THE TOWN OF SPRINGFIELD

Ethan

Ethan POV

“Put your legs down, Ethan” the French teacher said grimly. She stood akimbo in front of my desk, her expression stern and angry. She wasn’t actually angry, that was just a ploy she used to make students like me fear her and also show the other students that she had dominion over us.

“But I’m comfortable and thoroughly enjoying the lesson, ma dame. “ I smiled

“You learned the word” the teacher smiled impressed then walked back to her front desk.

The class was filled with nerds, I was literally the only ‘not-nerd’ in the room. I took the class because I thought it was fun and the language was kind of romantic, not because I was dying to be a nerd. I was essentially the only well-known basketball player in the room, all my other buddies were either too lazy or pre occupied to attend bonus programs.

The faces in the class were awfully boring to look at, I had tolerated seeing the same faces for the past two hours and I was literally bored to tears, I felt like leaving. The hot teacher’s voice was the one making me stay, it was kind of sweet listening to a beautiful language being spoken by a beautiful woman.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom was knocked. It was followed by the mega entrance of a certain new boy. Finally, something interesting to look at, I smiled widely.

Curly red hair, small stature the size of a degu, pimples all over the face, oversized eye glasses, baggy clothes that ought to be worn by retired old men, a backpack so heavy it dragged him down from the back. I could tell from just a look that the boy was a socially anxious kind of person, the kind of persons who were easy targets for tyrants. A walking beaming red beacon for predators.

“I…I was told the French class would be here? ” he asked in a frail fearful voice. He darted his eyes around the classroom nervously. I was very sure he was sweating profusely underneath his baggy clothing from all the gazes that were on him.

“Well yes, un jeune homme. And you are?” the teacher smiled

“Evans, Evans Burger”

Before even the thought registered in my mind, I blurted out laughing so loud that my eyes teared up. At least all the attention was retracted from the boy, he should be grateful.

“I’m sorry” I laughed “did he just say his last name is Burger?”

“Be polite, Ethan. ” the teacher scolded with a frown

“I apologize” I attempted to get serious, but then it was very hard. I couldn’t help it.

“His name is just so funny” I cracked up again “I bet he is carrying some fries and cheese in his bag”

“Do not make another joke about his name or its detention…”

Detention was like my second home and usually I would never bother with a threat like that but I had plans with my girlfriend today so…

“ fine, I’ll pretend his name is just okay” I nodded my head with an amused smile then looked away from the nervous kid.

Turns out the only empty seats were on the back, and I was the only one seated at the back. On his way over, the kid got tripped by his own loose shoe laces making him fall over knocking his head on a desk. I knew it would be rude but it was so amusing that I laughed anyway, I laughed so hard when he stood up again only to fall back down this time due to his slippery clutch on the desk.

“Ethan” the teacher yelled

“It’s not my fault that he fell” I complained

I could tell that Evans was trying hard not to break down as he limped to the seat beside me. He looked so nervous that he literally stared at the floor to avoid looking at me. Some of his books fell out of his bag as he tried to retrieve one from his backpack library.

“Welcome to my French class, Evans. Make yourself comfortable…”

Before even the teacher completed her sentence, the door got knocked again. It was about time because I had noticed someone lingering outside the door for a certain while.

A girl entered this time. She was short, slightly plump but curvy. She had her wild raven black hair dyed purple on the edges. The emotion in her eyes was fathoms deep, yet they carried the warmth and life of the sunlit surface. They had a thousand hues of blue and a small touch of hazel radiating in softly swooping arcs. Something about her eyes made me stare longer than I ought to. I realized that her eyes weren’t the most interesting feature of her face, her cheeks had shallow dips that accentuated the small but full lips. She wore a jeans cut-off, not the ones that usually show the pockets, just the perfect kind with an oversized white shirt that had purple and red colors haphazardly splashed on it.

“I’m Mabel” she announced boldly

I didn’t find anything about her that would make me amused, I always did with everyone. It was very surprising that I noticed no flaw to exploit which kind of piqued my curiosity about her identity.

“Welcome Mabel. An empty seat is over at the back. Ethan be kind” the teacher specifically spoke to me but I ignored her and focused on the new girl. Again, I had never ever ignored the hot teacher, this was the first time.

When the girl saw me, our gazes locked for a couple of seconds. I had never been lost in a girl’s eyes before, not even with my current girlfriend or any other girl in school, this was the first time. She was so captivating, she almost had me in a trance. No girl has ever locked their eyes with mine that long, their reaction were to either start swooning or look away. The new girl was daring.  I checked her up as she walked with the grace of a cat to the seat beside me. Even after she was seated, my gaze still lingered on her.