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Harris. The stares I received were a clear indication that the kids thought their teacher had gone off the deep end, but I didn t allow their critical glares to intimidate me. Are we ready to get started? The students moaned, a few of them rolling their eyes. I d expected my first day to be challenging, but I wondered for a few seconds if perhaps I d bitten off more than I could chew. As I scanned the room and took in all the new faces, most of them staring up at me expectantly, my confidence surged. I d worked too hard for this to wimp out on the first day. Okay, let s lay some ground rules here, I began. First off, this seating arrangement sucks. I want all the desks moved into a circle. If we re going to communicate, we have to be able to see each other s faces. Within the first hour of class, I was confident I d be able to match up the students names with their faces. We used the first day for introductions, talked about what art meant to each of them, and went over my expectations for the upcoming semester. I heaved a sigh of relief when the bell sounded, and I realized I d made it through my first class. As the students gathered their belongings and headed for the door, I watched each of them. It was going to be a great class. I loved all of them already. After the room had all but cleared, I noticed that one student in particular lingered. His name was Kevin, if I remembered correctly. He was still sitting at his desk, busying himself by sorting through the items in his backpack. Kevin? I said as I stepped over to him. He looked up at me. Yes? His voice was barely audible. Everything okay? Uh, yeah. Sorry& I was just making sure I had my textbook for my next class. Today s the first day of school, I reminded him. You should get your textbook from your teacher when you get there. Oh yeah& duh! You re right, he said. He looked up at the wall clock hanging at the front of the room. You re a sophomore this year? I asked. In my class, I had a mixture of grades, being that it was an elective. He nodded in reply, then reached up to push his glasses back on his nose. At once I was reminded of being in the tenth grade myself. The kid was about the same size I was at that age, and he had many of my mannerisms. Kevin, where s your next class? Room 240, he said. It s geometry with Mr. Bryant. I m headed that way, I said. Mind if I walk with you? Um& sure. I mean, no. No, I don t mind. Quickly he stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. So you said earlier that you ve always been interested in art and that you like to sketch. I d love to see some of your illustrations. Really? Yeah. What kind of pictures do you draw? Oh, I don t know. All kinds of stuff, I guess. Dragons. People. Animals. I draw pretty much everything. We d stepped out the door and were headed down the hallway. Why don t you bring me in some samples? I suggested. I d love to see them. As we rounded the corner, Kevin suddenly seemed distracted. He slowed his pace as he looked straight ahead. I followed the path of his gaze and realized he was utterly enraptured by the sight of another student. The other boy, a blond, was wearing a letter jacket and talking to some friends by the lockers. A friend of yours? I asked as we stood there. Uh, not exactly. It s my neighbor& Jake. Ah, I see. You two must be pretty close? He shook his head. Not really. He laughed, mainly to himself, as he seemed to be thinking of something amusing. You re gonna think this is really strange, but Jake s house is right next to mine. We can see inside each other s bedroom windows, and sometimes we talk to each other. Well, not really talk, but we communicate. With notepads? How d you know? he asked. Lucky guess. Yeah, we hold up notes for each other to read. It s kind of silly, really. Nah, I think it s kinda neat. Mr. Harris, I think you re kind of neat, to be honest. Thanks for walking with me. Not a problem, I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. Listen, if you ever need anything, you know where to find me. Okay, he said, a puzzled expression on his face. At that moment, Jake looked up and spotted him. He raised his hand and waved, and Kevin responded in kind. I knew by the look in their eyes that more than just friendship was brewing. I HAD to park the car outside. Brad had his new or rather old Mustang inside the garage. It was his obsession. Well, that and coaching baseball were the two things he loved most. After completing our degrees at neighboring colleges, we d bought our first house together, and Brad was lucky [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |