Substitute Teacher

Buzz, buzz, buzz … Sarah rolled over in bed she looked at her phone. The display showed RSV Elem., “Oh good,” she thought, it was Roosevelt Elementary School calling her to come in as a sub. She answered “Hello, this is Sarah,” a gruff voice answered back, “This is Ms. Blackard we need you to come in today, be here by 7:30” she grumbled. “Ok will do!” said Sarah as she hung up the phone. She looked at the time on her phone, it was 6:30. “Oh shoot”, she thought “I had better get going.” Ms. Blackard was a drill sergeant. Sarah knew If she was even a minute late Ms. Blackard would undoubtedly give her a lecture about the importance of being punctual. Rumors floated around the school that Ms. Blackard was in the military when she was younger.

Sarah jumped into the shower for a quick rinse off. The water hit her face as she tried to recover from having a little too much wine at her brother’s birthday party the night before. She started to feel better after the shower. Quickly dressing for the day in her navy blue skirt and a fun colorful sweater. She wondered which teacher she was subbing for this time, as she combed her auburn hair into a ponytail. She looked pasty white today, she pinched her cheeks (trying with no avail) to bring some color back. She parted her lips as she applied some strawberry lip gloss. She was a natural girl with no need for a bunch of makeup. “You’re a natural beauty!” she could almost hear her father say. Oh how she missed him. He had been gone for almost two years now. He was always her comfort and encouragement all her life. She started to feel sad. “Oh no got to shake this off!” she thought to herself, “I can’t let the kids see me like this.” She prided herself in always trying to be an encouragement to them.

The school was in a poverty stricken, repressed area. Most of the children lived in single parent homes. Sarah wanted to bring in hope and encouragement to these children who had little or no hope for a bright future. As she arrived at the school she noticed more graffiti on the side of the school. It looked like another gang had tagged the school again. The custodian Mr. Wilson, would remove the new tags and the next day more would show up almost immediately after. He often said he felt like he was fighting a losing battle.

As she walked up to the school a number of children greeted her. “Hi miss Morgan” a little girl said before entering the building. She beamed with a warm bright smile in her tattered clothing. Her hair was tightly braided and clipped with little pink barrettes that looked like bows. “Good Morning Alisha”, Sarah said with her usual concern. Sarah had a tender heart for these children. The school had a daunting look to it with bars on the windows and bullet proof glass. As she approached the desk Ms. Blackard looked down at her watch, then looked up at Sarah and said politely “You are subbing in Mrs. Willows’ class. Do you know where it is?” “Yes” said Sarah, as she sighed. She knew where most of the classrooms were and she had subbed for Mrs. Willows several times. Sarah grabbed the attendance sheets from Mrs. Willows’ mail slot and headed for the classroom. “Hold on Sarah you better pour yourself some coffee”, she thought, “Its going to be one of those days!” Mrs. Willows’ sixth grade class was unruly bunch. The aroma from the coffee filled her senses as she slipped the hot drink and looked over the attendance sheets. She noticed that a new student would be attending her class today. She felt a tinge of sorrow for this little boy as she looked at his file. It said that he had recently lost his father in an accident. She immediately felt a connection to this child who she would meet for the first time this morning.

The shrill sound of the bell brought her back from her thoughts. Sarah opened the door as she watched the children stream into the classroom. Some were talking loudly and others were pushing children out of there way. A few smiled at her but most ignored her as if she was invisible. One of the boys yelled across the room at her, “Hey teach where’s Mrs. Willows?” She ignored the comment and started to take attendance as she called each child by name.

Just as things were starting to quiet down the door opened and the new student entered the room. Sarah was taken by surprise by him, he wasn’t at all she had in visioned him to look like. He was a foot taller than anyone in the class, in fact- he was taller than her. Some of the boys in the back started to snicker. The new student hollered across the room at them, “Shut up you fags!” Sarah was completely taken by surprise in fact her mouth had dropped open in shock. “Jimmy McFarley” I assume said Sarah as she looked up at him. “That’s me” he said, Sarah was just about to tell him where to sit when Jimmy started walking down the aisle and looking over all the girls in the classroom. “Hmmm this seat looks good” as he slid into it, never taking his eyes off of one of the students, Cathy McAlister. He was grinning from ear to ear as he said out loud “You’re looking good girl” as he reached up and gave her long black hair a tug.

Sarah spoke up and said “That will be enough Jimmy!” with a stern voice. Jimmy just looked at her in defiance and pulled Cathy’s hair again. Cathy let out a cry, “Owww that hurt you jerk!” The whole class was quiet in anticipation, they were staring at Sarah with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Jimmy had total control over the class. She had once had compassion for this kid and now she felt nothing but contempt for him. How could she gain control over this overgrown bully? She felt a surge of fear and frustration wave over her. What should she do?