ethan
^^sorry they've all been ethan chapters so far ahah. i'll make sure to include harper ones.
*december 12, ethan's classroom*
"so," i say, tossing up my rubber band ball in my hands. "what did shakespeare mean when he said, love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; therefore is winged cupid painted blind?"
silences overcomes my last period before lunch, and i sigh. "are you all asleep, or confused?"
mia, the classroom know-it-all, raises her hand excitedly.
"mia," i tilt my head down, holding my hands out a little. "how many questions have you answered in a row?"
she thinks for a moment. "twelve."
i kick my feet off my desk and sit up straight. "are we just gonna do this to poor mia?" i ask the class. "come on. what does he mean by that quote?"
her hand springs up, but i motions for her to put it down. "i appreciate the enthusiasm."
blake lazily raises his hand from the back. my face ignites into a smile as i point at him. "yes, my man. take it away, blake."
"can we go to lunch?" he asks blandly.
i sigh again, sitting down on the edge of my desk and rolling up my sleeves. "i always hated the boring classes in high school, and i always promised myself i would never make mine like that. what can i do to be better for you?"
i ask this question at least once a week. then we all have a group discussion about what i'm doing, and how i can make it more interesting.
"well... we read the book," layla says nervously. i always encourage feedback— even if it's harsh— but she always feels bad anyway. "what else do you want us to do? we don't know anything this guy is saying."
i laugh. "okay, how about we work it out together?"
they all sit up a little and nod.
"okay," i cross my arms, trying to think of how i can explain this. "picture this: i met this lovely woman—"
"where?" blake asks loudly.
"tinder. shut up," i brush his comment off and the class laughs. good, they're waking up. "anyway, i meet this woman and she's not up to society's usual beauty standards. but i love her."
"don't you have a girlfriend?" someone asks.
"come on now," i say. "i said this was hypothetical. anyway, she's not the prettiest duck in the pond, but she makes me very happy, and has the kindest heart out of everyone i've ever met."
all the classroom eyes shift to the door, and i turn around confusedly.
harper looks at the class sheepishly, and to me.
"hi," she says quietly. "sorry. i um, i brought lunch? i didn't know you still had a class."
"perfect," i say happily, taking her by the shoulders and standing her in front of the class. she reddens as everyone stares at her. "some of you may have met harper. anyway, pretend she's the ugliest woman alive—"
she elbows my stomach, and everyone laughs.
"i said pretend," i argue, rubbing the spot she hit.
"just get on with it. i'm nervous," she mumbles.
"anyway, so harper's ugly— hypothetically, remember?" i hear her giggle. "should that make me love her any less?"
"well yeah," josh says. "if you're not attracted to her, what's the point?"
"oh but i am," i correct. "i'm attracted to her soul. same thing, right?"
he shakes his head. "not really..."
the class mumbles in agreement.
"that's where you're wrong— or at least, where shakespeare says you're wrong. love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; therefore is winged cupid painted blind means that love shouldn't be determined by physical appearances. and you know why?"
they're silent.
i wait a moment before saying softly, "because beauty isn't skin deep."
harper looks up at me and smiles. "cheesy."
"alright," i push her shoulders away. "you've done enough."
my students laugh and she takes a seat in my chair.
"so my very last thing before you all run down the hallways like ravenous bears who haven't eaten in three days, i have the essential question," i say. "your essay will be on this, and it will be turned in before winter break."
they all perk their ears up as i cross my arms.
"what is love?" i ask.
"boringggg..." blake calls out, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"oh come on now," i teasingly smile. "just because you can't get a girlfriend, doesn't mean no one should."
he reddens and his friends laugh.
"it's a commonly asked question with many right answers," i further explain. "so every single one of you will get a 100% if you simply turn in this essay."
"wait, actually?" layla asks hopefully. "it's that easy?"
"easy? no. attainable? yes. because this includes your own inner thoughts, and sometimes those are hard to form," i reply. "all you are graded on is spelling, grammar, and your ability to speak your mind."
"can you give us some examples of how to answer the question? just for ideas?"
i sigh. "fine. we can run through a couple with the class, just to get some creative juices flowing. who has one?"
"love is confusing and blinding."
"true," i nod. "any more?"
"love is love, for everyone."
"big one. also very very true," i say pointing at the safe space pride flag on the back wall.
"love is joyful, but scary at the same time."
"nice, keep em coming."
"love is all around you, right in front of you, and in those who you may not expect," harper's small voice says, and we all turn to her.
i smile down at her in my desk chair. "exactly."
turning back to the class, i ask, "any more before i send you off? everyone have some ideas?"
they nod and begin to pack up their things. the lunch bell rings, and i quickly move to avoid their hangry stampede.
harper claps slowly, a smile painted on her lips.
"nice. you're good at this."
i shrug. "i fall in love with it more every single day."
"well, i brought us some food from the new cafe right across the street from my building. i saw it open up from out my office window and..."
i listen to her lunch ramble and don't even try to stop the growing grin on my face.
"hungry?" she asks, opening the brown paper takeout bag.
"very," i nod. "17 year olds like to give me headaches."
"you're a good influence on them."
my eyes light up. "you think so? that's all i ever wanted to do."
"i know," she says softly. "and you're damn good at it."