Following the Teacher

Chapter 3

"Hey guys! So Mr.Gaines had a recent conflict that interrupted his study hall hour so they switched us so that I have his old study hall hour and he has mine." He began introducing. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Mr. Tanner. I teach chemistry but I'm also very good at math so feel free to come to me for math help and I'll do my best to help."

I sat in the back corner behind everyone, sort of in the shadows. So instead of paying attention to the man like any other good student would do, my eyes began wandering around the room. First at the wall clock which, once again, worked very slowly. And after that, the fire alarm to which I thought, how cool would it be if our school burned down?

Don't tell me you've never thought about the possibilities of your school burning down. I mean first, we'd get no school for like a week. And when we relocate, we might go to a neighboring school and meet other kids.

And I also hope I'm not the only one who actually follows the "leave your stuff behind" rule. Pssht. I have my iPod, my phone, a pack of trident layers, and a bunch of other valuable stuff which I would so not leave behind.

"Samantha Carter?" Hearing my name dropped me out of my thoughts and I looked straight at Mr. Tanner who was taking attendance. He was searching for me and I cleared my throat.

"Here." His eyes shot straight at me and I felt like one of those creepers you see who just randomly pop out of the shadows every now and then to comment on something totally random.

I internally groaned in a bad way. Now he knew where I sat. He made his way over to my desk as I pulled my agenda out of my bag.

You see, he has to check everyone's agendas to make sure we're on track and so he knows what we're working on. Pretty stalkerish if you ask me.

"Your friend really likes the usage of inappropriate words." He commented as he signed my agenda off.

"Yup." I admitted quietly and awkwardly as he went to the next kid.

I sighed. I forgot that Isby stole my agenda last week and wrote "Sammy is the sexiest stripper!" all over my Monday page.

I mean it's a sort of a nice compliment for a Monday, but sometimes I'd rather just have a guy say "you look beautiful today". To which I'd reply by first looking around and asking "you talking to me?". And if his reply falls in the slim chance of "yeah", then I'd reply "thanks" and carry on throughout my day with a smile on my face.

Is that too much to ask for?

Actually wait, never mind. I wouldn't want that because then I'd think the guy is into me, then I'd crush on a nice guy who would never fall for me. And if he did, I'd probably break his heart because I wouldn't be able to maintain a faithful relationship because I have trust issues!

I don't have major trust issues...actually maybe I do. It's just I wouldn't want to have a serious long-term relationship because I wouldn't want my heart to get hurt so if I just hooked up, it would feel better because no feelings would be involved.

Great, now I sound like a slut. I don't want to be a slut! I just want to get over my fear of a broken heart because being vulnerable at times sucks. Just the feeling that no one wants you...it hurts.

"Ms. Carter?" Mr. Tanner asked as he came back to my desk.

"69!" I blindly shouted. A majority of the kids in the room stared at me like I was insane. I shrunk back in my shadow hoping Mr. Tanner would walk away.

But no. He came closer.

I stared straight at the back of the head of the person in front of me, hoping that if I didn't see him, he wouldn't see me. But that was definitely not the case. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw him cross his arms and stand facing me.