Between two languages

Chapter 1 - The New French Teacher

The first day of senior year always felt louder than the others.

Lockers slammed shut. Friends laughed in the hallways. Teachers tried to organize the endless flow of students who had spent the entire summer forgetting what school looked like.

Noah Bennett hated every second of it.

He adjusted the strap of his backpack and kept his eyes on the floor as he walked through the crowded hallway. The noise around him faded behind the music playing through his headphones.

No friends.

No conversations.

Exactly how he liked it.

At least... that's what he kept telling himself.

His phone buzzed.

Unknown Number

"Don't forget to check your class schedule."

Noah sighed before locking his phone again.

He already knew his schedule.

Math.

English.

Physics.

Computer Science.

...and French.

French.

The only reason he had chosen it was because graduation required one foreign language credit. Spanish classes were already full, and German sounded impossible.

French had seemed like the safest option.

"How hard can it be?" he had thought.

He would regret that decision much sooner than he expected.

---

The bell rang.

Students rushed through the corridors while Noah walked at his own pace, hands buried in his hoodie pocket.

He finally stopped in front of Room 214.

French Language & Culture

A few students were already inside.

Some were talking.

Some were laughing.

Some looked just as lost as he felt.

Noah quietly took the seat in the back corner, pulled out his laptop, and opened the game he had forgotten to close the night before.

Just five minutes.

No one would notice.

"...Is that the new French teacher?"

Someone whispered near the door.

"I heard he taught at a middle school before."

"My little sister had him."

"They say he's strict."

"No way. He looks too young."

Noah didn't even bother looking up.

Teachers were all the same.

The classroom suddenly became silent.

Footsteps echoed across the room.

A calm voice broke the silence.

"Good morning, everyone."

Noah slowly lifted his eyes from his screen.

Standing in front of the whiteboard was a man in his early thirties, dressed in a dark shirt with neatly rolled-up sleeves. His posture was straight, confident, almost intimidating without trying.

He picked up a marker and wrote two words on the board.

Julien Moreau.

Then, underneath...

Bienvenue.

He turned back toward the class.

"My name is Julien Moreau."

A slight French accent colored every English word he spoke.

"This will be my first year teaching French at this school."

His eyes calmly scanned the room.

Then they stopped.

On the glowing screen of Noah's laptop.

For just a second.

Neither of them spoke.

Noah quietly closed the laptop.

Julien didn't say a word.

But the look they exchanged was enough for both of them to know one thing.

This year wasn't going to be easy.