Villainous Veera

.ten.

"Your uncle is a dweeb," Tamar began the end of the afternoon class by saying.

"A dweeb?" Jordan slammed the book down on his desk and whirled around on his chair to pin Tamar with a glare that could rival Spotlight's. "My uncle is a genius! Who are you calling a dweeb?"

"Um...your uncle. I said that already," Tamar said. "What kind of president hides his face from the public?"

"You should be asking what kind of public votes for an anonymous politician," Jordan shot back. "My uncle is smart. He realized that this country is full of airheads and took advantage of it."

"Your uncle hasn't even done anything for this country!"

"Sure he has. He's kept the differents here, hasn't he?"

"Jordan, watch your language," Veera warned. She set her book down on the desk. "Enough with the politics, both of you. Whatever happened, happened and we can't change that now."

"We can change it in the next election," Tamar muttered. "Maybe find a person who is more extroverted and experienced."

"My uncle is experienced!" Jordan stood up from his desk, his chair screeching behind him. "He worked as a civil servant before becoming a politician. He knows his way around these businesses."

"Being a civil servant is completely different from being a politician," Tamar defended. "I'm not saying that your uncle is incompetent, Jordan. I'm just saying that he's shady."

"He is not shady!"

"Dodgy, then."

"Tamar. Jordan. Enough!" Veera tapped on her desk with the spine of the book, quieting both the kids and the surrounding conversations. "Political conversations stay out of the classroom, all of you."

"But you should agree, Miss. Solace," Jordan insisted. "My uncle is doing you a favor."

"Me?" Veera asked. "Does he know me personally?" A bead of sweat rolled down her underarm. Had Izayah said anything to Jordan? Did Jordan know?

"Obviously not," Jordan scoffed. "When would he have gotten the chance to meet you? This is his first open introduction."

Apart from doing voice recordings, Veera thought. How did I not recognize his voice? I should listen to the news more often.

"Exactly," Tamar said. "He doesn't know anybody. Liquiord is a small country, Jordan. It would have taken the President at most three hours to drive from the bottom of the country to the top."

"Now he can do that," Jordan said defiantly. "He has one year left in his term. He'll be fine. I know my uncle."

"Obviously," Tamar scoffed.

"Guys, enough!" Veera raised her voice, effectively shutting the whole class up. Heads bent and eyes studied the checked floor. Tamar and Jordan especially were tight-lipped. Nobody was used to her yelling - it was rare for Veera to raise her voice.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Guys, I know you are all riled up about the President finally revealing himself to the public, but school isn't a place for you to discuss this. Right now, we have our essays to focus on. So let's get that done and school will be over soon."

"Yes, Miss. Solace," her class replied robotically. Some murmurs drifted about, but before long, they were back in their seats with laptops open to their essays.

Finally, Veera slouched in her seat and picked her book up. Paging through the chapters, she pulled a few sticky notes out from the end of her book and tossed them into the garbage can. Peace and quiet.