Liability

Chapter 3 - Dmitri

His first day of classes doesn't go the way he expected. His homeroom class seems to hate him with a narrow-minded blindness only teenagers can without giving him a chance, and all his other English and AP English classes so far have been filled with spoiled rich brats who thought they knew everything better than he did. They expected perfect grades and wasn't afraid to say so, looking at him and his mediocre clothes like he was dirt under the sole of their shoes.

Well, they will get one hell of a wakeup call, once Dmitri gets through their palcement tests. And now his own homeroom class is waiting for him. If he had to guess, Dmitri would say they are beyond agitated by now, all of them ready to leave for the day and forget school even exists, at least until next morning. He doesn't need to be a genius to figure out that the kids at Edison Academy are used to getting away with everything and could care less about their teachers. Yes, most of them convey their arrogance through scathing yet overly polite words and derisive stares, unlike his own class, but it's just as blatant as the curses and threats he received this morning.

Walking towards his classroom, he can't help but sigh. He wants to say he's more determined than ever to get the kids like him, but he can't deny that he's disappointed that his expectation were met with complete destruction. Still, he was never one for giving up. Not at the first obstacle, not at the second, not at the millionth. Challenges are part of life and they are there to make a person stronger. Dmitri has learned it a long time ago. Now it's time his students learned it as well.

He notes the complete silence that's awaiting him when he walks through the door with a wide, unassuming smile, but whatever the little shits seem to think, he's not stupid. Their poker faces are pathetic, and even if they were angels, childish pranks are to be expected.

"Good afternoon, I hope you had a great day!" he greets them nevertheless, pushing on with a cheerfulness that pushes the students deeper into their belief that they got him figured out for good.

"Good afternoon," they chorus with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"I don't know your names yet, but we have all year to get to know each other better," Dmitri says, enjoying the slowly dimming satisfaction in the kids' eyes. "Now, I came a bit more prepared than this morning. The syllabus is already on your tablets, please read it at home. It has my email address and phone number, you can reach me anytime of the day." After the day he had, he's not surprised by the wolfish grins that appear on most students' faces, the others had similar reactions. He grins right back, already plotting his revenge for the prank calls and spam emails he's about to get. "My office hours are undecided as of yet, but Administration will update the schedule as soon as everything is set. Any questions?"

"Any more mafia advices?" the same boy who asked about hiding a body speaks up, his shrewd eyes full of cockiness.

Dmitri feels his amused smile morph into a cold, twisted facade of one and he meets the little upstart shit's challenge head on. "Think before you speak. You can never know when putting your foot in your mouth can become a literal thing." He makes sure his tone is flat and he lifts a mocking brow, holding the boy's gaze until it drops and the boy's throat works over a heavy swallow. "Just kidding. Well, I'm sure things like that are said by actual mobsters, too, but I only have experience with fictional ones."

He knows he's playing a dangerous game, but he's always been a sore loser and the mere idea of being defeated by a bunch of self-absorbed brats sets his teeth on edge. If he doesn't get cute little kids who love to learn instantly, then the assholes across from him will just have to adapt and figure out that working with him instead of against him is in their best interest.

The kids roll their eyes and mutter under their breaths, but don't act out like they did during Homeroom period. It makes Dmitri suspicious of what's coming, but doesn't show it. Instead, he picks up the stack of tests he put on his desk when he walked in and starts handing it out to the kids sitting in the first row.