo responded.
Robin let out a laugh. "You're not wrong! They are some of the biggest losers I have ever seen."
"I bet they aren't as bad as Belson," Sumo jokingly suggested.
"I heard that!" Belson shouted, glaring at the group, while Robin proceeded to scratch her chin.
"Honestly, at LEAST they know how to throw hands, unlike Mr. Muppet back there."
Agitated by her insult. Beslon grabbed the nearest book and threw it towards Robin, only for her to dodge it and collide with Haru's face instead.
Several students saw this happening and a few ended up laughing. However, a few were concerned, with one particular student rushing towards her.
"Haru! Are you ok?" Haru looked up and saw Breehn reaching his hand out, as she grabbed it and got himself up.
"...Yeah I'm fine," Haru replied, before straightening herself out. "So…WHO THREW THAT BOOK AT ME?!"
"That would be Mr. Muppet here," Robin calmly replied, holding back her snicker.
"Will you stop calling me that?!" an irate Belson objected, much to his classmate's amusement.
"Not happening! It's fitting!" Sumo shouted back.
"That was uncalled for even if it's well deserved," Jeff expressed his disapproval before he noticed Haru heading toward Belson.
"Haru don't. It won't solve anything," Jeff grabbed her by the shoulder, all the while trying to calm her down.
However, Haru shoved Jeff's hand away and made her way toward Belson, who was now playing on his handheld console, ignoring his surroundings altogether. Just then, Haru slammed both her hands on his desk, getting the bully's attention completely.
"What do you want, tomato head?" he let out a disgruntled sneer.
"Do you get your kicks by bullying and causing harm towards others?" Haru calmly but angrily asked.
"Leave me alone, loser. I'm busy," Belson scoffed, brushing Haru off dismissively.
The next thing he knew, his handheld console was snagged out of his hands almost immediately.
"What the-hey! Give that back!" Belson angrily demanded.
"Not a chance," Haru refused in defiance, glaring back with her green eyes.
Letting out a frustrating growl, Belson lunged at his classmate, only for him to fall face-first on the floor, as his rival easily dodged the attempt with ease, causing many students to burst out into waves of laughter.
The bully managed to get back up and grabbed his handheld, trying to yank it back from Haru. However, the rebellious girl held onto the handheld even tighter, refusing to let go, prompting Clarence, Nathan, and Dustin to step in.
"Haru, dude, give him his game back," Dustin said.
"So he can continue being a grade-A jerk?" No way," she retorted.
"Haru, Belson didn't mean to hit you," Clarence tried to vouch for him.
"Stop trying to cover for him, Clarence." Haru couldn't understand why the optimistic boy wanted to continue defending someone like Belson.
"Actually, he wasn't aiming that book at you, it was for me," Robin interjected. "I was the one who insulted him and I ducked when I saw what Belson was about do back there."
"See, it really was an accident," Clarence insisted. "Now, can you give Belson's game back please?"
"...Fine. He can have his stupid game back," Haru grudgingly handed over the handheld back to Belson, as he rudely yanked it off her hands.
"Took you long enough, tomato head," With that, Belson sat back down and resumed playing his game, while Haru looked at the group in a glance before making her way to the front door and exiting the classroom.
"That was a close one," Clarence spoke with relief.
"No kidding," Robin nodded. "Although I would have loved to see them duke it out! I bet my money that Haru would have come out on top."
"Robin…" Clarence shook his head to this and wanted things to go back to what it was minutes ago.
The school bell rang for the last time, signifying the end of school for today, as the students proceeded to head back to their homes; some were making plans for the rest of the day, but the teachers, however, had to remain behind, for they were having conference at the teachers lounge in just a few minutes. Ms. Baker quickly made her way inside, with only Ms. Shoop and Mr. Reese being present, the latter drinking his cup of coffee.
"Ah, you arrived. Good, we can get things started then," Mr. Reese spoke up.
"Where are the rest of the teachers?" Ms. Baker asked, clearly perplexed.
"What other teachers?" Ms. Shoop arched her eyebrows. "They rarely come by these days."
"...So what's the topic for today?" Ms. Baker asked, helping herself to some coffee and a donut.
"We need more teachers around!" a fatigued Mr. Reese exclaimed. "I swear, these kids are draining me."
"You're telling me, I had to stop four different fights at recess and at lunch!" Ms. Shoop complained. "Do you have any ideas where we can hire more teachers?"
"We can hire teachers from West Aberdale." Ms. Baker suggested.
"No way! I don't want any of them to come here. Especially Lofton." Ms. Shoop protested.
"Okay, what's the deal between you and the principal?" Mr. Reese asked, arching an eyebrow to his fellow teacher's reaction.
"Ya know, I was wondering about that too." Ms. Baker added, also as curious as Mr. Resse.
"What is there to know about my little beef with her?" An irate Shoop asked.
"We want to know what's bothering you." Ms. Baker pointed out. "We're friends, after all."
"Just be honest with us, that's all," Mr. Reese insisted.
"... Let's just say that she did something that forever made me against her." Ms. Shoop reluctantly said.
"Come on, be a bit clear," Mr. Reese pressed his co-worker for more information, only to be met by a death glare in response. "On second thought, never mind."
"Let's just try to post positions here on the website and see how things go from there." Ms. Baker suggested.
Both teachers nodded in agreement and thus for the next hour, the trio helped each other post open positions on their school website. The setup process didn't take too long to complete, but they went back and forth on what qualities future upcoming teachers want in their facilities. Thankfully, they managed to make a compromise and ended the debate on good terms.
It was close to five in the evening and the teachers were about ready to call it a day and head home. Ms. Baker left her classroom and locked the door behind her, but as she made her way to the parking lot, she saw Mr. Reese in the teacher's lounge grabbing another doughnut.
"Perfect time! I want to show you something."
"What is it?"
"We got a healthy amount of traffic that wants to work here!"
Ms. Baker's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh!" She rushed to the computer where they started strolling over the potential names.
One week later…
It was in the early hours of the morning, as every parent was dropping their kids off at school and getting them ready for the day; Clarence, Sumo, and Jeff were in their classroom talking amongst themselves.
"Hey did you hear? I heard that this school will have new teachers," Percy commented.
"I did see a few new faces as well," Nathan remarked.
"Will our class have a new teacher?" Rita pondered
After much time had passed, the bell rang, signifying the start of class, as the door opened and instead of Ms. Baker, it was a short male figure who stood barely taller than the tallest students in class like Chelsea or Nathan, yet he was quite handsome, possessing reddish brown eyes and short, spiked, white hair and pearl-white skin, wore a tight, black undershirt with the top half covered by a blue sleeveless jacket, along with black jeans and blue shoes. His expression was cold yet keen, looking at the students with such an intense stare.
"Morning students. You might be wondering where your teacher is.." he began explaining, before grabbing a piece of chalk and writing down 'Mr. Bulsara on the chalkboard. "Well, rest assured that Ms. Baker is fine. She's just running a bit late, so I decided to fill her in for the rest of the morning."
Most didn't say a single word, but a few kids did raise their hands.
"I know you have a few questions but first let me do a roll call." Mr. Bulsara grabbed his clipboard, ready to perform his duty.
One by one, the students spoke up whenever Mr. Bulsara called their names out, though it didn't stop some students whispering to each other about the new teacher; some were feeling weary, others were indifferent and a few were cautiously optimistic. But this was only just the beginning of their morning.
It was during math class that Mr. Bulsara's true nature began to show. Everyone was doing their work with the exception of a few students, with Belson playing his handheld in class as usual, but the new teacher was less than impressed. He quickly took his handheld away and hid it somewhere where Belson couldn't find it, making it clear he wasn't to be messed around with, much to the bully's dismay.
The next subject was history and Robin, unfortunately, became the next target, as she was busy being loud and disruptive with her snoring. Mr. Bulsara responded by throwing a piece of chalk at her on the forehead, causing her to shoot up and waking her up right away. The fact that she was in the back row was even more impressive. Regardless, Robin was punished by answering all the questions she was asked, only to embarrass herself by answering every single question wrong.
Before long, the bell rang for recess and the students wasted no time exiting the classroom, with the trio sitting on a nearby bench.
"Well…" Jeff spoke up. "This morning was interesting."
"It was sort of interesting," Clarence gave his friend a puzzled look.
"Mr. Bulsara seemed like the type of person who takes his job seriously," Jeff noted.
"You're just saying that because you managed to stay on his good side," Sumo deadpanned.
"That is not true!" Jeff defended himself.
"Yeah, sure, that is really going to convince me now."
Jeff only rolled his eyes in response, before the boys spotted Morgan from a distance talking to Haru, the former pulling something out of his pocket jacket. Haru, however, seemed less than thrilled about dealing with Morgan's attempt at trying to get close to her, glaring back at him. Fortunately for the boy, he simply hung his head in defeat and walked away from the girl.
"What was Morgan doing back there?" Jeff asked.
Sumo shrugged. "Probably trying to ask some stupid question like what zodiac symbol or whatever dumb stuff I don't care about."
Clarence and Jeff look at their friend before back their glance at Morgan who was now making his way to Saphira, who was butting heads with Robin. As soon as Morgan approached them, though, he was knocked out by an enraged Robin. The trio can't tell what the kids are saying, but Saphira was horrified by Robin's action and was ready to berate her for her sucker punch. Thankfully, Ms. Shoop saw them and punished the kids accordingly.
"So…" Clarence began. "What do you guys want to do after school?"
"How about we go to my place?" Sumo suggested. "Got a new gadget I wanted to show you guys."
"Please tell me that it is yours and not your brothers." Jeff cautiously spoke.
"You worry too much," Sumo dismissively said.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Jeff simply replied.
Tuesday, 1:37 P.M.
"Okay class, for today's assignment, I want you to be in groups of four." Mr. Bulsara said, causing the students to break out talking to each other and start forming their groups. However, the teacher stopped them.
"Whoa, hold your horses. I'll be assigning you all to your partners."
Mr. Bulsara was met with groans and boos, causing the teacher to glare back in response; the sudden intensity it brought was enough to shut everyone up.
"Now…" Mr. Bulsara took a deep breath. "I will pass a basket and you will all take a number. You will all be grouped up, based on the number you have."
One by one, the basket was passed around and each student got their number from it, until everyone had their number in hand. Afterwards, Mr. Bulsara arranged the tables with the number sitting in the center, before the students went to their destination, based on the number they got. It was clear that this new teacher was separating certain students from one another, mainly to avoid any forms of distractions. For some students, it wasn't so bad as they can get to know more about who they're working with, while others were either indifferent about or were far from happy with this new situation.
"No way in heck I'm working with you!" Chelsea protested.
"The feeling's mutual!" Belson snarled while Courtlin, Try Mavis and Emilio looked on.
"Quite the interesting setup we got here." Try quipped.
"How are we gonna survive this?" asked a concerned Courtlin
Although Mavis could only grunt, her expression was that of concern, clearly worried of the new dynamic the group found themselves in.
"Let's just get this over with," Emilio sighed, feeling resigned to his newfound situation.
"Huh, I never imagined being grouped up like this," Haru said, as she observed her classmates.
"Likewise," Breehn commented. "Although we should focus on the task at hand, so we don't end up getting disciplined by Mr. Bulsara."
"Agreed," Malessica added. "It hasn't been a week and already I'm feeling like I'm walking on eggshells around this new teacher. I don't like this at all."
Coco nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, not a fan of it either."
"Well, at least we didn't pair up with someone like Belson." Alison pointed out.
"Or Morgan," Rita added.
The girls reacted with disgust as soon as his name was brought up, while Haru just shook her head and Breehn just observed his classmate's reactions in confusion.
"Can anyone tell me what Morgan does to be considered annoying? You girls are exaggerating by saying he's just as bad as Belson."
"How would you feel if you were bombarded with questions regarding your love life?" Haru asked.
"Um…awkward?" Breehn isn't sure where this conversation is going.
"Or what about stuff that you know nothing about like zodiac signs and tarot cards?" Rita interjected.
"Okay, I'll give Morgan about the zodiac signs. They are interesting," Haru admitted.
"You are just saying that to cover his hide, huh?" Alison gave her an annoying glare.
Haru glared back at her classmate. "Look, I'm not his friend if that's what you're implying. He tried flirting with me! At least, that is what I thought when he was making those weird faces."
"Was it something like turning his head to one side while tilting down slightly, a slight smile, and eyes looking forward at you?" Coco asked.
"...How did you know?" Haru wasn't expecting to hear that from Coco, of all students.
Coco happily clapped her hands. "Those are telling signs that he's into you romantically!"
Haru didn't respond back, instead just staring on with what appeared to be a look of trauma spread all over her face, unable to fathom what was spoken to her just now.
"Uh, Coco…I think you broke her…" Alison said, concerned for her classmate.
"And her face is a blueberry!" Rita proceeded to laugh her head off.
"Ahh! Are you okay?! I didn't mean to!" A panicked Coco, along with Malessica, checked up on her classmate.
"Hey Kimby," Clarence happily greeted his classmate. "Glad to have you!"
A bashful Kimby smiled at her friend. "Likewise."
"Ugh, do I really have to be in a group to do this?" Robin complained. "I can do this by myself."
"By falling asleep and not doing the work." Saphira pointed out.
"And snoring like a bore." A disinterested Morgan added, reading his book that was titled "Astrology Survival Guide To Find A Right People".
"Says the person that is trying to flirt with every girl in the entire school." a deadpanned Kimby pointed out.
"T-that's not true! I just wanted to know more about my classmates." Morgan defended himself, becoming quite flustered in the process.
"Sure you are," Kimby only rolled her eyes, clearly not believing his claims. "Anyway, let's just get this done ASAP."
"I would but…what's up with this kid?" Morgan pointed to Gilben, who was just in his seat, stoically looking at his peers with no expressions or movement.
"Don't mind him. He's always like that," Kennan nonchalantly explained.
"How…." Robin began.
"...Creepy," Morgan finished.
"Okay, when did the French Revolution occur and how long did it last?" Mr. Bulsara asked, before he picked a group. "Care to answer, group number four?"
"It occurred in 1789 and lasted until 1799," Saphira answered.
"Correct," Mr. Bulsara nodded in approval. "But next time, try to answer the number of years as well."
Saphira and her group simply nodded, before the teacher proceeded to ask the next question.
"What followed after the French Revolution? Group number one."
"Peace, prosperity, and people living comfortably?" Emilio sheepishly answered
Mr. Bulsara's could only frown upon hearing such an answer.
"Emilio, was it?" Mr. Bulsara simply asked. "Tell me, did you really read the textbook I gave you or did you just say that answer in the heat of the moment because you don't give a crap?"
"Mr. Bulara sir, we can explain…" a panicked Courtlin began, but was stopped when the teacher raised his hand.
"Your group has been very lacking and that is really concerning."
"Maybe because you group all of us with these two idiots?" Chelsea pointed her fingers at Belson and Emilio.
"Hey, I'm not an idiot!" Emilio protested. "I'm just not good at history, that's all. That doesn't make me an idiot."
"I beg to differ," Belson disagreed.
"You haven't done anything at all to help us!" Try angrily shouted, with Marvis grunted in agreement.
"Plus, I don't work with losers." Belson rudely commented.
Mr. Bulsara finally had enough. "Okay, Group number one, after-school detention!"
"WHAT?!" The whole group shouted in unison, while Mavis, despite her lack of speech, was just as shocked as her fellow students.
"Oh and you are all out," Mr. Bulsara moved back to the front of the class, leaving group number one dejected and bitter, while the rest of the students looked on in surprise.
"Whoa, that was-" Julien started.
"Awesome!" Sumo interrupted him. "The teacher said crap! I'm beginning to like him already!"
"Wait, THAT'S your reaction?!" a bewildered Memo asked.
"Where is Ms. Baker when you need her?" A terrified Percy muttered.
"I'm with you there," Amy comforted him.
Debbie didn't say anything, being too terrified to utter a word at all.
Jeff couldn't help but chuckle at his classmate's predicament, something that his classmate Ashley took notice of.
"Really Jeff? You're taking joy in this?"
Jeff bashfully rubbed his arm. "Oh, uh, of course not. I'm only laughing because, um, I'm nervous."
"I don't blame you," Camden accepted Jeff's excuse.
Guyler remained silent and just looked at the new teacher in dread. He wasn't alone either as Brady had his head down on his desk, lost in his thoughts and fighting the internal fear, while Julien was busy re-reading the textbook and Heida was busy writing in her notebook in a frantic manner.
"Are you okay Heida?" Julien asked.
"N-N-Not really," Heida nervously replied.
"Hey, we got this," A confident Jeff spoke.
"I hope you're not gonna jinx us," a very concerned Julien warned him.
Wednesday 5:08 p.m
"Ah, what a day," Ms. Baker sighed, as she took a sip of coffee.
"Hey Mr. Baker," Mr. Mozer greeted her, as he entered the teacher's lounge. "How is your day going?"
A light blush appeared on her face. "Um, It's been good. Mr. Bulsara has helped take the workload off."
"Most definitely,'' Mr. Mozer simply smiled. "He knows how to handle even the rowdiest of children, no matter how-."
Their conversation was interrupted when the door opened, revealing Ms. Shoop, Mr. Reese and much to their surprise, Ms. Lofton, as all three teachers walked into the teacher's lounge.
"Ugh, what a day," a tired Mr. Reese muttered. "Please tell me we still have some coffee left."
"We do actually. But it's been on the pot all morning," Ms. Baker answered.
"Good enough, even if it's a day old." Mr. Reese took the coffee pot and poured some into his white mug, while Ms. Shoop took a seat.
"Where is the principal?" Ms. Lofton asked.
"He's gone for today," replied. "Had to leave his office early."
"Oh, great! I needed him for something very important." A frustrated Ms. Lofton groaned.
"And that will be what, exactly?" Ms. Shoop asked, glaring at her new co-worker. "Forcing the school to agree with every idea you throw at it?"
"I don't want to argue with you right now," Ms. Lofton let out an irritated sigh.
Just then, the teachers heard the door being opened, revealing Mr. Bulsara himself.
"Ahh, so that's where you all have been all day," he said, as he entered inside. "So, how has everyone's day been?"
"Mine has been really good!" Ms. Baker happily replied. "And how's your time been here? Good, I hope."
"It's been going well, all things considered," Mr. Bulsara stretched his arms a bit, before taking his seat.
"I'll say, I noticed that you really have been cracking down on some misbehaving children." Ms. Shoop said, a small smile formed on her face, while Mr. Reese nods his head in agreement.
"My class was almost filled with them! Never in my life would I have that many students in detention."
"I just take my job as a teacher seriously, just like everyone else," Mr. Bulsara simply commented. "Foolish antics have no place in a learning environment."
"Well said!" Ms. Shoop gave him a thumbs up. "You know, you aren't that bad."
"Thanks for the compliment." Mr. Bulsara said, opening his bottled water and taking a sip.
"Yeah…" A very hesitant Ms. Baker chimed in. "About that…don't you think you're going too overboard?"
"I don't think I am," Mr. Bulara crossed his arms. "Sometimes, you must be tough and strict to get your points across."
"That's all well and good, but have you considered your disciplinarian action would cause the students to fear you?"
"I'm well aware that I might not be well-liked, but let's just say that being stuck in a position where you have limited power does leave you open to be exploited," Mr. Bulsara explained, as he looked at Ms. Baker with a concerned and empathetic look in his face.
"Still, try to ease things with them," Ms. Baker insisted. "I want them to at least respect you."
"I can't make any promises, but I'll try regardless," he replied. "Anyway, I have work to do. If you need anything I'll be in the classroom."
With that, Mr. Bulsara left the lounge, leaving the teachers to themselves.
"What was that about?" Mr. Reese asked, stretching his head.
"If I have to guess, I say it must have been from past experiences," Ms. Baker noted.
"Whatever it is, I'm glad he's using it to show those students whose boss." Just then, Ms. Shoop heard her stomach growling. "Oh, I'm starving."
Ms. Lofton only let out a sigh, before taking her leave as well albeit, in a sour mood, leaving Baker, Shoop, Reese, and Mozer to themselves, but the former can't help but think about what Bulsara said. It's no secret that her students aren't thrilled about the new teacher: aside from a few exceptions, many expressed their grievances when she asked about their feelings regarding Mr. Bulsara. Heck, she saw a good chunk of them coming from her class heading to detention, both at lunchtime and after school hours. Despite their opinions, the teachers considered him as a welcoming addition among the faculty.
As much as she wants to do something, it's only been mid-week. And plus, sometimes her students can over-exaggerate at times.
"I'll give them until Friday afternoon. That way, I'll get enough feedback to make my move," Ms. Baker vowed, determined to solve the situation by herself.
Thursday 8:02 AM
The morning was bright and nicely warm, as the parents were dropping their kids off in front of Aberdale Elementary, before continuing on with the rest of their days. Clarence, in particular, just exited the car and made his way to class, but not before waving his mother goodbye; He managed to arrive to his classroom, where he saw his friends Jeff and Sumo talking amongst each other, with Mr. Bulsara nowhere to be found, much to his relief.
"Jeff! Sumo! Good morning!" Clarence happily greeted the two.
Sumo didn't respond but Jeff did. "Hey, Clarence. You seemed happy."
"I sure am!" Clarence agreed, before approaching his other friend. "Sumo? What's wrong? The new teacher isn't here at the moment.""
"My dad grounded me thanks to that new teacher," Sumo bitterly replied.
"Sumo, you started a water balloon fight during class yesterday!" Jeff pointed out. "Of course you will get hounded by him!"
"Shut up, Jeff," Sumo said, refusing to admit he was right. "Now I can't join you guys for the weekend, thanks to that jerk."
"Well hopefully you can reflect on your actions better from now on," Jeff quipped, followed by a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," an unimpressed Sumo waved his remark off, rolling his eyes in response.
Soon, the last handful of students arrived and by the time the bell rang, everyone was present and sitting at their desks, cautiously waiting for their teacher to arrive. Soon enough the door opened and much to their relief, It was herself.
"Good Morning, class," Ms. Baker greeted her students. "Let's start our day with some history lessons."
The next several hours went by quickly with little issues, no doubt that Mr. Bulsara was being presented elsewhere with a different class. Regardless, a level of dread hung over most students, fully aware that the new teacher will return later in the day. As such, they were savoring the hours they had with Ms. Baker for as long as they could.
Soon, the bell rang for lunch and every student headed to the cafeteria, as Clarence, Jeff, and Sumo sat at their usual spot and began eating, with the optimistic took a bite of his hamburger, while his friends drank some apple juice and swallowed a nice spoonful of frozen peaches, respectively
"Ah, so good," A joyful Jeff remarked before Saphira walked past the trio. He only glanced at the trio for a second until he coldly turned his head and continued on his way. Jeff was clearly put off by his cold stare, but just brushed it off, not wanting his mood ruined by that one moment.
After finishing their food, the trio made their way to the playground, but as they walked down the hallway, the boys noticed a small group of girls sitting outside the teacher's lounge. Curious, they hastily joined them, with Malessica greeting them, while Kimby and Chelsea were observing whatever was going on inside the room.
"What are you guys doing?" Jeff asked.
"We're overhearing the teachers talking with Mr. Bulsara," Kimby replied.
"Finally, we can get some dirt on him." Chelsea rubbed her hands together excitedly.
"What? Why do you want to do such a thing?" a disapproving Clarence demanded.
"Clarence, Mr. Bulsara has been nothing but a killjoy!" Chelsea reminded him. "I got into hot water with my dad thanks to him."
"I bet it was miles better than being grounded," Sumo grumbled.
"Wait, you got grounded because of him too?" Chelsea asked, to which Sumo simply nodded. "Sorry to hear about that, dude."
Despite having little to no interaction with him yesterday, Clarence felt nothing but fear and dread regarding Mr. Bulsara. Whenever he arrived, the atmosphere instantly shifted from fun to terror and his strict nature has caused him and his peers to try their best to behave, but even then, they still had to endure his wrathful moments, as he often punished them for even the slightest mistakes.
"Quite, they're talking!" Kimby whispered. Everyone became silent, as they began hearing the conversation among the teacher.
"May I ask why you summoned me here?" Mr. Bulsara asked, his hands folded.
"Well, we were just looking back at your resume and I do recall that you were a former teacher at Moonlit Academy!" Mr. Reese spoke in shock. "That school has been that ranked the best in the city of Oceandale several years in a row?!"
"The very same." Mr. Bulsara confirmed.
"I heard that school was shut down due to a scandal that occurred," Mr. Lofton commented.
"So what happened?" Ms. Baker was concerned about this and so where the rest of the faculty members.
Mr. Bulsara sighed, as he stared down on the floor with sadness. "I can't say because I was never involved in the scandal to begin with."
"I see…" Ms. Baker accepted his answer.
"If you have an issue with that, I apologize, but I wanted to be truthful." Mr. Bulsara insisted.
"Don't worry about it. You don't strike me as the dishonest type," Mr. Reese assured him.
Mr. Bulsara nodded in response. "That's good to know. Anyway, do you have anything I can drink or snack around here?"
"Oh, we have some soda and juice, but we don't have any donuts today. All we have are granola bars," Ms. Baker replied.
"That's fine by me, though I'll pass on the soda." accepted the offer.
Meanwhile, the kids sat back down, trying to contemplate what they just heard.
"Well, that was unexpected," Malessica remarked.
"A school closed due to a scandal?" Kimby muttered with concern. "You don't think that new teacher is related to that right?"
"Mr. Bulsara just said that he had nothing to do with it," Jeff pointed this out.
"I'm one hundred percent sure he only said that to hide something," Chelsea argued. "And I will get to the bottom of it."
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING?!"
The kids jumped on their feet and turned around to see Ms. Shoop standing a few feet from them.
"Oh, um, n-n-nothing!" Malessica nervously answered.
"Look at the time! We should be going now!" Kimby elbowed her friends, before she along with the rest of the gang walked away, leaving Shoop by herself.
"Nosy little gremlins." Ms. Shoop entered the teacher's lounge, just wanting to get the day over with.
"What are the common ways teachers get fired?" Sumo eagerly demanded. He wanted to know every trick in the book to have Mr. Bulsara fired and decided that the only place to get the answers he seeked out: the library.
"Hold on, let me see," Clarence typed in the words on the computer to get the results.
"Come on, It can't be that bad to get a teacher fired," Jeff commented.
"Okay, here we go," Clarence strolled down the results and found a reliable link. "Oh, this looks good."
He clicked on the link and it took him to a page that read:
"10 Ways That You Can Get Fired As A Teacher"
"Okay, the moment of truth." The trio read the list and was surprised at how much context for each number entry. But not so long afterwards, though, Sumo groaned from impatience and just started reading the number entry title. Clarence and Jeff, however, slowly read the text for them to get through the entries. Some were the usual standards, while others were quite out there and only a few were just so unsettling, that the boys completely skipped it entirely.
"Okay, I wrote down everything I could," Jeff wrote down in his notepad.
The school bell rings, signifying the end of lunch, as Clarence did his best to suppress his fear and along with his friends, made their way to class. Upon reaching there, Mr. Bulsara was standing outside of the classroom. The teacher saw them approaching.
"Hello, you three." The new teacher greeted, causing Sumo and Clarence to shudder in response, while Jeff only gave him a simple smile.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bulsara. What are we doing for today?"
"Math and Science," Mr. Bulsara answered.
Jeff nodded and walked into the classroom without much fuss, while Clarence and Sumo didn't look at the teacher and joined up with their friend, bracing themselves for another atrocious day with Mr. Bulsara.
Friday 1:01 P.M.
"So what you are saying is that the new teacher may have been fired from his previous teaching job?" Breehn asked.
"That would make sense if it's true. Perhaps he's bitter over the reason why he was let go?" Morgan suggested.
"More so if the school pays him well and I'm betting on my money that's the case," Robin commented, before turning to one of her classmates. "Hey Haru! Get your butt over here! This is starting to get better!"
"For goodness sake, can you guys leave the teacher's private life alone?!" Haru scolded the group.
"Traitor!" Sumo shouted at her.
"Whatever," Haru ignored the insult. "See if I care if you guys get into trouble for snooping where you don't belong."
The gang resumed discussing the topic, as more students returned from lunch. The classroom was rowdy, but Mr. Bulsara hadn't arrived yet, so the students were making the most of it. Some joined in on their conversations and those who didn't either mind their own business or listened in.
After enough time had passed, Mr. Bulsara finally arrived, causing the classroom to become dead silent.
"Good afternoon class. I apologize for being late, but today we're going to go over multiplying fractions by fractions and whole numbers." The male teacher announced, getting his textbook out. "You can form into groups or just work on your own later on."
The students didn't respond right away and just stared in silence, which didn't phased Mr. Bulsara one bit before he noticed that only a few students had their textbooks out, while everyone else didn't.
"Okay class, what's the deal?" he finally demanded.
"Oh…nothing." Sumo was the first to break the silence.
"I highly doubt that." Mr. Bulsara folded his arm, unimpressed. "Tell me what's REALLY going on."
"We heard that you were a teacher from a previous school in Oceandale that was closed down due to a scandal," Robin said. "Is that true?"
Suddenly, Mr. Bulsara's expression darkened: his eyes became cold and narrow, to the point it became sullen and dark. The students knew he had a temper, but they never expected such an extreme reaction.
"And we looked into ways how teachers get fired and…" Robin paused for a moment, before arching an eyebrow. "...You must be hiding something BIG."
"Tell me, what do you have to gain by doing all of this?" Mr. Bulsera asked, his tone being a mixture of calm and anger.
"To get you fired, of course!" Chelsea answered.
"What?! Why?!" Mr. Bulsra asked in total shock.
"Because you got me into hot water with my dad!" Sumo angrily shouted.
"You took away my handheld!" Beslon added.
"You took away my favorite nail polish!" Marlie yelled.
"You prevent me from finishing my comic!" Julien joined in.
"But most of all, you're not fun at all!" Clarence spoke up, followed by several students murmuring in agreement.
rubbed his temples. "Those are not really considered valid reasons."
"Then what are the reasons that are considered valid to you then?" Saphira asked.
"Good question, don't you have the answers before you?" Mr. Bulsara asked. "After all, you did mention that you know ways how a teacher can get fired, did you not?"
Some of the students looked at each other in confusion, while others remained unimpressed.
"But go ahead, take some guesses." Mr. Bulsara challenged the students, as he sat near his desk.
"Okay…" Sumo stood up. "I bet you were fired due to you leaving one of your students behind!"
"Never done that in my life," Mr. Bulsara replied.
"You probably stole something from another teacher!" Clarence declared.
"Like I have any reason to steal from others."
"Insulting your own students! You have proven to have quite the knack of doing just that! That can be considered abuse!" Robin suggested.
"Please, my insults are tame compared to other teachers who love to break their students down. Plus, some of you goof off or outright sleep during lectures."
Most of them just rubbed their heads bashfully, dismayed they haven't got something out of the teacher one bit.
"But I'll admit, those are some very strong accusations." Mr. Bulsara scratched his chin for a moment until he stood up. "Alright, how about we play a little game shall we?"
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
"It's simple, really..," Mr. Bulsara began. "I'll give you a sheet of paper that I mixed up the words and the objective is to get a certain amount of letters to form proper words."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Breehn said.
"But I'm making it a group effort. Meaning that EVERYONE would have to pull their own weight." Mr. Bulsara pointed out. "If you get a certain amount of words correct, like say thirty, I will reveal my past to you."
"And if we lose?" Morgan asked.
"Then you will have weekend homework for the rest of the year." Mr. Bulsara calmly answered..
"Are you kidding me?!" Courtlin asked. "That's too much for a punishment!"
"I think it's fair." Mr. Bulsara let out a laugh. "Perhaps a bit too lenient now that I think about it. Maybe I should-"
"NO!" All the students shouted in unison, waving their hands.
"Good!" Mr. Bulsara was satisfied with their reactions. "Now, let's begin."
The students became nervous and some of them grabbed the piece of paper that the teacher handed them out. Upon observing the worksheet,they were shocked by the huge number of words and letters on display. As much as they wanted to complain further, it wasn't the time to do so. Several groups, both large and small, were formed; some students even partnered up with certain kids they weren't fond of one another, but were willing to make an exception just this once.
For the next hour, the students slowly decrypted the letters and slowly made progress. However, there were some stumbles and setbacks, especially when they discovered that the spiked difficulty reared its ugly head the further they went with even a few students openly complaining about it, much to Mr. Bulsara's amusement.
After what seemed like an eternity, the teacher finally spoke up. "Alright! That's enough! Present your results."
The students handed their work to their teacher and went back to their seats, anxiously awaiting for the results, as Mr. Bulsara carefully scanned through his student's work, as everyone looked on with suspense. Eventually, the teacher sat the papers down and faced the students.
"I'm rather impressed with the amount of words you've gotten right." The kids happily cheered upon receiving praise.
"But…" Mr. Bulsara injected. "You all fell short."
The students stopped cheering.
"By how much?!" Haru complained.
"You were all off by two points." Mr. Bulsara replied.
Haru only laid her head down in defeat, while the rest of the students groaned how close they were to getting the truth out from their teacher.
"Now class, I know you're upset, but take pride that you managed to impress me and trust me, I don't get impressed that often."
Everyone stopped complaining and looked at their teacher, not expecting to hear such a response from him.
"This is what I like to see: you take your education seriously. Your mind will thank you later down the line. Not all teachers will be like Ms. Baker or me."
The students whispered among each other before facing Mr. Bulsara once more.
"Now with that activity out of the way, move on to another subject: Science."
And with that, the rest of the afternoon went by without much fuss, aside from losing their bet with their teacher.
The bell finally rang for the last time, signifying the end of school, and every single student left the building.
"Ah, today was quite a good one." Mr. Bulsara took a sip of his water, resting peacefully on his desk. He then looked outside the window and saw a few students butting heads. It appears to be that they were in some sort of heated argument.
"Ugh, you HAD to get into his personal life!" Saphira yelled. "Now I had to pay the price!"
"Sorry about that," Robin threw her hands up. "What we did wasn't the best idea."
"It's too late now!"
"Whoa, let's calm down and not fight like animals." Jeff got in between the two.
"Jeff's right," Clarence added. "So why don't we talk and hug it out, OK?"
"You were in on this too!" Saphria turned his attention to the optimistic boy. "You're not getting out of this either!"
"Touch my friend and I'll murder you!" Sumo stepped in front of Clarence, who was shocked to see his friend being so serious
Almost immediately, Saphira threw the first punch, only for Sumo to get back up and fight back, causing a brawl to break out. Clarence, Jeff, and Robin stepped in to separate the two as best as they could, before all four quickly fled the scene, leaving Saphira alone and irritated.
"Thanks a lot, you plebeians, for having people like me who weren't involved punished!" With a heavy sigh, Saphira got up and went back home as well.
Mr. Bulsara, meanwhile, sat back down, reflecting on what he just heard. "So not all of the students partook in that little stunt." He pinched his nose with regret. "Great."
"Mr. Bulsara!"
The teacher turned around and saw his co-worker Ms. Baker standing in the doorway. "Mr. Reese bought some food. You want to join us?"
"...Yeah, sure," he nodded his head.
"Are you okay?" Ms. Baker became concerned.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired is all," The male teacher answered.
"Well…okay then," Ms. Baker accepts her co-worker's answer. I'll see you at the lounge soon."
Ms. Baker left with her new co-worker following her. She quickly noticed Mr. Bulsara's somber demeanor and decided to lighten the mood.
"So how was class today? Hope that the students have slowly warmed up to ya."
"They have, though many still dislike my guts." Bulsara jokingly replied.
Ms. Baker chuckled. "It's a start."
Thus the two teachers talked away, their voices filling the hallway as they walked toward the teacher's lounge to enjoy the rest of their day.
Another chapter is finished! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now that Fall is approaching schools are back in season. Yay. Anyway, before I wrap this up, the reason I brought the season up is because now for the first time, I'm going to write seasonal chapters! Whether it would be a regular chapter or shots is very dependent on how much time I will have now that I have classes, but I'll do my best to have the seasonal content be chapters.
That's it, everyone! See you next chapter! Ciao!