If she had it all

The Elephant in the Room

I'd have to say, if you put my art teacher in a room full of other teachers, she'd quite literally shimmer and shine. But she didn't have pink or blue hair. She had bright blonde hair with Dark eyes, and always wore her navy blue HeyDudes and some type of Jean jacket. She always kept the breakfast bag inside of the room a little later than usual, just so those of us who were late could eat. She went out of her way to do things for people when they didn't even ask.

I had an A+ in her class. And I only paid attention to what she was saying because she said it so nicely and with patience and courtesy. My other teachers? They either yelled or took phones. Most of the time they yelled though. I didn't have one, but I did happen to have a watch. Not a smartwatch, but a mechanical one. My math teacher once tried to take it from me because "I didn't deserve something so good when it didn't reflect my grades." But I fought that battle and came out victorious. I have an 80 in his class and have kept it for a while. I always said that if he's not teaching, we're not learning and that he should focus more on being an educator rather than a politician. When he heard that from another student, he got so angry. Not from what I said, but from the fact I was using, "Adult words," and that I should use words like, "Really smart person who does lots for us."

But Mrs. Taylor, the art teacher, always said, "No question is dumb enough except the question you don't ask." It's fancy people talk for, "I like questions. I eat them for breakfast. FEED ME." Many people would side-eye her in the hallways when she'd wave. Others would chuckle or run away from her and then gossip. I would socialize with her and learn that she not only is from here but hates that the administration allows the teachers to talk about personal political ideologies. Still, there's not a lot I can do, for people won't listen. The hall monitors always told us, "Ladies are to be seen, not heard."

But what did the most, between the room redo and the teachers being idiots, was that people were so close-minded. They believed that if it wasn't their way, you should stand in the middle of a highway. One kid, in particular, would always make fun of this one girl who just so happened to be slightly overweight, and he'd always say she was a literal, "Elephant in the Room."