THE PAINFUL TRUTH

Chapter Fifteen - She looks like she has seen a ghost

Stella's POV

"Does this look like a presentation to you?"

Miss Cooke holds up each piece of homework before slamming it down onto her desk angrily. Today is the last day before the October half-term and the due date for our English project, where we had to learn more about our partners. I've never seen my English teacher look as furious as she does now; all the friendliness that usually surrounds her has vanished as if it has never existed at all. I've never been scared of a teacher as I am now and I realise I'm not alone because from the seat next to me Storm and Sophie, who's in the seat next to her, are watching the adult at the front of the classroom warily. No, the whole class has the same vigilant look on their faces.

"On our first lesson, I had specified that this project must be creative. Some of you have have just done simple bullet points!" Miss Cooke spits, seemingly disgusted at just the mere thought.

From the corner of my eye, Storm bites down hard on her lip as she has committed a crime in our English teacher's eyes: she's written a bullet point list for her homework.

"For this project, I'm going to mark on your presentation skills and your creativity. Lots of you will have very low grades because of how much effort you have put in. You had six weeks! With any other teacher, all of you would have a detention!" Miss Cooke exclaims.

At hearing the dreaded word 'detention', the class groans, all of us not wanting to spend our time after school redoing our project instead of celebrating that we don't have school next week.

"But because today's the last day before half-term I don't want to ruin it for you all. So I'm going to be lenient and I'm extending the deadline for your new and improved project for our last lesson before the Christmas holidays," Miss Cooke says as she starts to flick through her timetable," Which also happens to be the last day before the holidays."

Miss Cooke starts handing all of our projects back to us while she explains that for this lesson, we'll be writing an essay. Before she can even get to the topic of the assigned piece of writing, a moan erupts from the class, interrupting her.

"Well, why don't you take your pick? You can either hand in your poor-quality projects today but have an after-school detention or you can have an extended deadline and leave school on time so that you can celebrate the start of your half-term," Miss Cooke demands.

"Second choice without the essay," Liam is the only one who dares to answer.

"Nice for you to think that remark of yours is funny when nobody is laughing," Miss Cooke comments.

At once, everyone starts calling out, "Burn!" Liam's face turns a shade of scarlet.

"So, Liam, how are you, the most popular boy in school, feeling after being roasted by a teacher publicly?" Storm pretends to speak into a microphone before directing it towards Liam, who's sitting in front of her.

"Shut your mouth, Jackson!" he hisses back at her.

"Sorry, folks! Didn't realise we're talking about such a touchy subject, here!" Storm takes back her imaginary microphone so that it's now directed towards herself.

Sophie chuckles and I can't help smirking. It's weird that when you look at the popular students, you see them as powerful so that when a slice of vulnerability cracks, you see a whole new different person.

"Liam, face the front. Storm, only talk to the people on your table and nobody else," Miss Cooke tells the two of them off.

Liam turns around while Storm smiles innocently while saying," Of course, Miss!"