Noble Deeds (Demo)

Noble Deeds

  "What'cha gradin', Doc?" asked Mark Sutters, a student at what is widely perceived to be the best high schools in the city.

  To be fair, there are only three of them, only one of which belongs to a university, which so happened to be the school who's ground he happened to be standing upon. I had been fortunate enough to graduate from this very school, furthering my education and graduating from the university that this school had belonged to, and, furthermore, having gotten a job here as a Chemistry teacher directly after my graduation, among all the other people who happened to apply.
  In my first year of teaching, considering the heightened position of this school, I had assumed that the high school sophomores I had gotten the pleasure to teach would've at least been reasonably classy, and while they place their feet behind reasonable boundaries, they still like to stick their personalities over those boundaries their feet stand behind. 

  And, of course, reflecting back to my sophomore year, I was the exact same way. I am fully aware of the magnitude of the chemical eruption that happens in an adolescent's body and mind at this time of their life, which may play a role in causing this mockery of defiance. Sure, I'm frustrated by some of the things they say, but how the hell can I blame them for it?

  "Why, Mark, is it? Yes, Mark, it appears you've forgotten that we're in the beginning of the school year, and the only assignment that could be virtually possible for me to grade is the lab sheet you all turned in on Tuesday, sir," I grinned slyly and chuckled slightly playfully to indicate that I was delivering a serious answer in a rather placating manner.
  "O-oh! You were collecting those for a grade?" Mark jumped at my response and began to fish through his backpack in a frenetic and panicked manner.
  "Had I not mentioned?" I asked in a hollow, muffled, confined voice, as the sound waves breaking free from my lips had now bounced off the bottom of the white glass mug I now held to my lips, tilted backwards to manipulate the force of gravity for my own benefit. As I awaited his response, I took this opportunity of not having to speak and tasted the pleasant red splendor of rooibos tea, before swallowing the delectable liquid and moving it from my tongue to my throat.
  "I-I'm sorry, sir, here, I don't know if I just didn't hear, or-"
  "Didn't hear, or didn't listen?" I asked, setting the mug down with a grin, "they're rather different, I suppose. I won't count it late, it's the beginning of the year; all of us are disoriented. Just don't expect it to be handed back today, now," I chuckled, abiding by his mistake and avoiding upsetting him, while still getting that entertaining bit of worry out of him.
  "Thank you, sir!" said he. "You know, it would be a lot easier and faster for you if you just entered the grades directly online instead of recording them on paper.." 
  "Aye!" I sighed, adjusting my glasses so that they weren't halfway down my nose, "but when the system malfunctions, as it's notorious for doing, how will I recover grades that I lose?" 
  "The database isn't affected when the system crashes, but, suit yourself," Mark chuckled and walked to his chair to prepare his things before class began.

  Keeping grades in an online system was something I had virtually seen as hell on earth, as I had always grown up working on paper. My students always had always persisted in making me aware of things I had already known, as they had done so now! But, as I always had been, I remained obstinate to their request of change, for even in a constantly evolving world, any change in routine is a detriment to my mentality, and, as I always had been, I constantly thought of viable reasons as to why it should remain the way it's always been.

  Naturally, I couldn't grade papers at my desk forever, although I'd like to have extra time to do so. I'm usually one of the first people to arrive at the school every day, and I suppose getting those extra 15 minutes or so that I can grade papers is a privilege, and not a God-given right, and so I'd make the most of my time and not complain about what remains unfinished when the bell rings, as it was scheduled to do so in a few minutes at the point I had stopped running this thought through my head.