There's an Invisible Man Sleeping in My Bed

Chapter 10

             “I still can’t believe he gave you a candy bracelet. I mean, what are you? Five?” Ruth said, shaking her head in the back of History as the final bell dinged overhead. The room was the same as every other classroom, the only differences being what posters were hung up and the fact the walls were pale green.

            Thalia shrugged. “He’s in his late thirties. Maybe when he was younger high school girls liked getting candy bracelets.”

            Ruth snorted, though quietly since Mr. Wright had stood up. “I can’t imagine anyone, under the age of twelve, ever getting excited over edible jewelry.”

            The sound of papers slapping against a desk cut off their conversation. They both looked up and saw Mr. Wright standing in front of Samantha, his eyes boring into hers as he raised the stack of homework. They winced in unison as the entire class fell silent to stare.

            The faint smile that flashed across his lips left them with no illusions about whether or not he noticed the audience. Then he allowed anger to consume his face, bringing his eyebrows down like thunderclouds over his flashing eyes. “This is the sixth time, Ms. Leroux! The sixth time you have failed to answer a single questions correctly. I wonder if there is anything in that skull of yours or if it’s that you simply refuse to learn.”

            As Samantha ducked her curly head, almost certainly to hide tears, Mr. Wright smirked. Then he flipped through his pile and slammed her page of homework down onto the desk. “Do you actually listen, Ms. Leroux?” he demanded, one finger stabbing at the first question. “Because I remember explaining in depth the reasons behind the rise of the Nazi party but here, you didn’t manage to identify a single one!”

            “How does this guy not get fired?” Ruth muttered.

            “Seniority,” Thalia replied just as quietly, knowing their teacher had the ears of a-

            “That’s enough of your whispering, Ms. Erwin and Ms. Quinn!” Mr. Wright thundered.

            Thalia repressed another wince, knowing that this was the wrong tack to take with Ruth. Watching her friend’s hazel eyes go more green than brown, she glanced around for some sort of distraction. Ruth really couldn’t afford another trip to the principal’s office.  In the end, she didn’t need one.

            Mr. Wright had begun stalking towards their desks, eyes promising detention at the least, when he pitched forward to land face first on the ground. For a moment, the only sound was the faint chirping of birds outside the window. Then the whole class erupted into laughter as Mr. Wright struggled to his feet.

            “Who did that?” He shouted, sweeping them with a glare. “Which one of you tripped me?”

            He took another step forward and again went down, stumbling to his knees. That renewed the laughter from the students and caused Mr. Wright’s face to flush a deep red that ran down his neck as the thick muscles there went taut. He hauled himself to his feet and turned murderous eyes on the students nearest him.

            Until a piece of chalk flew over from the far side of the room to hit him in the back of the head.

            “Who’s doing that?” He roared, jerking around to stare.

            Thalia stopped laughing, feeling ice creep into her veins and her eyes go wide. She knew who had taken it upon himself to stop the teacher and regretted not sending him home when she’d had the chance.

            Sudden silence had her looking at her classmates and following their gaze to the door rather than searching for some sign of Colt. In the doorway, round face red up to the bald spot that sat in the middle of his head, his small frame shaking as he glared at them all, was the principal. “What is going on here? I’ve gotten noise complaints from all three neighbouring classrooms.” Mr. Schmidt demanded.

            Mr. Wright spun to face him and swept his arm to indicate the entire class. “I want them all in detention! They have not only openly defied me but have gone as far as assault!”

          Thalia froze when movement beside her told her that Ruth had stood. “Mr. Schmidt,” she said, keeping her voice calm and reasonable thought Thalia could see her eyes had gone light brown and were dancing with glee. “None of us laid a hand on Mr. Wright. He simply tripped twice and began to blame all of us. That is after he reduced poor Samantha to tears when he humiliated her in front of the class, and this was not the first time. His continued bullying and verbal assault on my fellow classmates had left me afraid to enter this room. After today, I don’t think I’ll be able to continue to come here, not with his behaviour as it is now. I must ask that he be removed from teaching until he seeks the appropriate psychiatric help.”

            Mr. Wright, who’d been frozen with his mouth open, seemed to snap out of his shock at the word “psychiatric”. “How dare you! I’ve been teaching since before you were born so don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. You’ve been doing poorly and think if you get rid of me a new teacher will give you better marks. But I’ll have you know, you stupid, opportunistic, little demon that I’m now going anywhere!”

            Ruth’s eyes filled with tears that spilled over to run freely down her cheeks. Tears Thalia knew were as real as unicorns. Ruth’s mouth opened to reply but the principal beat her to it. “Mr. Wright,” he cried, his voice scandalized. “To say such things to a student, whatever the reason, is unacceptable. I believe we need to speak in private.”

            Eyes bugging out of his head as his jaw clenched, Mr. Wright had no choice but to follow Mr. Schmidt out. As the door shut behind him, the whole class cheered. Or, almost the whole class. Thalia had frozen when a familiar voice whispered “Your school is a dangerous place.”

            “Mr. Wright’s the worst teacher in school, probably the whole board of education,” she breathed back, turning away from Ruth like she was staring at the door. “The rest of the teachers are fine. One or two are halfway useless but they’re nice enough. And what you did was dangerous.”

            She heard Colt chuckle. “Only if I got found out, which I didn’t.”

            “Who are you talking to?”

            Thalia flinched, then turned around to face Ruth. “No one. Myself. I’m hoping Mr. Wright doesn’t come back.”

            Ruth sighed, her hands up fixing her ponytail. “I’m hoping to. Doubt it’ll happen though. He’s too quick on his feet. Maybe we should get a petition going…”

            Watching her friend sink into thought, Thalia risked a little shooing gesture, hoping Colt would get the hint. The last thing she needed was for everyone to know she had an invisible friend.