𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 | 𝐊𝐨𝐥 & 𝐊𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑

When we walk in, I feel all eyes on us and the class turns dead silent. I scurry to the back of the room to my usual seat by the textbook shelf, while Madison sits across the room at an empty desk next to a girl with pink hair. As soon as I sit down, the metal chair feels cold against my black jeans and I cross my legs to give myself body warmth.

My eyes scan the room and determine everyone has their notebooks out, so I immediately unzip my bag to search for mine. All the while, Ms. Marion is carefully watching me, standing at the front of the room with her hands clasped behind her back. Does she really have to pause her lesson? I'm not that important- nor is Madison. She's honestly just hurting herself and the rest of her students.

"Mghmhm," Ms. Marion clears her throat.

I pull my notebook and pencil out of my bag and meet her eyes. "Um...sorry," I whisper.

"Is there a rational justification for you two to be so tardy to my class?"

"Yeah, sorry, we had to go to the ladies room," Madison states matter-of-factly. I nod my head in agreement.

My teacher tilts her head and pulls a tight smile while raising her brows. I internally cringe at the wrinkles she's concocting on her forehead. "Oh, is that so?"

I nod my head once again, hoping she would just drop it.

"Is a twenty minute bathroom break the norm for you girls?" she questions with her pitch rising at the end of her sentence.

Sweat begins forming in my palms and I sink back into my seat even farther than I knew was possible.

"Ha." Madison laughs sarcastically. "Well I suppose you've forgotten what lady troubles are, Ms. Marion- assuming you're on menopause."

I snort and I hear a few gasps. I watch as Ms. Marion's eyes widen and her jaw unhinges. I attempt to stifle my laughter when its obvious she's at a loss for words.

"I- you- well-" she sputters. I almost say "Is menopause causing you to lose your ability to speak, too?" but Ms. Marion regains her composure. "Lets resume the lesson, shall we?" She spins around, tightly griping her infamous red expo marker, writing problems on the board.

----

Half an hour has passed, and my mind has already wandered. I'm concerned about Mason. I hope he forgives me soon. I don't want him to be angry... Or what if he's ghosting me again? In June he ghosted me until August and I had the postulation he died. Oh my god...please God, please don't let him do that again. Wait- what if he did die? What if on his way home last night he was drunk driving and got in a car-

"MISS EVERLY."

My head jerks up and I refocus my eyes, averting them to where I heard the voice from. Ms. Marion's eyes are bulging out of her head and I notice how she's vigorously tapping her foot against the white tile floor. I wonder how long she's been calling my name...

"Y-yes?" I stutter.

Ms. Marion shakes her head and sighs more dramatically than needed. She then smiles to herself as if she has come up with a brilliant idea. Oh no. Whenever she comes up with one of her "extraordinary ideas" she has this twinkle in her eye. I wish other people would realize this, because I seem to be the only one who manages to prepare herself for what's to come.

I promptly scan the board behind her, and I come to the realization I have NO IDEA what those equations mean. Now how am I supposed to save myself? I guess I take my initial statement back.

My math teacher begins erasing her previous equations on the whiteboard, and my hands become clammy once more. I'm now certain of my fate- I'm going to embarrass myself. Again. I sit up straight as I try to make out her red cursive writing.