C7 The Little Monster

“Be thankful that the father did not sanction you,” the principal says.

“I apologize, Principal Abra. I won’t do it again,” I respond. Next time, I won’t lose control of my emotions. I need a better hold on it. I lay my head low so this would get sorted out soon. “Will I be able to apologize to the parents?” I ask.

“There is no need. However, the other teachers and students want you to apologize to the son.”

I raise my head at him.

“I know,” he says before I can even speak.

“I will apologize to the parents, but I don’t think I should apologize to the son. It will appear as if what he did is NOT wrong. It won’t be good for him. Besides, that kid already has an attitude. We can’t contribute to that. Instead, we need to—”

The principal raises his arms to stop me. “I understand, Teacher Cassie. Back in my day, his actions are already ground for expulsion. That show of utmost disrespect to a teacher should not be something a teacher should apologize for. However, sometimes, we just need to go along with the flow of times.”

He is wrong! Disrespect is still Disrespect no matter what timeline we are in! Still, I touch my chest and take small breaths. I just had a problem with losing control. I can’t lose control now.

“I understand, Principal Abra. I will be more careful in the future.”

“You are going to apologize?” he asks.

“Yes,” I answer. “In fact, I will do more than that.”

“Do more?” he asks.

“As an apology, I will sacrifice a few hours of my time every day to tutor him.”

Principal Abra smiles. He extends his hands towards me and says, “That will be a great idea, Teacher Cassie. I will also inform the father. I am sure he will be glad about it.”

Hopefully, the father cares a little about Lukas’ education.

“I will inform the others of what we discussed today,” the principal adds.

*************************

“That is not an apology,” Lukas complains.

“It is. I am sacrificing my precious time to tutor you.”

“That’s your fetish! You just want to torture me! Not tutor me!”

“Well, maybe that’s the reason those two words sound alike?” I jest.

The classroom door opens, and Alinn enters. She pauses by the door while she looks back and forth between me and Lukas at the table. Her brown, curly hair looks unruly and is framing her small face. She mentioned before that she hates how her hair is unmanageable, but I think it’s really adorable, like right now.

“Alinn, come here,” I say, gesturing for her to come closer.

She looks unsure as she glances at Lukas. “Ahm, Teacher Cassie, are we not going to have a review today?” she asks. Her gaze falls on Lukas, who is openly staring at her.

“We will have our review today, Alinn. You and Lukas will be at different tables. Different subject matter, too.”

“What are you going to review? Is she also the same as me? Are you going to torture her with your lessons under the gist of an apology?” he asks.

Alinn turns her head sharply at him. She is really cute. Even the way she looks angry is adorable. “Contrary to what you believe, this young girl is one of the smartest students in the province.”

“She doesn’t look like a nerd,” he comments.

“You don’t look stupid either,” Alinn responds.

Oh, I didn’t know Alinn could be harsh to someone. “Alinn, come here,” I gesture.

I place a couple of notebooks and papers on top of the table, and she sits in front.

“I have prepared some advance questions for you. In the meantime, you can answer it and once you are done, you can check the answer here,” I say, patting the notebook in front of her. “Once that is done, call for me again and we will go through each of them, especially the ones that you are having trouble with.”

“Teacher Cassie, don’t you have a date with Teacher Mark?” she queries instead.

“No. We decided to only have a date on weekends.”

“But don’t the other teachers force you to have dates with other men?” she whispers.

I grin at her and sit in front of her. “Alinn, I don’t know where you are getting your information, but like I said…”

“… that I should not worry and just focus on the upcoming competition,” she completes. She peers at me, embarrassed, and asks, “But you are already busy with everything and now, you are forced to teach ‘that’.”

‘That’ huh? She has a mean streak on her, no matter how adorable she looks. “To tell you the truth…” I lean closer to her and whisper, “I kinda lose my temper on him, so this is my punishment.”

I pull back and grin at her. She grins back.

“Now, don’t mimic your immature coach and have control of your emotions, okay?”

She nods vigorously.

“Hey nerd, are you a puppy?” Lukas interjects.

Alinn and I look at him at the same time. I grin. The immature little boy. It’s obvious. He thinks Alinn is cute. That’s the second praise I've heard from him for Alinn. Is he aware of what he’s saying?

I stand up. “See what I am saying?” I ask Alinn. I wink at her before sitting in front of Lukas. His mood is even lighter. And besides, he keeps on looking at her with a smile on his face.

I smile before clicking my fingers together. “Eyes back here,” I say.

“What?!” he snaps. I give him a warning look. “I mean, what is it, Teacher Cassie?” he repeats.

“Good,” I comment. I push a pad of paper in front of him and say, “Seeing that you did badly on the assessment exam, we will start with a grade school curriculum.”

“That’s boring!” he complains. “I know it already!” He glances at Alinn, who is already busy with her papers.

“Based on your assessment, you don’t know any of it.”

“But—”

“How about answering the questions next time, so we’ll have a proof that you actually know the answer?”

“I can sense it. You are insulting me.”

“I am not, Lukas.” I place my arms together and say, “So, should we start with this now? Time is important, you know.”