Episode 63: Scene Six
Gemini, Sloane, and Robin's eyes all flew open simultaneously as they walked into their sixth period health class. From the looks of things, they wouldn't have a place to sit for quite a while. Not only were all of the desks filled, but three other people besides themselves were standing along the wall as well. The three freshmen turned their heads slowly to look at one another.
"Everyone please find a seat," the teacher instructed, attempting to organize some last minute details before beginning the class.
Gemini cleared her throat hesitantly, looking at the teacher and then at the desks.
The man looked up from his papers, then smiled. "Ah, I see some of us don't have desks. Well, I guess you'll just have to stand along the wall for today's class until I can get some desks."
He waited for laughter, but none came. "I'm just kidding! Where's your sense of humor?"
He exited the classroom briskly, leaving twenty-eight very confused people behind.
"What's he smokin'?" one girl ventured to joke uneasily.
"Hehe, yeah," a guy answered, shifting nervously in his seat.
"Yeah," everyone echoed emptily.
"So...Gem, aren't you upset the photo shoot's been cancelled?" Robin whispered to her friend, though her eyes were focused on the bleak wall opposite her.
"Not really. I already have tons of bio and geometry homework, so I don't think I'd have time anyways."
"Oh," Robin's voice trailed off.
Silence prevailed in the classroom.
"This guy must be a crackpot," Sloane muttered, folding his arms across his chest and staring down at the white-tiled floor.
Quiet laughter rippled across the room, but soon died down into silence. No one was willing to open their mouth to begin a conversation.
The teacher finally burst in through the door, holding three chairs under his arms. "Come on, people! Help an old guy out!"
The classroom remained unresponsive as if trapped in a realm of suspended animation. No one blinked, no one breathed, but just stared at him strangely.
"Oh, come on. I'm not that ugly," he attempted to liven up the class to no avail. He just stood in the doorway looking at his class, with his students looking right back at him. "Please?"
Sloane walked over to him and took a chair. "I don't know about you guys, but my boo-tay needs some good cushion-lovin' right about now."
Finally, real laughter burst forth from the class. Soon, everyone along the wall was going to get a chair, and some even went so far as the whisper to one another. Though hope had been restored into the instructor's eyes, it soon died out when the class became silent once more.
He sighed heavily. "People, this is going to be one long semester."
"Ain't that the truth," the class answered in unison.