Ignorance Isn't Bliss (True Story)

Chapter 4: You Want My Snapchat?

After days of outwardly ignoring his presence while at the same time trying to contain my blatant curiosity, something finally switched inside of him.

One day, I walked into class, and he sat in his old seat right behind me. But with a twist--all of the friends he'd made in the class, shifted their seats closer to him. I wondered if he asked them to, or if they did that just to continue being near him.

He noticed me walking in, already deep in another conversation with his peers. His smile was genuine, warm. I honestly didn't know how I felt in that moment, other than obvious confusion. Seeing a mass of students in the otherwise empty space reserved for the "teacher's pet" essentially.

"There she is," Shawn spouted.

Eyes widened with shock, I awkwardly walked over to my seat, hugging the schoolbag close to my stiffened body.

Thankfully, Jessica was in her usual seat, while Miranda was conveniently absent.

I kept my face forward but it didn't stop Shawn from talking directly to me, "Jess over here was just talking about her experiences in her home country. And how you guys have a French class together. That's pretty cool," he mused.

"Meanwhile I can barely speak Spanish," a kid named Isaiah joked.

Jessica seemed to be a lot more comfortable with this crowd. A far cry from her usual shy self. I guess it was a good thing; she was opening up. But I still wasn't sure if it was for the right people.

While the students around me were chatting up a storm, I decided to dive back into the book I was reading. Because no matter how brave I was on the inside--wanting to actively unravel this mystery--I was shier than I wanted to admit. Besides, the conversations that were being had, were of no interest to me.

A little bit into the "lecture", Mr. Sharma was talking about sports for whatever reason. And like the "cool" person he was trying so hard to be, he made the mistake of trying to relate a little too much to the youth.

"Shawn," he confidently spoke up, "you're on the MMA team, correct?"

"Uh, yea," Shawn responded, sounding both nervous and confused.

Mr. Sharma waved a welcoming hand in his direction, "Come up here and show us a few moves," he offered.

The class went radio silent.

"Uh," Shawn said, continuing to sound nervous, "I'm not sure what you mean, sir."

"Oh, come on," Mr. Sharma urged, "come here and show me what you got."

That was all the convincing that Shawn needed to display a rather interesting show for us all.

I heard his chair screech across the tiled floor as he made his way up the aisle. All the while the class remained silent--out of bewilderment or interest I didn't know. 

Shawn confidently strode to the front of the class, as everyone looked on.

Mr. Sharma stood in a ready position, with a look of complete focus in the direction of his adversary.

Shawn stood straight and lanky, looking rather amused. He probably thought that Mr. Sharma was just kidding.

It was a big difference between the two. Shawn was tall and skinny, appeared to be weak. Mr. Sharma was a few inches shorter but he had meat on his bones. But if there was anything I learned from that day in class, it was to never underestimate people based on their looks. I learned that in more ways than one.

I didn't know what clicked inside me, but for some reason, I didn't want to watch this impromptu spectacle. It was an odd urge, the opposite of the natural urge of Rubbernecking.