Somewhere in the world a dog barked, a door slammed, and tires squeeled as a car peeled out; but here the only sound was utter silence. I'm sure my eyes looked as surprised as my classmates' as they met the cold, inhuman orbs of my enemy and my traitor mouth hung open. I sat in my desk in the generic brainwashing factory some called a school. I had just allowed my inner rebellion to leak out. I often criticised the words of my instructors, but never ever out loud.
Maybe I was just tired, maybe I had lost my mind, maybe...I was dead. Mrs. Kriller was reaching for the red pen that was permanently tucked behind her ear and the pad of detention slips in her hideous fanny pack. I would never live it down. Alex "Straight A, Goody-Two-Shoes" McGregor getting a detention for shooting her pie-hole off at a teacher? The school gossip mill would have a field day.
Just as I had begun composing my "Now it's not as bad as it sounds..." speech to my parents in my head, the meticulously cut nails of the She-Witch herself slowly dropped from her tool of destruction. My shocked gaze became incredulous and my eyes watered from the need to break the intense stare-off. Just when I thought I would burst from the need to question my nemesis she spoke.
"Alexandra, I'm glad to see that one of my most eloquent students on paper has a voice, but I had hoped once you decided to share your wisdom in class it would be a bit more...insightful. 'That is total bull' is not a bit original. For someone with your intellect to use such a phrase to express herself is, to be honest, degrading to you. I appreciate your opinions but in future if you feel you have something to say, please take a moment to compose it in a way that is befitting such an intelligent person," Mrs. Kriller quietly said.
As I reeled in my chair she returned to the board and continued to write as if class had never been interrupted. My classmates stopped whispering and began again to frantically scribble down notes. Shame tortured me in a way that detention never would have as I stared out the window and pondered words as wise as any I'd ever read.