Here We Are (Maxpres) | ✔️

Chapter Two

   "Do I have every class with this idiot?" Preston thought, annoyed. One class was enough, but two? He was sure he would go mad. He decided not to let it bother him, though, and took a seat near the front.

   "This can't go too bad, can it?" The teen tried to stay positive. "Who knows? He could give me inspiration..." He nodded and sighed happily, pulling out a notebook and pen.

   The teacher, Ms. Sutherland, quickly made her way to the front of the room. She was in a patched dress, each patch a different color. She looked like Ms. Frizz from "The Magic School Bus," red hair and everything. She clapped twice.

   The students who had been in her class before also clapped twice. She giggled. "Good to see we have some old faces... And some new ones." She introduced herself as she did every year, throwing in a pun or two. Preston couldn't help but grin. Ms. Sutherland was easily one of his favorite teachers. He ignored Max's quiet, irritated groans. "He'll learn to love her," he told himself.

   "Alright, since today is your first day, I'm going to go easy on you all," Ms. Sutherland spoke gently. She faced the whiteboard and wrote something down in purple marker. "You have fifteen minutes to describe yourself in the third person, and it has to be in twenty sentences or less."

   "What?" Preston felt his eye twitch at Max's comment. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Ms. Sutherland started the timer and everyone started writing.

   "This is easy," he thought to himself. "It like describing a character for the first time, except you already know their personality, talents and weaknesses..."

   Ms. Sutherland walked around the room, surveying everyone as they wrote. She stopped by Max, who had finished in five minutes.

   "It's alright," she told him, "but don't you think you could add a little more detail?"

   Max rolled his eyes, but nodded. The teacher continued to walk around, complimenting other's work and giving them pointers. As soon as Preston's pencil was down, she rushed over to him.

   "Excellent work!" She purred after reading it. She slid into the desk next to him. "Any ideas for drama club this year?"

   He nodded, shuffling his papers over. "I'm thinking about teaching them improv, and hopefully throwing a play.

   Ms. Sutherland nodded, her red curls bouncing. "I noticed most of the students in here are from drama." She glanced back at Max. "Except for the freshman." She looked around the room quickly before motioning Preston to lean closer.

   He leaned in, curious. The teacher lowered her voice.

  "Between you and me," she whispered, "I think he'd be a good fit for the club."

   The teen sat up, appalled. "Whatever do you mean?" He placed a hand over his heart.

   Ms. Sutherland rolled her eyes at his dramatic reaction. "His writing skills have some potential. If anything, he could add in filler scenes or revise some of the dialogue."

   Preston opened his mouth to say something, but the teacher held up a hand to shush him. "Think about it," she murmured as the term went off. She went up to stop it, leaving a conflicted Preston behind.