For the Love of Sam and Eva

Teachers and Punches

I love Fridays. I think everybody loves Fridays. It’s the end of the week and all you want to do is go home. I was excited for the weekend to come. Sam was going to meet me outside the school and we were going to go to a cafe for coffee and such. Everything seemed great and normal. 

Until I hit sixth period.

“Okay guys, I'll call you up group by group to present your projects to the class.” Mr. Greene clapped his hands together, rubbing them. “This should be fun.” 

Insert his creepy, paedophile smile. 

I never liked that guy. It wasn’t that he was an actual paedophile, it was the fact he looked like one. Also, he once put his hand on my shoulder as a sign of encouragement for a bit longer than I liked when he was looking at my work. 

I turned around to face Emily, my teeth chewing my nails to calm the nerves. “You ready?” Emily looked up from her exercise book and I saw it all written on her face. My stomach plummeted down to my feet, my jaw hanging open. “Where is our project?” I asked, frantically searching for it. I couldn’t see a project anywhere near her feet. My heart was beginning to race and my palms were clammy. She couldn’t have. She did not forget our project.  

“Shush!” Mr. Greene said directly towards me. I reined in the urge to flip him off.  I realised that was crude, but I just wasn't in the mood for the paedophile teacher to tell me off. I could lose a lot of my grade right here, so he’d just have to wait. 

My attention was back on Emily a second later. Guilt consumed her features and I just knew I wasn’t going to like what she was breathing out. “I'm so sorry, Eva. I left the project at home,” she whispered out, careful not to attract any eavesdroppers. She looked so damn innocent and remorseful in a single expression, only a mean person would dream about hurting her for it. 

Too bad I was already beyond angry to even conjure any second thoughts towards my next actions.

“You did what?” I shrieked, shooting out of my seat, tackling Emily to the ground. “How could you forget to bring it? We’ve been working on that thing for ages, and you forget?”

“I'm sorry!” she screamed back at me, failing to roll me off her. She threw her arms out and tried to hit me off her, but I blocked her feeble attacks. 

Mr. Greene’s voice cut through the room like a knife. “Girls, stop!” I felt his warm hand touched my shoulder gently, trying to pull me off Emily. 

I wasn’t thinking when I turned around and accidently got him across the face with my hand. If I were to blame someone for my actions, I blamed Dad. It was a reflex, something I’d learnt from him when he’d taught me how to defend myself. Yet in this case, it was an act from the heat of the moment. I hadn’t meant to hurt him.

He staggered back, holding his face as he tried to control his growing frustration. My own fury subsided, forcing me to acknowledge what I’d just done. I stood there, motionless, unable to speak in my defence. It’d been an accident. But I could be expelled or suspended for assault. If I were charged, it’d be under actus Reus. 

“Eva!” Emily gasped, covering her mouth with her pink manicured fingers. “You just hit a teacher!”

The whole class was silent, in shock at what I had done. 

I turned to her, trembling slightly. “I’m sorry, Em.” I managed to say. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”  

Her original frown disappeared, the creases in her perfect face gone. “It’s all right.” 

The class continued to be quiet until Mr. Greene marched towards us, a vein bulging from his temple. His face was a tomato, the spot where I’d hit him a brighter shade than the rest of his face.