You Were What You Eat

5. Demons, Past and Present

Anna was much less nervous on her second day of school than she had been on her first. After all, she'd managed to find all her classes, and even made a few friends. All in all, it had been a very productive day, she felt.

She got to English a little early – she always did hate being late. Just like on her first day, most of the students were talking loudly to each other. Unlike yesterday, however, the teacher was missing, and Anna wondered where she could be. She decided to ask the only person she knew in class – the blonde-haired girl named Summer.

"Mrs. Boyd?" Summer asked. "Oh, she's never on time. The earliest she ever gets here is five minutes past. But don't worry – it just makes class that much shorter."

Anna smiled halfheartedly at this, mulling it over. How could a teacher be late to her own class? A wad of paper flew over Anna's head – clearly, she was the only one bothered by this lack of teacher.

"So how was your first day here, anyway?" Summer asked Anna.

"It was fine – I met a lot of nice people." she replied.

"That's great." Summer said, smiling warmly. Then, with a knowing glance, she added, "And how were the rest of your teachers?"

This time Anna's smile was genuine. "They were much better."

"See? I told you. Don't worry – it's really just like any other school. But if you have any questions, you know where to find me."

Anna thanked Summer, glad to know she had at least one person she could rely on. She was trying to decide whether or not to ask about after-school programs when the door swung open and in bounced Mrs. Boyd, wearing a neon-green shirt and an electric-blue skirt.

"Good morning, class!" Mrs. Boyd called out in her sing-songy voice. She walked happily up to her desk and cheerfully set her large black bag on the chair. Then turning to the class, she asked, "How is everybody doing today?"

At the sight of Mrs. Boyd standing up at the front of the classroom, Anna reached down into her backpack to get her notebook out. Even though none of the other students seemed to take note of Mrs. Boyd, Anna just didn't feel right not being prepared for class, no matter the teacher.

Still seemingly unaware of her class's lack of interest in her, Mrs. Boyd continued talking. "Well, I told you last Thursday we could watch parts of the movie The Odyssey, and today I finally remembered to bring it in. This way, you can actually see what's happening in the story. So, if you'll give me a minute, I'll go ahead and set it up."

Mrs. Boyd turned towards a television set that was mounted in the far corner. After several minutes of randomly pushing buttons on the remote, all she'd managed to do was turn the screen blue. The class, which had finally started to quiet down, was talking loudly once again, ignoring the teacher's futile attempts to get the movie to play.

After almost five minutes of this, the tall red-headed boy sitting in the front stood up. Anna recognized him as Michael Tomlin from Mrs. Boyd's role-taking the day before. He walked over to Mrs. Boyd and after talking to her for a moment, took the remote from her. Anna watched as he pushed two or three buttons. The screen flicked from a deep blue to a picture of trees swaying gently in the breeze.

"Why, thank you, Michael." Mrs. Boyd said appreciatively as the boy walked calmly back to his seat. Realizing the movie was finally working, the class quieted down – though Anna could still hear whispers all around her.

So Anna spent the next hour watching a movie in class. She had to admit, it was kind of nice. She didn't have to pay too much attention, and even better, she didn't have to worry about Mrs. Boyd. Class passed quickly, and before Anna knew it, it was time to go to biology.