Page 4 of Hot Four Teacher
Time to get the day started.
***
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing in front of a classroom full of sophomores. Twenty-five pairs of eyes stare at me. Half of them are waiting to see what I’m going to do and the other half are sizing me up. I’ve literally had people shooting at me who didn’t stare me down this hard.
I lean my ass against the desk and start to speak. “Good morning. I’m Mr. Miller, and I’ll be taking over for Mrs. Robbins the rest of the year.”
Crickets.
“Alright, before we jump into anything, I know I’m new around here, and you don’t know me from Adam. So, I’m going to give you guys the next few minutes to ask me anything you like…within reason.”
About ten hands shoot up all at once.
“Well, alright,” I say. “How about when I call on you, you say your name and then ask your question?”
I point to a boy in the front row.
“Lucas,” He begins. “Where are you from?”
“Portland,” I reply and point to a girl in the second row.
“Terry. Why are your muscles so big? Do you work out a lot.”
“Well, Terry, that’s technically two questions, but to answer them, yes, I work out but not nearly as much as I did when I was in the military.”
I point to another kid.
“What part of the military were you in?”
“The Marines,” I answer.
Another kid named Gina asks, “Are you married?”
“Divorced.”
Now, a boy named Ted asks why I’m divorced.
“Life,” is all I say in return. There’s no way I’m broaching that subject with my new students…or any students for that matter.
Questions start coming in without kids bothering to raise their hands.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“What kind of movies do you like to watch?”
“How many tattoos do you have?”
“What do they all mean?”
“Are you sure you’re a teacher? You look more like a hitman.”
Maybe the principal was right. Maybe high school kids are going to be in a league all their own.
Chapter three
The Universe Can be a Real Dick
Michelle
