Confrontation At School

...

The ocean fills me with boundless loneliness

It's cold and dark in here

I'm sinking

I can't breathe

I'm paralysed

I can't move

I'm scared

I'm scared to die

But I want to die...

...

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"You've got some nerve coming to school after two weeks. Two weeks! Did I get that right, Leyon?"

"My ears," Leyon growled at his teacher. "I can hear just fine. You don't have to shout like that... sir," continued Leyon, the last word begrudgingly coming off his lips.

"Y-You you, look at this disrespectful brat!"

"Did I say anything wrong?" asked Leyon, eyes scanning his teacher up and down. You bald, forty-year-old fat man. He was the same teacher who had yelled at him on the phone to come back to school that day.

"You! Don't make that revolting face at me. And what's up with this hairstyle? You don't even look like a student. Cut your hair," his teacher ordered.

"No."

"How dare you!"

"Oh right. Did I get expelled? You said I would. It's already been two weeks. Judging from the fact that I'm still allowed in the school, it seems I've not been expelled yet," Leyon said boredly to his class teacher.

"Do not cross the line, kid," his teacher warned, taking off his thick eyeglasses to clean them with his handkerchief. He then rubbed the sweat on his forehead with the same handkerchief. Leyon scrunched his nose in disgust.

"I didn't know this school was so good at telling lies. What was all that about me getting expelled then? Were you trying to threaten me? Sorry, but threats don't work on me. I don't want to waste time here. If I'm getting expelled, then hurry up and give me the signed papers so I can go about my way," said Leyon, stifling a yawn.

"Did you just yawn at me? You just wait. Let me go get my cane."

"Calm down, sir Dustin," a voice interrupted them.

Entering the faculty room was another teacher, holding a few textbooks in his hand. He arrived just in time, stopping Dustin from beating up Leyon with his cane. Leyon pretended not to have noticed the new teacher's presence in the room. Currently, there were just three of them in the room. The other teachers were busy with their classes.

"Sir Nolan," Dustin greeted the man who just entered. "You tell me how I should control this boy. He's insane," Dustin stated, putting back his cane beside his desk.

"He's just a boy, sir Dustin. Let's not use violence to solve problems, shall we?"

"Boy? You say? Boy? He should be attending college by now. Does it not bother you that he flunked a grade? He brings down the name of our school. In our fifty years long history, he's the only student who flunked his grade. He's made a record!" Dustin exclaimed.

"He just needs to work hard and try again," Nolan spoke up for Leyon. Dustin scowled in annoyance but didn't say anything.

Leyon eyed Nolan, carefully studying his movements. Nolan was a tall, young teacher in his early thirties. He taught Physics, the subject Leyon found the most boring and tiresome. He either slept through or bunked the whole lecture altogether whenever he attended school.

Nolan and Dustin had been teaching in the school for as long as Leyon could remember. According to Leyon's perception, Dustin was a bit temperamental and would always beat up his students if he thought they were disobedient. He was disciplining them — was what he always used to say. He was an extremely unlikable teacher.

On the other hand, Nolan was reserved and quiet. He never beat his students. He was a well-trained, proficient teacher whom all the students admired. Every student said he was the best teacher, but to Leyon, he wasn't. He was the same, same with the rest.

"If you're going to expel me, then do it fast. I want to leave," said Leyon, catching the attention of the two teachers who had been engaging in a silent staring contest with each other.

Dustin opened his mouth, ready to speak, but Nolan beat him to it. "I'm afraid we cannot do that," said Nolan.

"And why is that?" asked Leyon, furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance.

"If you want to get expelled that badly, then pay your fees," Nolan replied. "You haven't paid any for this semester."

"I don't have money."

"Well then, you have to find a way to pay or else you can't leave," Nolan said.

"I really don't have any money."

"Isn't that your fault?" Dustin intervened. "You used up the scholarship money that was given to you last year. If you hadn't flunked a grade, then maybe you could have renewed or applied for a new one to continue your higher studies. But you failed your exams and now you're sitting in the same class as your juniors. Don't you feel any shame?" Dustin shouted at Leyon.

"No. And I don't understand why this is my fault. Haven't you heard of the saying? When a student fails in his studies, it's because the teacher failed in his teaching. Such common sense shouldn't be too hard to grasp," Leyon taunted Dustin.

"You useless, ungrateful child!" Dustin fumed, slamming his hands on his desk. "Try to show some respect. I am your teacher."

"Yeah, a teacher who keeps looking up at the female students' skirts from behind whenever he sees them climbing up the stairs. I don't want to respect such teacher," Leyon replied, shooting Dustin a very disgusted look.

Dustin's face paled all of a sudden. He didn't know what to say or how to even react to Leyon's words.

Nolan tried hard to hold in his laughter. That kid. Saying that with such a straight face, he's one hell of a troublemaker, he thought. Seeing that Dustin had gone rigid like a statue, his lips twitching and unable to retort to Leyon's wicked comments, Nolan decided it was time for him to intervene. "Leyon, we understand that your situation is a bit special," he started, "but please, try to cooperate with the rules of the school and the teachers. Don't make things hard for us."

"I'll try to pay my fees as soon as possible and leave this school," Leyon replied.

"You misunderstood me." Nolan sighed. "What I meant was-"

"Enough, enough," Dustin cut him off. "Let him go. My blood pressure is rising. We'll discuss this later." Dustin retreated to his desk but before he could sit down on his revolving chair, Leyon kicked the chair's legs, causing it to slide away to the side. As a result, Dustin unceremoniously fell on his butt on the ground. He lay there helplessly. "You," Dustin roared, "You dare try to hurt me? Call his parents! Wait, he doesn't have any parents. Call the police. Call the police right now. Take this brat to jail!"

"You may go." Nolan quickly ushered Leyon out the door.

"Then I shall be taking my leave, sir Dustbin. Bye." Leyon bowed his head and quickly vanished from the room.

Dustin's extremely loud, earth-shattering howls echoed throughout the walls of the school even after Leyon was long gone.