MISS MARYLYN

First day on the job

"This is Miss Marylyn, she will be your homeroom and your English Lit teacher this semester, please treat her well," Mr Saves, the principal said to the class of teenagers that sat before us.

I scanned my new class, smiling brightly. "Thank you Mr Saves."

The old man turned to me and nodded, "well I'll leave them to you," before making his way out of the classroom.

20 pairs of eyes watched him leave before turning their gaze to me.

"It's nice to meet you, as you heard I am Miss Marylyn ,your new teacher, full name Vanessa Marylyn." I said with a smile.

They stared silently.

I clapped my hands together with an awkward smile. "Okay...should  we go around introducing ourselves?"

There was no response.

"Alright, let's start from the front right, introduce yourself and name an interest of yours," I said, pointing to the boy on the far right with shaggy brown hair.

"Uhh my name is Sam," he paused for a second pushing the hair out of his eye, "and I like gaming."

"Well that's great, what's your favourite game?" I asked

The boy paused for a second and pursed his lips, "you wouldn't know it," he said before laying his down on his desk, resigning from the conversation.

Teenagers are all the same.

I moved on to the next.

"My name is Aria and I like reading," said the girl sitting next to Sam. She had blonde hair that framed her round face.

I shot her a bright smile, "that's great, what's your favourite book?"

She played with her fingers nervously before answering, "probably Emma."

"A Jane Austen girl, I'm more of a Bronte girl myself," I said, hoping to make some sort of connection.

She let out a shy laugh and looked away, I took that as my cue to move on.

God, the awkwardness was killing me.

"My name is Ethan and I like football."

"My name is Maria and I like to bake."

"My name is Yasmin and I like writing."

"My name is Mohamed and I like drawing."

"My name is Sadie and I like to play the piano."

This continued across the classroom, answers not stretching more than a few words, until we reached the last seat, at the far back.

The boy remained silent with head bent over his arms. He had a hoodie placed over his head and a pair of trainers peaked out of from under his desk.

Looks like he isn't a stickler for the rules.

"Excuse me?" I called out.

The boy did nothing, perhaps he was asleep. I gestured for the boy beside him, Evan, to nudge him awake. Evan shook his head frantically, eyes pleading no.

I shot him a puzzled look. "Excuse me?" I called out again, slowly making my way to the sleeping boy.

I stood over him, contemplating what to do. "Excuse m-" I was cut off by sound of the bell.

It was time for first period.

I turned to the rest of the class, "you're dismissed, I'll see you in the afternoon, have a great day". The classroom filled with the sound of scrapping chairs and and the shuffling bags. "It was lovely to meet you all, I hope we can get along this semester."

I turned back to the boy, ready to tell him off, only to find his chair empty.

I swore under my breath and swivelled around to search the classroom.

That son of a bitch.

He was gone.