Going Through the Motions

Chapter 2 - Introductions

              

“Mrs. Richardson has been called away on a family emergency for an extended period of time.” A curious murmur runs through the classroom. “Quiet down, please. This is Mr. Staal. He will be covering your homeroom and all Mrs. Richardson’s classes. I expect you to treat him with the same respect you treat the rest of your teachers.”  Motioning for the substitute to step forward, the principal turns to walk out of the room.

“Good morning.” Gilbert perches on the edge of the desk. “I know you all know each other, but I obviously don’t. So, we’re going to do that thing that everybody hates. Introductions. Your name and something you like to do.”

Starting in the far right corner of the room, each student stands, and inserts some piece of unimportant, generic information after their name. When her turn comes, Penelope stands and grins, running her fingers through her long, curly hair.

“Penelope Chisholm. I like to run.” She smiles politely at her new teacher. His eyes widen momentarily. A small smirk, too quick for the other students to catch, passes over his face. Taking her seat again, she crosses her arms over her chest, smiling to herself. As the bell rings to signal the end of class, she gathers her things slowly.

“Gotta pee. I’ll meet you in English.” Rowena grabs her books and hurries out of the room.

“I have a math quiz. Vomit.” Sullivan looks green as she heads towards the door.

“Well, this was an unexpected surprise.” The voice is quiet, even though the owner is standing right in front of her.

“Aren’t surprises always unexpected?” Penelope looks up at her new teacher, the side of her mouth hitching up into a smart-ass smile.

“Are you going to be on my case the entire time I’m here?” His hands press flat on the tabletop.

“You wish.” She lowers her voice, leaning towards him. A big grin breaks across her face as she tucks her books under her arm. The noise level rises as students for the next class start flooding through the door. Tapping his hand gently, she steps away, “Good luck.” She’s out of the classroom before he can respond.

Sinking into her chair in English, she releases a giant sigh. She picks up her book and tries to concentrate on getting through the pages she still hasn’t read. As the bell rings, Rowena slips through the door and drops into the seat behind her.

“Dude, how weird is it that our new teacher is your hot guy.” She whispers, leaning as far forward in her desk as she can.

“I know, right!?” Penelope turns sideways in her desk. “So weird.”

“He is mofoing gorgeous. Maybe…”

“Class is starting.” Their teacher calls from the front of the room. “Put everything away except a pen and your novel. We’re having a quiz. You can use your book as a reference, but not your notes.”

“Fan-freaking-tastic.” Penelope mumbles to herself, tossing her binder into the basket under the seat. The quiz sheet glides to her desk with a heavy thump.

*****     *****     *****

Sliding into an empty desk in the middle of the room, Ash slumps down in the seat. His foot begins to tap out a rhythm on the leg of the seat in front of him. A loose nail in the back of the empty chair rattles its own rhythm, adding an unexpected percussion. A jagged piece of skin on the edge of his thumb catches his attention. Pulling at it with his teeth, his mind wanders to his sister. Her attitude towards his girlfriend is moving from annoyance into an actual problem. Brooke has always been completely oblivious to the way Penelope feels about her. Ash has gone out of his way to make sure that she doesn’t realize how much his sister dislikes her.