First Day

Kara

   I walked through the door and searched for a familiar face. I recognized the back of Heather’s head and slipped into the seat next to her. The bell rang as the whole class turned to face the teacher. He introduced himself to everyone in his monotone professor voice and began the first lecture in this same voice, as if he did not care if we remembered the lecture or not. Heather let out a sigh and turned to see who sat on either side of her. She turned to me next, and a smile lit up her face.

           “I didn’t know you are in this class too,” she whispered to me with excitement and hope in her eyes.

           “Right? Thankfully I have someone to survive this class with,” I whispered out of the side of my mouth and hoped that the teacher would not notice. “Wake me up if I fall asleep. I don’t know how much of this I can take,” I whispered, jokingly.

           “Okay, unless I sleep first,” she joked back. Heather let her head fall back as if she drifted off. I tried to stifle a laugh, but it escaped. I swallowed wrong and started a coughing fit. The whole class turned to stare. In embarrassment, I turned red. The teacher stared with curiosity for a moment, then continued with the dull lecture.

           The end of the hour could not come any sooner, but when it did, I quickly turned to Heather.

           “What class do you have next?” I asked her eagerly.

           “Math, I think," Heather flatly answered.

           “Me too! Who’s the teacher? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had that together too?” I persisted.

           “Johnson. Anyways, I have to go meet someone.” Heather said as she quickly rushed off.

           “I do too. See you in a little bit,” I yelled towards her back as she walked away, hoping she heard me. I stood in the room for a moment, confused about why Heather acted weird as I watched her leave.

Heather

           I walked into the silent classroom and randomly picked a seat. The only other person in the room was the professor, so I shuffled things through my backpack, pretending to be busy in hopes that this would keep him from starting an awkward conversation. Only a moment later, more of my classmates began to stream in. I made polite conversation with the ones that sat near me, desperate for the bell to ring so I could just sit and listen. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Kara slowly approach and sit at the desk next to me. Just as she did this, the bell rang, and the teacher started class. I let out a sigh of relief as he told us about himself. I turned to Kara and gave her a polite smile while I stared at her with resentment.

           “I didn’t know you had this class too,” I grumbled to Kara.

           “Right? Thankfully I have someone to survive this class with,” she answered with wide, excited eyes. She seemed as if seeing me was the best part of her day but seeing her was my worst part yet.

           “Wake me up if I fall asleep. I don’t know how much of this I can take.” Kara whispered with a yelling tone. I stared forward for a moment, then realized I had to answer to not be rude.

           “Okay, unless I sleep first,” I said blatantly. Then, I turned back towards the teacher, rolled my eyes, and let out a silent sigh. Kara started laughing, which quickly turned into violent fit of coughing. I stared at her in disbelief and confusion, then turned to watch everyone’s reactions. The teacher stopped and watched for a minute but continued teaching even before the fit was over.

           “What class do you have next?” Kara yelled at me with a hyper, rabbit-like disposition.

           “Math, I think,” I said, trying my best to end the conversation and get away from her, but also trying not to seem rude.

           “Me too! Who’s the teacher? Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had that together too?” Kara continued to yell for the whole room to hear.

           “Johnson. Anyways, I have to go meet someone.” I did have Johnson next, but I lied about having to leave. I could no longer stand to talk to her anymore. Quickly, I made my way out of the classroom and through the hallway.

           “I do too. See you in a little bit,” I heard her yell from the distance. I regretted telling her which class I had next, but at least now I can prepare myself before being trapped with her for another class.

The Teacher

I sat at the computer in my classroom, waiting for the hour to end and my first class to enter. I went over my lecture for the millionth time, trying to remember to stay calm. Since it was my first time teaching alone, I tried to be as prepared as I could. The first student walked in, shortly followed by the rest. Then the moment I was waiting for happened; the bell rang. I cleared my throat and introduced myself, like I had seen many teachers do in the past. I looked across the room, trying to watch the reactions of everybody. With all of their blank faces, I decided to move on and start the lecture. I focused on my breathing, trying to keep the student’s attention, but it did not seem to work. I tried to focus on my words, but it was impossible not to notice the two girls in the front, whispering. I stared at them as I continued my lecture, then, the one on the left began to laugh. She choked on her laughter and coughed while the whole class watched. I stood in the front, staring, and stunned. I could not decide what to do. The only thing that I could think of would be to continue my lecture and ignore the coughing. I began to talk and tried to be loud enough to be heard over the coughing. Not long after though, the coughing ended, and the rest of the class went smoothly.