A Different School Of Thought

Students were learning all the wrong things. Sammy and Carla decided to change that.

“He’s driving me nuts,” Sammy’s words exploded out of his mouth. “Mom and Pop won’t do anything about it. You know what Mr. Alverson did today?”

Carla had already heard. The worst teacher at school was always ranting off topic in class. She pretended not. “What? Bury his head under the water fountain spray again or make Swed Jensen skip school again today?”

Sammy rolled his eyes as a grin fought its way on his lips. “No, not that. He thinks he owns everything he touches, master of the universe. He told Pighead that he couldn’t come to school dressed like that with holes in his pants and a stain on his shirt. Doesn’t he know Pighead is barely surviving on food pantry handouts and donations from the second hand shop?”

Carla rolled her eyes. She knew what was coming next. “Pighead has given up. You can’t save him from himself. You shouldn’t try.”

“I don’t have to try. You do. Haven’t you noticed the way he looks at you? He’s in love.”

"I don't either. Pighead's family is moving out of the school district. His dad got a good job. Besides, romances during school time are another one of Mr. Alverson’s pet peeves. He is a control freak. We still have him to deal with.”

The two went into whispered conversation as the man himself walked by, monitoring the school hallway with a long ruler in his hand.

The bell rang for their history class. They were late. “No teacher?” Ms. Kendall was great. She made history come alive. Yesterday, she’d had the sniffles. Had they gotten worse?” “Oh, no.” Carla nudged Sammy where he was sitting next to her. “Look who our substitute is.”

Mr. Alverson nodded at raised eyebrows and closed the door behind him. “Mrs. Kendall is sick today. The principal, on short notice, asked if I could handle the class during my hour off when I grade papers. There are two troublemakers here that she has been refusing to discipline. They better not give me an opportunity to do so.”

The challenge had been laid. Everyone in the class was looking at Sam and Carla, waiting for their reaction. They hadn’t thought about carrying out their plan now, but with the crooked smiles they traded, both knew it was time.

All they had to do was pull Mr. Alverson’s hair trigger. Sammy waved his hand in the air like a white flag. “Who would that be, sir?”

Carla stood up like a flag pole. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Sit down. You are not excused.” The ruler rapped a cracking sound across Mrs. Kendall’s polished desk. It left a mark.

Silence fell like a heavy blanket in the room. “Try to stop me.” Carla stuck out her chin and marched towards Mr. Alverson. He headed over and blocked the door.

“We’re making history,” Sammy laughed. This is so funny it made me have to go to the restroom, too.”

A few echoing chuckles followed Sammy’s chuckles. “This disruption will stop right now. Anyone disobeying will be put in detention and the school security police called for enforcement.”

Carla stood dancing in place a nose away from the teacher. Sammy made it a line dance from behind her. Mr. Alverson was on his cell phone. A minute later and the security guard handcuffed the two together, force marching them to detention. “Please?” Carla asked, pointing a knee at the bathroom they were passing.

Kurt Nelson, the guard, wanted no reason raised for his making a mistake. He stole a quick look behind him, saw nobody, and said, “All right but hurry up.” Sammy took his turn at the adjoining boy’s bathroom after Carla came back, sans handcuffs. They had to sit at opposite ends of the detention room and write they wouldn’t do it again a hundred times on the chalk boards. It made them giggle. Being asked to not ever go to the bathroom was physically impossible.

Joe Gurdy, the school counselor, popped his head in the detention room door. “We got a problem in the history room, Kurt. You’d better take a look.”

“Keep writing,” Kurt pointed to Sammy, then Carla. The noise from the history room was loud and long. A police siren blared outside the open windows and their lights flashed excitedly. Two officers hitched up their belts as Kurt and Joe entered the room.

“What’s going on?” Joe asked, worried about how out of control the school room looked. Kurt activated the audio recorder on his smart phone.

“One of the kids had to use the restroom. Mr. Alverson thought it was an insurrection because the school kids got aroused when he wouldn’t let her go. We were called to calm things down before the riot started.”

“And?” asked Joe. He couldn’t believe how fast things had gotten out of control after he left.

One of the school kids blurted out, “And Katie Tompson wet the floor when Mr. Alverson snapped his ruler in two over her desk.”

“I’d like a word with you, Al.” Joe took the teacher’s elbow as the two cops nodded in agreement.

“You kids can stop choking on chalk dust and go back to history class,” he said, ushering Al Alverson into detention.

Things were subdued and felt different when the teacher arrived back. “I’d like to apologize. I misunderstood certain requests. I was trying to keep attention on teaching you history.”

He’d taken the school counselor’s request to see him before and after scheduled hours for a while as seriously as it had been given. Small changes became big ones as Al Alverson learned to loosen up. He was surprised how much better his students were learning when he gave them room to explore.

“We made a little history together, didn’t we?,” Al told Sammy and Carla as they sat on the floor by their lockers during lunch break.

“You two will be getting A’s in my English class. Your special independent study projects are quite creative. I’m incorporating the best into next year's classes. I've sent a note to your parents thanking them for their involvement.”

"What a change. He wouldn't even allow independent study groups before. He'd rant off topic about how kids didn't respect their elders like they used to. ” Sammy said to Carla as their least, turned favorite teacher strode away, pocket full of candy for students rustling in his pocket.

“He’s just happy because he found that love note we wrote him from Ms. Kendall he’s been seeing after history class. She thinks she’s the reason he’s a changed man.”

“Maybe she is.” Sammy shrugged as Carla punched him on the shoulder.

WC 1114. https://www.writing.com/main/forums/item_id/2281472-Not-Just-Another-Brick-In-Th...