This is a class I co-taught with Mrs. Smith. They were a loud and expressive group and most of it came from the boys. The nicest boy was Devon who wore an earring in each ear and was always smiling as well as talking. The first day I was there he got up and told us about his trip to Hawaii and how much fun it was and how he got to surf the big waves. He would wear shirts like “Follow me to Southern CA” or “Hollister SC” written on them.
The least nicest guy was Barrett who threw his book into the lake in the back of the school and said if he’d ever got a girl pregnant he would “punch her in the stomach.” Devon was petite and athletic; this guy was big and athletic. I think the last organ to develop on him will be his brain.
Finally, there’s Lisa who’s always laughing. She’s the only girl who speaks in the class above a whisper. You can hear her out the door and down the hallway. She likes to cook and is in the culinary arts class. She also doodles a lot all over her papers which showed you how bored she normally was with her school work.
The first day I was there I made the mistake of putting my books on her desk and she screamed “Take those !$#?@ books off my desk!” I thought I was going to get punched. I told her to move and we had a nice glare down for a few minutes. Mrs. Smith, my co-teacher told her to move, too and she finally did.
Mrs. Smith is a very stern younger lady who almost never smiled. I followed her example and tried to too, but I came across as everyone’s mom. I wish I could have been even sterner. I’ve never felt comfortable frowning all day long, however. Once and a while, I slipped into a smile or even a laugh.
After the first day, I tried to being extra nice to Lisa. She seemed to be more responsive toward the end and liked me more. I don’t like when I clash with girls. It’s too emotionally draining. I try to get them on my side and hope to at least have a truce with them. I’m not always asking them to like me but at least get along with me.
One morning we even discussed my story “The Vortex” in class. They read it and guessed what it was about. I blocked out the ending so they wouldn’t know. Some were very perceptive and guessed it was a school. Then they wrote their own stories. I didn’t try it with the rest of the classes. I thought it would be too much exposure of my own thoughts. However, in this class Mrs. Smith had done most of the teaching so I was always treated as an honored guest. Not all of them participated so we counted the story as extra credit.
The last day was a little sad. Even Lisa said: “we’re gonna miss you, Mrs. B.” Except for Barrett. He slept through the whole class which was very nice.
I hope that some of the love of God came out in all I did there. I hope my little light shone in the darkness for a few hours of mortal existence…I hope I reached a few cold hearts and warmed them up a little…I hope they put their trust in the Lord some day…
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