Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“You don’t have to say anymore. If you want me to stay away from Anders, I will.”
“I … no, don’t do that. Ignore me. Anders is a big boy and can make his own decisions. I think.”
I can’t stop the laugh that flies out of me. “How about this? We don’t talk about your brother at all. I doubt he’s going to return my texts anyway.”
“It won’t be weird for you, being friends with me after …?”
I shrug. “I was okay with being friends with Anders after we hooked up, so being friends with someone who looks exactly like him isn’t going to bother me.”
“Okay, I know why my brother doesn’t do long-term relationships. Why don’t you?”
“Not against them. Had one all through uni. Now I’m free of it, I don’t want to be tied down.” Wow, way to understate getting my heart ripped out, but Law doesn’t need to know the details.
“Bad breakup?”
Well, fuck. “Eh. I’d rather talk about how in the world you get those kids to do everything you say. Granted, today was my first day, and I’ve come in halfway through the school year so there’s going to be hazing, but do they have to be so blunt?”
Law winces. “First impressions, man. You’re fucked.”
“Thanks.”
“I think the biggest mistakes new teachers make is they want the kids to respect them, so they try to be tough. You know, do the whole ‘You have to earn it’ thing. I think if you give them respect from the beginning—tell them your opinion of each and every one of them right now is the highest it’ll ever be—they’ll do anything to stay up there. It’s easier to hold onto something than build it from the ground up. Treat them like adults because all these teens want to do is be an adult. Why, I have no idea, but that’s on them. They’ll learn soon enough adulthood isn’t all fun and games. When you’re an adult, you don’t have someone telling you to put on pants every day. You have to remember that shit on your own.”
“That’s the hardest part of adulting for you? Remembering pants?”
“The struggle is real.”
“Okay, so you think being strong with the kids is the wrong approach? Everything we’re taught in uni—”
Law scoffs. “Yeah, because learning how to teach kids in a room full of adults is the way to go. Most of my lecturers never saw the inside of an actual classroom other than the lecture halls at uni. They went from studying to professing … professoring? You’re an English teacher, help me out here.”
“Professoring is not a word, but I’m going to make it one.”
“The professors themselves never taught a group of school-aged kids. They know shit all.”
“So, I should just forget my four years of training and my degree?”
“Yup.”
“Are you always this sunny and positive?”
“Always. I’m fucking delightful—a ray of sunshine and all that.”
“What would you have taught if you didn’t go into martial arts?” I ask.
“Sciences. Math, maybe. No English department would hire me. I can’t tell my contractions from my adjectives. Verbs I’m good with because they’re doing words. Which means they’re fucking words, and that’s how I remember them.”
“I’ll remember to teach the fifteen-year-olds that one.”
“That’ll be a way to get them on your side. Making a fool out of yourself this afternoon in class would’ve helped too.”
“Please, Obi Wan, teach me everything you know.” I’m ashamed to admit that the glimmer in his eye has my cock wanting to salute him.
Nope. Wrong brother.
Maybe being friends with Law will be hard after all, but after the brutal day I had today, I need all the teaching tips I can get.
I don’t want to admit aloud that the kids in my classes today owned me. I’m a new teacher, taking over from someone who took a leave of absence because of bad health and was forced to retire early. I’m young, and the monsters saw an easy target and went for it.
They didn’t listen, no one contributed to the discussions I tried to start, and one class even decided to publicly dissect my sexuality when one of the girls asked if I had a girlfriend and a boy muttered, “If she had a dick, maybe.”
Of course, when I asked him what he said, he claimed he didn’t say anything, but it was all out there now. It doesn’t matter if the kids know I’m gay. I’m not hiding it, and the school board and everyone who needs to know is well aware of it. But it’s the disrespect, and now that kid knows he can get away with it.
I’ve been subbing for the last six months, so I’ve had my fair share of dealing with rowdy kids taking advantage of me, but this is my first permanent position, and I think it’s safe to say, after today, I’m fucking fucked.