School Story - 001

"The Easter Rising of 1916, is considered a pivotal turning point in the effort for Irish independence. The treatment of the revolutionaries after they had been captured by the British, severely shocked the Irish populace, and turned them against…"

The familiar drone of a teacher, in a familiar classroom setting.

I didn't think that I would ever find myself in a classroom like this again.

In fact, I didn't expect that it would even be possible for me to return to a classroom again. It isn't that I've returned to my old home, but rather someone gave me the opportunity to go back to school here.

To a new school. Here in my new home of Christchurch.

Though, now that I'm here, I'm already regretting it. This really was a mistake.

School's so boring. The classes are always so slow and tedious, I can't help but fall asleep. I'm going to have so much extra work to do, to catch up. It's almost the end of the year, after all. I'm taking all the same subjects that I took at my old school, but still it will be hard. I don't remember much of what we learnt. Because I didn't think I would have to remember. And it isn't like I have notes to revise with.

I sigh. No one notices over all the noise of a classroom.

What a mistake this was.

This is my first class. It's been less than fifteen minutes since I sat down, and I'm already bored.

Why did I agree to this?

It makes me wonder. What a horrible idea this was.

"School?"

"Yes, school," Massimo replied, "you haven't been going to school, have you? I never see you leave your house, except for when you're in your work uniform, or in the weekends.

"… I'm not enrolled."

"Really?"

It was the weekend after Tayla had come to see me, after her situation had been sorted out. The two of us had ended up going on another date the day after, so I never finished mowing Massimo's lawn. I'd just finished, and was going to talk to him about compensation, when he brought up the topic of school.

"I'm sixteen. I don't have to go to school."

"Huh. You seem like an intelligent kid. I wouldn't have thought that you quit school because it was too difficult."

"That's not why I stopped going."

Massimo annoys me at times. He really embodies the stereotype that old people are out of touch, or just simply don't care what other people think. They say things that others won't, because it'd be improper or inappropriate.

"I see. I didn't really think that would be why you stopped."

…

"I'm not going to ask why you stopped going," Massimo continues, "but if I were to speculate, I would guess it has something to do with why you moved here. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind helping you."

"What do you mean help me?"

"I could help you get into a school. It probably wouldn't be too difficult. I doubt they would care too much about your background: the schools in this city are all losing pupils."

Would it really be that easy? I had my doubts.

But before that, do I even want to go back to school? I never enjoyed it when I was still going, but on the other hand, it will be difficult to get even a decent paying job in the future, if I don't get an education. Whilst I don't dislike the work I do at the restaurant; I don't think I really want to work as a waiter for the rest of my life.

"Can I think about it? I'm not too sure."

"Yeah, that's fine. It's your life. I'll pay you for your work if you decide not to."

So that's what this is about. That's why Massimo's suggested this. Well, no. Perhaps he is just trying to be nice, but the way he put it, it seems like he's trying to get out of paying for my work.

That doesn't really matter, however. Whether I want to go back to school or not, has nothing to do with the whatever reason Massimo has for offering to help me go back. In any case, I need to think about it some.