Cloud 69

67:

Maddie looked over to Dylan, and found that he was in the seat next to the boy with the bright green eyes, and behind them was an unfamiliar boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin too freshly tanned to be a local.

"And who are you?" Luna asked, her voice going soft, as she rested her head on the palm of her hand.

"I'm Zach," he replied, sticking out his hand. Luna reached forward with a trembling hand, taking Zach's and shaking it, letting her fingers linger as they pulled apart.

"Hey!" A loud, shrill voice kept Luna from saying anything more. "You three in the back." Zach, Luna, and Maddie all turned to look at Ms. Marist, who was glaring in their direction. "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

The three of them muttered out a chorus of "No" and their cheeks flushed with humiliation as they sunk in their seats.

Zach waited until Ms. Marist had moved on, returning to face the whiteboard, before turning back around in his seat to continue talking to Maddie and Luna, specifically the latter of the two.

On the opposite side of the classroom, Dylan and Carson were initiating Jason into their little circle through an exchange of jokes, most of which were revolved around their defenseless teacher, who was none the wiser.

One of the three of them must have laughed too loud, or the scratching of pencils must have paused for a moment too long, because before any of the boys could fix themselves to make it look like they were taking notes and paying attention, Ms. Marist's head swiveled around, an angry scowl on her face as she made eye contact with each of the boys.

"Is there something funny about the Boston Massacre?" She asked, addressing only Carson, Jason, and Dylan.

Dylan scratched the back of his head sheepishly, biting down on his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Jason lowered his head, and had begun pretending that he was jotting down some notes. Carson, however, only stared back at her, a devious glimmer in his eyes and a sinful curl in his lip.

"I actually think the costumes were quite hilarious."

There was a sudden, tense silence that swept over the classroom. Even Zach, Luna, and Maddie, who had been incessantly chatting on the opposite side of the room, all paused and turned their heads in Carson's direction. The students all looked to Ms. Marist, anticipating her to retaliate by scolding him or sending him out of the room.

"Well, Mr. Daniels, since you have such an interest in the Boston Massacre, maybe you can fill us in on what we've covered so far."

"I'm pretty sure you're the one that's getting paid to teach, not me," he responded, leaning back in his seat and lazily crossing his arms over his chest.

Ms. Marist stammered for a moment, her brows narrowing in. "You need to have more respect for me and my class," she said, annunciating every word sharply. "The Boston Massacre was a crucial moment in American history, and you're too busy talking during my lesson to understand why. Had John Adams not coined the shooting as a "massacre," colonists would not have been as inclined to side with the anti-British movement-"

"Sam Adams," Carson interrupted with a disinterested tone, his eyes focused on his teacher's, challenging her. 

"Excuse me?" Ms. Marist exclaimed.

"You said John Adams coined the shooting as a massacre," Carson explained. "John Adams, however, represented the British soldiers in the trial succeeding the Boston Massacre. It was Sam Adams that called it a massacre. He was the one who represented the colonists that instigated the attack on the British soldiers during the street fight in March of 1770. In fact, the colonists he represented were all members of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the society he founded. Sam Adams was the one who first called the fight a "massacre," and the term quickly caught on, which created a large-spread anti-British movement and sparked the push for Revolution and independence. Sam Adams. Not John."