Biology class

when i entered the classroom, Candy lowered her eyes, pretending to be reading her notes. I silently sat down at my desk not wanting to disturb her, opening my notebook and textbook, in the hopes that today Mrs baker will leave me alone.

Candy flipped through the pages of the book, obviously bored. I wanted to apologize to her, but at the same time I really don't understand why I should have to. Luke and I just went on a picnic. Or was it something more?

The teacher's rapsy voice interfared with my thoughts. "Sarah and Candy, I really can't abide the way you behaved last period. I hope everything will be quite different today."

Mrs. Baker stood at her desk, nervously biting her lips, and her eyes did not linger on any person, but danced from one student to another, giving the impression that she herself did not understand what she was talking about.

"Sarah received a kind of punishment last time. Today I want to hear from you first, Candy."

Candy stiffened, but didn't even try to take a peek at the textbook. Mrs. Baker wrote on the board a task that Candy should solve. For ten minutes Candy tried to cope with the task, but Mrs. Baker wiped everything irritably and told her to start over.

"It's all wrong! Who exactly are you learning from, Candy?"

I knew the topic of the problem, and could have answered it myself, but was it worth the risk? I wanted to back out but I decided to use this as a form of apology.

"Mrs. Baker, can I answer it?" I asked standing up from my desk.

"You?" She looked at me in disbelief, paused, and finally nodded. "Okay. Let's see if you've become smarter over the last day..."

The class laughed, but I couldn't care less. As I passed by Candy, she whispered. "Thank you."

Candy sat down, and I stood at the black board again. It was the same as yesterday, only thais time I knew the answer. After a few minutes the problem was solved.

Mrs. Baker rechecked it several times, obviously hoping to find some kind of mistake. Her face twisted again, her lips quivered, and her nostrils widened as she sighed nervously. Almost through her teeth, she finally said..."Not bad. You may sit down." She turned to Candy. "I hope you understand that today I'll be seeing you after school?"

"What?" Candy said, shocked.

"Does that surprise you? The fact that Sarah stood up for you, doesn't change anything. Now I will take care of you thoroughly.

Mrs. Baker interest in Candy and i immediately disappeared, and she carried on with the lecture. By the end of the lesson, Candy was slower that usual collecting her books and supplies. I saw that she wanted to say something, but she didn't dare.

"I wanted to say thatnk you for standing up for me. I was very close to bursting into tears." She finally said.

"You have nothing to thank me for."

Candy stood still for a couple of seconds , as if she wanted to add something, but in the end she just smiled and left.

In the hallway I ran into Derek. "Where are you going?" He asked as soon as he sights me.

"To class, we have biology now."

"That's right. Oh yeah, you haven't been here in the mornings yet. Today, we have a lesson off school ground... we'll be studying the flowers of Saintfour." Derek spoke without much enthusiasm. "Everyone is already outside. We'd better go."

The school bus engine were running and the doors were open, waiting for everyone to take their seats. "There are a lot of people...Much bigger than our class..."

"Yeah we go with the graduates." Derek answered.

"Where?"

"To the forest, I think."

Immediately he said that, my mind went back to the night that I found Sam's body. I stumbled over something and when I looked down I saw a shape of a person but not quite sure cause it's dark.

My first impulse was to skip biology today, but Derek was already pushing me into the bus, cutting off all escape route.

When we got to the forest, the teacher, straightening an ever-falling strand of hair, spoke about all the different types of flowers. The kids all trudged behind, without even looking around.

Periodically, the teacher's voice escalated into a trembling squeak as she endeavored to quell the chatter among the children. With each escalation, her efforts mirrored a crescendo, a desperate plea for attention amid the din of youthful exuberance. The intermittent spikes in volume punctuated the forest atmosphere, evoking a temporary hush as the children momentarily heeded her call. Yet, the silence was fleeting, soon to be enveloped once more by the buzz of youthful energy, leaving the teacher to persevere in her endeavor to maintain order amidst the lively discourse of her students.

Candy, Derek and i walked at the very back of the pack. "Does anyone even listen to the teacher here?" I asked

"Well there's one guy that's always listening." Derek pointed to a guy with glasses trying to squeeze his way forward. The guy was pushed away, and then he stood on his hunches and jumped up to see at least something ahead. "We haven't introduced you two Bobby! Bobby, come here man."

"Oh, leave me alone!" Bobby said frustratingly.

"I want to introduce you to someone.."

Bobby reluctantly walked towards us. "Well?"

"This is Sarah. She's new." Derek introduced me to him and I held out my hands. Bobby shook my hands excceively in the air. It was careless. As if he was doing me a favor.

"Yes, yes, very nice to meet you." He said carelessly.

"Don't pay it attention. Bobby's always like that with strangers." Derek explained.

Even though Bobby's attitude his not very good I decided to respond calmly. "That's OK. Nice to meet you too Bobby? I haven't seen you in class before."

"I've been sick. I decided that a walk outside couldn't hurt."