A Stranger To Him

Fifteen, Little prayers to the dear lord

Friday, one of my favorite days of the week and the very last day of school for this week. I desperately need a weekend with absolutely nothing obligated to do. I can just watch movies and relax all weekend. I can do whatever I want without thinking about any homework, but that's only possible if my teacher in the last class of the week doesn't assign me any homework. Hopefully, she doesn't.

Luckily, Mrs. Leitner, my English teacher, doesn't give us so much homework. She is more of a do-the-work-in-class kind of teacher. She's isn't very fond of giving any of her students homework, mostly because she believes it isn't good for the evaluation of a child to spend their whole afternoons making homework and studying for tests. She believes that a child needs to be free in the afternoons to do whatever he or she likes. I don't really follow her thoughts. Most of them are so spiritual I can't even understand them. There is nothing wrong with them, but they're hard to follow.

Unfortunately, her thoughts don't influence the amount of homework other teachers assign us. Sometimes, I spend most of my evenings catching up on homework. I guess there is a lot of pressure upon us when we're talking about anything related to our education. I guess I'm lucky with the expectations of my parents. After two brothers, who did absolutely nothing for their education, except for making sure they didn't fail the class, their expectations aren't very high. They're already happy when I put some effort into my school work.

However, I'm very different from my brothers, and I actually care about my education. I'm actually the complete opposite of them, and sometimes I wonder if I'm actually their sister. My looks are the only thing that proves I'm their biological sister. I have the same dark-brown hair and the same boring grey eyes as they have.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats and be quiet. I have two important things I need to tell you, so listen carefully." Mrs. Leitner enters the classroom with a bright smile, and I wonder how that woman can be so happy to teach such a noisy and annoying class. She's determined to teach this class everything about the English language and literature. She doesn't allow her students to fail her class or the final exams.

The chattering and laughter slowly stop until almost the whole class is quiet. Only Caine and his friends are whispering in the back, not paying any attention to Mrs. Leitner. They couldn't care less about a class. They never pay attention in class, but only make sure they're not failing the class.

"Mr. Williams and Mr. Woods, can't you be quiet for one second? You're the exact students who should be paying attention to what I have to say. You both almost failed the class last year, and I don't think you want that to happen again. Am I right?" Mrs. Leitner gives them a strict look, already annoyed by their presence. Those boys sure know how to annoy everyone.

"Now that I can continue without being disturbed, I want you to tell two important things. Firstly, we have an upcoming test, which will determine twenty-five percent of your grade for this trimester. I suggest that each of you studies hard for this test. It's always a good idea to start the school year with excellent grades. I'll go through the study material another time to let you know what parts you need to study, and I'll explain everything as well as I can." Mrs. Leitner gives a couple of minutes to talk about this.

It's usually not normal to give tests, which determine so much of your grade, so early in the school year. Teachers don't normally do this, but sometimes they give a large practical assignment right after the test. I suppose we're going to do a big practical assignment.

"Secondly, we're going to do a large practical assignment. I'll explain most of this assignment after the test, but I can tell you it will have something to do with classic English literature." Mrs. Leitner says before she starts writing something on the board.