Story #3 Kim Wilson

                           

    {Prompt: write a short story about a substitute teacher who learns something from one of the students. The catch? There has to be a confrontation that is resolved towards the end.}



     Angie tugged at her skirt and scanned the classroom. The bell would ring soon and twenty or so kids would come rushing in. The regular teacher left her with worksheets to hand out. She glanced at the clock; there was only five minutes left until the bell rang. Angie was very nervous. Today was her first time ever being a substitute teacher. If the children were anything like they were when she was young, than she had a rough hour ahead of her. But it was only an hour and then she could go home. The regular teacher, Mrs. Black, had an appointment the last class hour of the day. Why she couldn’t just schedule it an hour later, Angie didn’t know.
    Students suddenly started rushing into the class. Angie didn’t even notice the bell ring. The students moved slowly towards their seats, seemingly dreading the class. Angie couldn’t blame them; who else would volunteer to go to Algebra Two? They were seated and focused their attention towards Angie.
    “Hello, students. As you can see my name is Ms. Milland. You can call my Ms. Angie if you would like to. Mrs. Black left worksheets for you to do that are due at the end of class,” Angie explained. She smiled and began to pass the papers out. A few students returned her smile and a couple answered her with a polite “thank you.” The students didn’t seem as bad as her classmates when she was in school.
    “Is this just busy work?” Angie turned around to see who asked. A boy with brown hair and dark brown eyes sat holding the paper. Maybe Angie spoke too soon.
    “I’m not certain, but Mrs. Black said it was due at the end of class. So if I were you, I would do it,” Angie said smiling patiently at him.
    “I’m not doing it. She probably won’t even take a grade on it. I didn’t even want in this class,” the boy exclaimed.
    “That’s Carter, he’s a bit of a handful. That’s what Mrs. Black says about him. He does this to every sub we have,” a girl behind me whispered. She had long blonde hair paired with soft blue eyes. She sat smiling at Angie, showing her perfectly straight teeth.
    “Hey, I heard that! You people get on my nerves. You all think you’re so innocent and perfect. In fact, none of you are! You’re all idiots!” Carter yelled directing the insult at the girl.
    “He also had a really bad day because his girlfriend broke up with him. He’s always in a really bad mood, so I don’t blame her. If I were you, I would send him to the office before he goes into the full-blown yelling mode. He’s getting close to his explosion mode,” the blonde girl. Angie looked back at Carter. How could he be that upset over a breakup? They were only in the tenth grade.
    “That’s it I’ve had enough of you! You’re such an annoying snitch!” Carter yelled standing up in his chair and walking out.
    “Okay, that’s enough. Go to the office!” Angie demanded.
    The rest of the class period went by without a problem. All of the students did their work and turned it in when the bell rang. As Angie was grabbing her belongings and walking quickly to the door, the blonde girl stopped her.
    “My name is Lauren. I’m sorry you had to deal with Carter. He’s always getting in trouble. Last year he was suspended for cursing at Mr. Jillian. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to what he says,” Lauren smiled.
    “Thank you! You were a pretty good kid to have in class,” Angie complimented.
    “When you have to deal with students like Carter, the best thing to do is ignore everything they say. Most of the time they’ll make a rude comment about you, but they just want a reaction. If you don’t give them one it will be no fun for them,” Lauren explained.
    “That was very insightful. I’ll keep that in mind next time I have to deal with another rambunctious student. Hopefully there won’t be a next time though,” Angie laughed.
    “Have a nice day!” Lauren called as she walked out of the door.
    Angie dashed through the rain to her car. The only day she forgot her umbrella, it rains. She pulled out of the parking lot and sat waiting for the buses to leave. At the office Carter was sat in a chair and a women seemed to be yelling at him. She looked a lot like him, and they both had the same eyes. It was obviously his mother. Across from them was Lauren who was looking at Carter desperately. She appeared to be upset with his behavior. Carter’s mother turned and started talking to Lauren.
    “Lauren must have been the girlfriend,” Angie gasped.
    Behind her she heard a honk and noticed the road before her was clear. She got distracted watching the scene beside her. Angie pulled out and drove off into the direction of her tiny apartment.