All Saints

Avidité de Crédit

Mrs Giaurd's lessons were full of fascinating content yet she somehow found a way to suck that out of it too. For ever class with her was a long headache waiting to happen,
"Who can give me the dates of the Battle of the Marne?" She asked the class without failure, Annick's and Felbec's hands whipped up in the air automatically. Dahlia watched this new found rivalry, her eyes darting from one to another like some game show.
"Mr Felbec." She summoned him out of his chair. "September 5th to the 12th, 1914." He said autonomously, feeling the burning pride off him from across the classroom, Dahlia watched intently. She nods approving of his answer. "Who were the opposing armies?" Before Felbec could fall back to his chair Annick's hand was in the air ready. The two components did not slack, for if Dahlia gained a penny for every hand raised her family's economical background could rise from the ashes of bankruptcy.

The teacher looked at her with a dry expression, "Miss Sabiani, are you going to jump on the desk for me to see you? Don't you think you draw enough attention as it is?" Dahlia watched the fiery glint in Sabiani eyes dull at the teacher nasty remark against her. Women were against women, even school was set against women. This forced progression of a co-ed school smelled like disaster to some.

Michèle's head was first to turn looking rather alarmed by Giaurd's insult. I gave her disgusted look and Simone agreed shaking her head. It wasn't even directed at Dahlia yet she felt the insult tug at her skin.

Mrs Giaurd is quick to move on from her little outbreak, "The opposing armies?" She asked hoping she would slip up with her answer. Annick rose up with perfect poise she wouldn't allow the woman to have the satisfaction of her words effecting her, "The French and the Germans." She uttered and something in Dahlia fell flat. Coincidently, she knew that the answer had also been the British Expeditionary Force too.

Mrs Giaurd couldn't help but smile at the girls small failure, "And the British Expeditionary Force. Don't raise your hand if you only know half the answer. And please tie your hair back, this isn't a party." She waved a hand over her dismissively at Annick who grew small in her spot. Dahlia didn't look at Annick that's the last thing someone wants when they are humiliated, spectators.

She moved on briskly, "Okay, we'll talk more about the Battle of the Marne tomorrow. Let's move on to naming our class leader." Felbec whose arm would snap from the amount of times it climbed up into the air put up his hand. She asked the boy to speak his mind, "My teachers have always picked me as class leader. I'm studious and get good grades." He said his eyes glued to something on his desk. His ambition came off as desperation making his reach for academic achievement humorous. Most of the class laughed collectively at him making his cheeks go red in embarrassment. How the world is so cruel to those who want to get ahead.

With a wide callous, crocodile grin on her face she spoke,  "Well, I'm not like your former teachers, Felbec. You'll have to earn it. Does the Battle of Marathon mean anything to anyone?" Her words slithered out almost as if she too was mocking him, but her question had all the greedy academics ears. Her hands clasped together as she found her challenge,  "I see. Whoever can tell me the date of the Battle of Marathon this afternoon will be named class leader." She dumps different textbooks onto each table and leaves to get her glasses which dahlia assumed she had left in her office. Felbec and Annick jumped to the same book disregarding the rest. Their eyes narrowing at each other by the similar course of action.

Dahlia turns to talk to Pichon about their answers and the two intellects had come to an agreement. Satisfied she turns around to flick through the pages of the Greek mythology book. She pulled a giant book over her head with an enormous illustration of some Greek creature, "look Descamps it's you." A juvenile proud smile pinned up on her face. Descamps head turned to her and her face paying no attention to what she had to show him. The whole class broke out in laughter but he was looking at her whilst everyone else was looking at what she had to present. "Up here." She signalled to the page, only then had he realised that it was a picture of the cyclops standing in all its might in a midst of Zeus thunder. She leans in closer so that only he could hear her, "does that make Jean- Pierre, Odysseus?" Which was a nod to some Greek myth Joseph had no knowledge about. He was humiliated but he wouldn't dare to show on his face. He promised himself that he would get her back twice as bad. "You must be Galatea then." With a bitter facial expression. She had felt the weight of her words in guilt. Slowly Dahlia pulled away and put the book down the whole class sat in an uncomfortable silence at the tension that just been awoken. "No it would make him Acis." She murmured to her self before the teacher came back. She looked suspiciously at the group of students as she hadn't expected them to be quiet on her return. It made her feel full of authority and power.