Vanilla & Smoke || A.I.

Ebony.

Ebony
/eb-uh-nee/
adjective
a deep, lustrous black

The teacher's back was to the board when the door opened loudly, the large figure walking to the front of the classroom and taking his seat.

"Mr.Hood. Please tell whomever has the attendence board that you decided to come to class today."

Mr.Irwin hadn't even turned around from the board, hadn't even stopped writing in the blue marker. It was impressive to say the least how he knew it was Calum without having his sense of vision, as well as without anyone telling him.

"Good to see you too, Irwin." Calum called back casually, lounging back in his too small seat.

The teacher ignored him, finishing writing whatever it was he was writing before taking his time to cap his marker and set it down. "It's Mr.Irwin to you. Or sir, if you prefer. Or both; 'Mr.Irwin sir.'"

"Okay, it's good to see you, Mr.Irwin sir. Isn't it such a lovely day, Mr.Irwin sir?"

The teacher made his way slowly over to his desk, taking his time and letting his rather large hand trail on the desk as he walked around it, finally sitting in his seat comfortably. "It is a rather lovely day, isn't it? Birds chirping, fresh, morning air-"

"And that sunrise!" Calum boasted, trying to act ignorant. "Whew! So many colors, I don't think I've ever seen something as beautiful as that!"

Mr.Irwin stiffened, and the class waited for him to snap. Calum was egging him on, bragging that he could see and his teacher couldn't. He'd been doing it since the say he first met the blind teacher- 'how good it is to see you, what a lovely day, what beautiful colors, I've never seen anything like it!' He was obvious and obnoxious, and it was clear to see that he was egging Mr.Irwin on until he cracked.

You could hear a pen drop as everyone waited in silence for the teacher to respond. Finally, he shifted on his chair, tilting his head towards the ceiling thoughtfually. "Mr.Hood, do you know what imagery is?"

"Sure. Describing pictures to give people a mental idea."

The teacher shook his head, not exactly smiling but not quite frowning. "No, not at all. Imagery is the way a setting is described using the five senses; smell, sound, taste, touch, and yes, sight. But if you think sight is the only thing that can make a day lovely then I assume I'm going to fall asleep reading your papers."

Mr.Irwin may not have been able to, but the rest of the class could see quite clearly the red tint that was spreading across Calum's cheeks. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking away in shame.

There was a plan for the lesson, an extension from the last class, but Mr.Irwin decided to stray from that for the first few minutes of class to talk about the five senses in imagery.

"Miss Faye, can you please come up here and sit on this stool? Do you mind being the teacher's pet today?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful, I'll-"

"Yes, I mind. Pick someone else. People are raising their hands, why don't you look at one of them to choose?" Calum gave Thora a smug look of approval, glad to see someone else on his side.

But Ashton ignored her. "This is for all of your class points of the day, you need them to pass." He patted the stool in front of the whiteboard and smiled lightly.

Thora got up doing her best to hide her hesitancy, and marched over to the stool, black nails digging into the wool jacket over her arms.

She sat on the stool, crossing her legs tightly. The teacher moved closer carefually, bumping his hand against her back before resting it on her shoulder so he could remember where she was. "Miss Faye, please introduce yourself to the class."