The Ripper

Schoolboy Obligations

I sat at my desk in class, desperately trying to stay awake. I mentally cursed myself for staying up so late last night for it had taken its toll on me in the morning. I then thought back to the alternative to doing so, and shuddered, I decided that being tired in during the day was a small price to pay compared to what possible awaited me when I slept. Despite this being the second day that school had been in session it was my first, for I had missed the previous day due to the.....incident. The teacher was writing something on the board, I think it related to maths, which is probably why I wasn't paying attention. He droned on and on about this equation and that theorem boring me to death, which was not helping with my current state of drowsiness. I had been in a state of almost falling asleep, just to snap my head back up in defiance of the circadian rhythm. From what I had seen of my schedule is that this was first period, which was followed by seven more before the day would end. It frustrated me to have to sit through the other classes when I had only come for the one.

"Jack, can you repeat what I just said?" The teacher asked.

"Wha?" Came my rather undignified reply.

This caused some snickering among the students, but I was too tired to fully register the action.

"To repeat, can you tell me what I just said?" The teacher asked, sounding rather unimpressed with the my lack of care for the subject at hand.

"No." Was my simple response.

"Then what have you been doing this whole time boy? Day dreaming? Or are you just slow?" He said, with a hint of irritation in his voice.

This had the students roaring with laughter, filling the room with the obnoxious sound. I immediately felt myself snap awake as I turned around the room sending a glare full of anger and contempt to anyone foolish enough to met my gaze. I felt hatred boil within me as a fire seemed to ignite in my soul, it spread through the rest of my body as I felt blood rage in my veins. My hands were in a fist so tight that my knuckles had gone white and my nails were cutting into my palm, causing blood to drip into the fabric of my slacks. I slammed my fist on the desk, the raucous noise reverberating across the room as I did so. This had in instant effect on the students, having them quiet their laughter with haste. The teacher took note of this and spoke.

"Alright Jack settle down, there is no need for such hostilities here."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was trying to de-escalate the ordeal from turning into something violent. He was right to try, for I was only a hair away from coming up out of my chair and beating everyone into a bloody paste. Oh how I yearned to hear their screams of agony, their final pleas as I took their lives away from them one by one. Deep down a part of my mind was horrified at the thought of doing the aforementioned action, but it was greatly overshadowed by the part that was calling for their unpleasant ends. The only thing that stopped my from doing so was the promise I made to my father, I had already broken it once and I didn't want to do so again. For if I disappointed him, then I would truly become a failure for he was the only person I loved. This thought turned my anger to sadness and dulled the burning hatred that had taken temporary residence in my soul. I felt my natural state of apathy return to me, with the violent impulse that had been screaming earlier, quieted. The teacher seemed to observe this and appeared to be less nervous now. He continued on with the lesson as an air of awkwardness covered the room, keeping it silent as the he taught.

Soon first period ended and I moved to second, then third and so on and so forth. I didn't really pay attention to any of them until six period came about. This was the time I had biology and my hopes were high, for my thirst of the subject matter had only been growing with each book I read about it. I walked into the classroom and sat down, making sure to put plenty of space between me and everyone else. I took in my surroundings, making sure to drink in every detail. To start the room was fairly large, holding thirty or odd so desk that all had a chair paired with each of them. The room was painted a beige color, putting it at odds with the rest of the school. There were animals in cages as well, for what purpose they served was something that had created a bit of a conundrum. The animals varied in species, from rats and lizards to birds and ferrets. A window was stationed at the far side of the room and it was the first time I had actually seen one in this school, for most of the rooms had no need for natural light as there was always a lightbulb. The plaster that covered the walls had somewhat peeled away, showing of the schools age and the red brick that was hidden underneath. A chalk board was nailed into the front of the classroom, running perpendicular to the wall that had the window built in it and being directly in front of the desk. Speaking of the desks, they had been aligned in a row by row fashion and sat in the middle of the room. If one were to sit in one the window would be on the left and the door that lead into the room on the right. The place where the plaster wasn't peeling off the walls had been covered in posters depicting biology related topics of all sorts, ranging from Darwin's finches to the insides of many animals. The poster that interested me most however was the one that showed the inside of a human, for the anatomy of the species in which I belonged was the most intricate. I looked over to my right and noticed bookshelf after bookshelf lined up on the against the wall, containing what seemed to be a miniature library. Unfortunately however, I couldn't get a good look at the titles due to me being on the left side of the room. The teacher was still sitting at his wooden desk at the front of the classroom and he appeared to be in deep concentration. The desk in which he sat was a dark cherry color, or starkly contrasted with the rest of the room and making it pop out of its position at the head of the class. The person sitting behind it was of an average stature and not possessing any remarkable features save for his old age. Thick rimmed glasses rested on his face and he seemed content to just let them hang on the end of his nose, making it rather questionable on why he had them in the first place. He got up from his chair and walked in front of his desk, the way he did this was slightly peculiar to me. For the mannerism in which he exhibited in his stride did not reflect the age he seemed to be. As he did this the class quieted down, the noise level gradually getting lower as the teacher got closer to the front of his desk, eventually giving way to silence. The man then spoke, his voice horse and gruff with age.