The Purple Iris

Today is the first day of school, and I really wish I didn't have to go. But like most adult things, you have to do things you don't want to do.  I forcibly spread a mock smile on my face as I stuff my size six feet into my beat-up sneakers, readying the laces into a sloppy knot.  "This is the year I finally say good-bye to this tragic wasteland of a town." I muttered lowly to myself. This is my final year of high school, considering the fact that I'm a senior. And technically, this isn't the first day back. More like the second week back. Last year, I received a petty ten day suspension from school— may I add that this all happened on the last day of school. Many wondered what truly happened that day, and of course rumors spread like wildfire. Most of the eleventh grade student body wondered, 'Why was she even given such a lengthy suspension?' Well for starters, this all took place in my third period English class. The teacher in which I was given the unpleasant opportunity of having a verbal altercation with was Ms. Green. She was a rather ignorant and nasty shrew of a woman, seeing as how she did a poor job of teaching and lacked common compassion towards anyone. Oh, and I speak of her in past tense seeing as how along with my punishment, Ms. Green too faced her just desserts. And oh boy, were they just too sweet. Anyways, it was like any other typical forty-five minutes in her class, regardless of it being the last day of school year. Rather than enjoy remnants of the day, Ms. Green had other plans. Said plans involved reviewing a random book that the entire class read during the first semester. Most students secretly texted on their phones, a few actually participated in the dull lecture, but most huddled in their classroom-specific cliques. Thankfully, my 'classroom clique' was my everyday posse, consisting of me and my two best friends— Billie and Kaylen. I was the youngest of the three, yet I sometimes felt like the oldest.  I can't quite recall what we were so invested in to be speaking so loudly, but it obviously caught the unwanted attention of the she-devil herself. Ms. Green averted her impertinent eyes to my group, and gave me the saltiest expression one could be given.  "Rainie, why are you speaking during our class discussion?" And knowing me and just how mouthy I can be, I of course had something smart to say. "Well, I'm talking. This is a class discussion, right? I was discussing something." I remembered seeing Ms. Green's face bubble into an upsetting shade of red, clearly angered with my witty retort. Her mouth scrunched further into a scowl as I uncontrollably began to chuckle at the expense of her clear embarrassment. "Miss Gray, do you find this situation to be humorous? Do you enjoy mocking your peers and teachers?" She sneered. "Mocking, you say? I don't see anyone being mocked." I smirked in response. I vaguely recall my classmates shouting random banter, cheering me on to continue with my quips. Obviously full of rage, Ms. Green hurried over to my desk, the sounds of clicking heels carrying throughout the room. She was a bit too close for comfort, being dangerously invasion in my personal space. It was such a wonder as to how she wasn't married, engaged, or even in a relationship. "I don't take too kindly to being ridiculed, Rainie. Do the world a favor, and grow up." "Says the twenty- nine year old woman, in a minor's face, getting worked up by a few laughs." And I suppose that's what really did it. She broke a pipe, her bubble was burst, I pushed her last button—she was fuming mad. "That is it! Get out of my classroom. Now!" "Don't mind if I do!" I exclaimed without a care.  Seeing as how I was completely unfazed by this, Ms. Green wanted to return the favor and press my buttons.  "And I'll send a referral down to the dean's office." With my backpack slung over one of my shoulders, I continued my prance to the door. What was a yellow slip of paper going to do, at this point in the semester? "Don't walk away while I'm talking to you, you insolent teenage b***h!" She said grabbing my wrist and yanking me towards her. The entire class was appalled, seeing such an aggressive course of action being acted upon by a teacher. Someone who is supposed to be setting a positive example for their students, and this is who the school thought would be fitting to that role? Such a joke. I stared angrily at her, snatching my right arm out of her vice grip. Out of sheer instinct, I pushed her from my person, palms shaking from the seconds long contact. Ms. Green's eyes all but bulged out of her skull, unbelieving that I actually returned the harsh gesture. Did she really think she could just put her hands on me?  "How dare you put your hands on a teacher! Do you really think this behavior will go unpunished? I will have you expelled for this!" She shouted. "How dare I? How dare you! You are so pathetic, it's truly amazing that you actually graduated with an actual teaching degree." I jeered in return. I was so shaken up, that my voice felt like like it would c***k under pressure from the brooding eyes of the classroom. The floor was ours, as if this was some stupid drama club produced play. Without another thought, I began to twist the knob of the door, until I felt a stinging pull on my arm. Ms. Green was prepared to draw this out into something so unnecessary, and I was the unfortunate soul to be forced to play along. But I wasn't playing anymore.  The heels of my feet turned in her direction, along with the swing of my fist. The connection between my knuckles and Ms. Green's nose was brief, but the sickening cracking sound said otherwise. The teacher bellowed obscenities, grasping her bloody nose in pain. The classroom was filled with an overwhelming amount of noise, everyone was shocked with the outcome of the performance Ms. Green put on. Phones were readily recording the scene, commentating along.  I clicked my tongue, already mentally preparing myself of the upcoming consequences that would be dished out to me. All over something as ridiculous as me talking during class, completely neglecting that my peers were also chattering. It seemed that she just had some sort of gross personal vendetta against me.  After a rather extensively long and engrossing conversation between me and the eleventh grade assigned dean, I received my final verdict. This included paying for Ms. Green's medical expenses, all to avoid being sent to a juvenile detention center and any pressed charges. Not to mention, mandatory anger management counseling sessions, all provided by the school's very own guidance counselor. Oh, and the ten day long suspension starting the first day of the new semester.  Although my list of ramifications wasn't anything to be proud of, those following Ms. Green were. She was fired from the school, which damaged her reputation within the teaching community. It was said that if she would've continued any further with the physical contact, her teaching license could've been revoked. All in all, I was rather satisfied with the outcome of her demise.  Well, that's how it all happened and what put me ten days late on my classwork. The most important year in one's entire high school career, and I was already failing the semester.  I climbed into my crappy 2003 Honda Civic, revving the engine to life. During the short 10 minute drive, I mentally prepared myself for the worst. That day gave me a newfound identity, leaving a trail of unwanted whispers anytime I crossed paths with someone I knew from school. After collecting my class schedule, I began to enter the double doors leading to the busy hallways. A frown placed itself on my face, reading that my first class every day for the next year would be English. Great. I walked through the crowded main building, meeting Kaylen and Billie in our usual meetup spot within the school. Under a staircase far from the student body, my two best friends waited. Their expressions perked up, as soon as I approached. We were all able to see each other over summer vacation, but it wasn't as often as I would've liked. All of my time was already accounted for, seeing as how often I had to work in order to pay off Ms. Green's reconstructive nose surgery. They understood and were patient, but I still felt an annoying pang of guilt each time I declined their attempts to hang out. "Oh, so did you hear about the new English teacher replacing Ms. Green?" Kaylen asked. "Yes! I heard from someone else that he's super young, like fresh-out-of-college young." Billie added with a wink. I rolled my eyes in response, already guessing the perverse thoughts that were already clouding Billie's mind. However, curiosity also clouded my thoughts, as I wondered who took over as the new English honors teacher. My feet tapped against tiled floor, as we three made our way to the very same classroom that Ms. Green once occupied.  Room 04. Once I entered the classroom, my eyes glazed over the buzzing crowd of my peers. Fortunately, I recognized a few familiar faces. Scratch that, I knew everyone; every single individual that witnessed the events of the last semester were all, coincidently, were all in my first period class. Or was this not an actual coincidence and just a cruel reminder? The majority of the class greeted me with genuine warmth, and I tried my damndest to return the same expression. But I couldn't help but have a sour outlook on the situation, mostly annoyed that I was so far behind in my studies. Believe it or not, I always made it a habit to perform well academically, lest I have any other real talents. Some were musically inclined, many were upcoming amateur athletes, but me? I didn't care about anything close to having talents. My focus was graduating with as many credits as possible, maintaining a high GPA, all with the result of getting into a good enough college to ensure my final departure of this shitty town.  As word of mouth settled down, I realized that the only vacant desk in the room was in the very front of the room, with only a white piece of cardstock laying atop it. Reading the paper, I frowned in displeasure. My name was etched in big bold letters, concluding that this shall be my desk for the semester.  With a sigh, I set my belongings beside the desk, removing the homemade nameplate from its surface. We arrived to class with five minutes to spare, yet there was still no sign of the alleged new teacher. I turned around in my seat, only to face a girl that I've shared other classes with— I think her name was maybe Hailey? Her gaze was focused in the contents of a book, completely tuning out the jabber of the room.  "Hey, sorry to interrupt but... Where's the teacher at?" I questioned with an awkward smile. The girl removed her attention from the novel, and averted it to me. She returned the smile, as she pushed her red rimmed eyeglasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure, but he'll be here soon." He?  "Oh, okay. Is he usually late or-" "My, it's nice to see someone so eager to learn."  My neck twisted in the direction of the interruption, and I was awarded another sincere grin. However, I didn't know who the hell this dude was. My eyes quickly glazed over his appearance, attempting to not stare. He was an above average heighted man, with short curly black hair. His eyes were a pleasant shade of green, almost similar to a peridot. He wore a plain grey button up shirt, the collar ironed in place, neatly tucked into a pair of black slacks. He didn't seem to be a student, but he also appeared to be too young to be one of the school's faculty members.  "Good morning class, please bring out your books and prepare for today's lesson." He shouted, loud enough to catch the attention of everyone. The sound of zippers being tugged and books shuffling open commenced, all while the mystery man turned towards me. "Ah, yes. You must be Rainie, right?" I blinked several times, hoping that my vision didn't fail me and I was actually being spoken to. He was certainly attractive, to say the least. I gulped, hoping that my nervousness didn't seep through my pores, exposing me. "Yes, that's me." I finally replied, being sure to avoid eye contact. "Hey, I don't bite." He added with a gruff chuckle.  I nodded curtly, staring down at my desk. He briefly gathered a stack of papers from his desk, only to hand them over to me. I took them within my hands, worry filling my brain. Most of the papers were revealed to be past assigned worksheets, along with the class syllabus.  God, this is such a nightmare. How does the school expect me to complete ten days worth of assignments, in all seven of my classes?  After shuffling through the countless pieces of classwork, I took the time to skim over the syllabus. I remember how silly Ms. Green's was, and how I immediately balled up the paper. The top of the page read, "Mr. Morris' English Honors IV class".  As if he figured I'd be reading the page, Mr. Morris returned to my desk.  "Oh, good. I take it you've looked at the class syllabus?" He politely asked.  "Y-yeah. I mean, yes. I have."  I sound so dumb. "Well, good. As you can see, my name is Mr. Morris. Well, Theo Morris. It's so nice to finally meet the mystery student I've heard so much about."