"English teachers are always dickheads." Sean declared, looking down at his class schedule with jest. "Like, Mr.Cantrell? How much do you wanna bet that he's some 80 year old, senile bitch that tells us that we need haircuts." Sean cynically predicted.
Layne laughed and slicked back his hair, which he recently cut short. He knew he would be spared of ridicule if the teacher was anything like Sean had said.
Meanwhile, Mike's attention was caught when he heard the mention of a bet. "Alright let's make a bet, Seany. An easy 20 bucks. If Mr.Cantrell is a senile bitch, you win. If he isn't, I win." Mike finished with a sinister smile.
Sean didn't take much time to think before he shook Mike's hand, "Deal."
It wasn't long before they had reached the classroom. They shuffled inside the class along with other students. Sean and Mike were especially eager to catch a glimpse of Mr.Cantrell, while Layne trailed behind them without a care as to what their teacher looked like. But he couldn't deny that he wasn't at least a little curious. It wouldn't make any difference to him, or so he thought. So when the students cleared and they found their seats, Layne looked.
Beside him, he could hear his two friends making a scene. Mike rubbed his win in Sean's face while Sean tried to defend his loss.But all that commotion seemed so distant, as all he could focus on was the man that stood in front of him.
Layne slid his sunglasses down his nose, exposing his eyes. Which is something he rarely did. But he did it so that he could see the man in better light that wasn't distorted by his dark shades.
He wasn't anything like Sean had described in the slightest. Layne guessed that he was only in his mid to late 20's. Also he didn't look like he would criticize his friends for their long locks as he had his own. He had flowing, sandy blond hair that came to the middle of his chest. He leaned against his desk with his arms folded, wearing a small smile as he silently waited for his students to settle in. It didn't take long for his kind blue eyes to find Layne as he was still staring him down.
When Layne noticed he had been caught he slid his sunglasses back in place and turned his back on the teacher. He went searching for a seat in the back of the class room. Sean and Mike followed, as they continued their bickering. Layne sat down, still keeping his eyes trained on the teacher. Layne watched as he walked to the head of the room.
"Good morning everyone, how's the first day back been?" He asked, receiving a sea of groans in response. "I know, I know. It's early and school sucks but I promise today's going to be real easy. We are just doing introductions and going over the syllabus for this year, Which I will be passing out in a minute." He said as he walked behind his desk and searched for the syllabuses in the mess of papers. "Aha!" He exclaimed, holding the stack of papers triumphantly. He began to pass out them out to each and every student. Layne made a point not to look at him when he reached his desk. When he got near the end of passing sheets out he spoke again, "If you didn't know already, I'm Mr.Cantrell. I'm an english teacher and this is my first year here. I'm very excited to be teaching you guys. I can tell this is gonna be a good group. What I want to start off with today before getting into the syllabus, is an icebreaker." Mr.Cantrell said the last sentence as if he was expecting the response he got. Which was more vocal than when he asked how their day has gone so far. Sean and Mike especially made noises of disgust. "I love the feedback, let's use some of that energy for the activity we are going to do."
"I fucking hate this icebreaker bullshit." Sean said under his breath.
"Tell me about it." Mike murmured back to him.
Though Layne had always been considered shy since he was a child, he somehow found comfort in the spotlight. To some extent he liked to perform and be the class clown. So the icebreaker activity didn't bother him. He saw it as an opportunity.
"I like this activity because it incorporates writing skills that we will be practicing. The goal is to come up with a story about your summer, that is only six words long. I will give you a couple minutes to think about it." He said glancing at the clock on the wall. "Don't rush, and just try your best. That's all I ask of you." The class was suddenly filled with conversation. "Chatting with your peers is perfectly fine, just keep the volume at a reasonable level."
Layne turned to his friends, "I already got mine." He said confidently, with a devilish smirk.
"Something tells me that your going to make him hate you in a record breaking amount of time." Sean said, sounding sort of worried about what Layne had in store yet interested at the same time.
Layne shrugged and Sean and Mike bounced ideas off of each other for a while.
"Everybody feel like they've at least got something to share?" Mr.Cantrell asked. The students responded positively, so he continued. "Ok, cool. We will start on this side of the room." Mr.Cantrell said, gesturing to the opposite side of the room that Layne was on.
Layne barley tried to contain his yawning and disinterest in the other students stories. It was boring him to death. The only thing that kept Layne awake was Sean and Mike's snide comments that made him laugh.
Mr.Cantrell eventually made his way to their side of the room. Sean and Mike had successfully gotten through it, Sean even earned a compliment on his story. Now it was Layne's turn. He was the last student to go.
Mr.Cantrell stood at the head of the room again, but now he was directly in front of Layne. This time Layne actually looked at him.
"Ok, last but not least, you are..?" He said, waiting for him to complete his sentence.
Layne was quick, "Layne, Layne Staley." He said as that devilish smirk from earlier returned.
"So, Layne. Would you like to share with us your six word story?" Mr.Cantrell asked.
"Yes, I would." Layne said nodding thoughtfully. "My summer went like this," Layne loudly cleared his throat before relying his story, "Beer, Parties, Good music, gettin' laid." Layne said making sure to count each word on his fingers. He proudly held up six and the class erupted with laughter.
Mr. Cantrell didn't look mad. He didn't look happy either. He had this sort of neutral, inquisitive look on his face. A face of intrigue. The laughter died down and Layne felt Mr.Cantrell's eyes burning into him. It was times like these he was thankful for the shades.
As if on cue, the bell rang. "Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to go over the syllabus, we will definitely do that next class. But for now I wish every one of you a good rest of your day." Mr.Cantrell said with a tight lipped smile. He seemed to be on edge. Whether it was because of Layne or because they ran out of time was a mystery. Everyone got up, getting their things together and headed for the door. Before Layne could even attempt any of that he was stopped, stopped by Mr.Cantrell. "Layne, I'd like to see you after class."
Layne sighed and felt Sean pat him on the shoulder. "Good luck, man." Sean whispered.
"Yeah, man! Stick to your guns!" Mike said in a hushed manner.
Layne smiled at his friends, appreciatively. He then waited for the class to empty out before approaching his teacher who now sat at his desk. Mr.Cantrell smiled when he saw Layne. Layne stared back blankly. "Layne, I'm sure you know why I asked to talk to you."
"I'm aware." Layne said cooly.
"And I'm sure you understand that, what you said was not appropriate."
"I understand." Layne confirmed.
"Good. Just make sure it doesn't happen again. I don't want to have another conversation with you in the future, because then there will be consequences." Mr.Cantrell said seriously.
Layne nodded, feeling better after he realized that he was being let off the hook. "Ok."
"Now go, I think you can still make it to your next class without needing a pass." Mr.Cantrell said shooing him away. "Have a good day, Layne and please just try to behave. The school year has just begun. This could be a chance for you to start fresh." Mr.Cantrell said, sensing that Layne has always been put in the 'bad kid' category. Mr.Cantrell didn't like putting labels on kids. Kids were kids. All equal and special in their own way.
"Can't make any promises." Layne said with a sickeningly sweet grin.
Mr.Cantrell looked dumbfounded as he watched Layne disappear into the hallway.
He knew he was in for trouble.
