Oh this one looks short and sweet doesn’t it? Let’s see what this prompt brings shall we? So set your timers my lovelies, it is time to writer. In three…two…one…
Not what I expected when I first started typing. I fumbled a bit at the beginning but i really think that once i go back to this prompt it is going to be an interesting story about John. I think John is going to be in the middle of this educational take over when it crashes. It was a clunky start so I will have to go back and rework that once i get the full outline…
Thursday, January 5th: He smiled.
He smiled. The look was more pained than amused and it looked un natural. Staring at him John thought he heard his skin creak. Surely no one had ever seen Dr. Rogers smile before. Dr. rogers himself seemed to realize that the expression was unnatural and dropped his lips into their habitual line. Everyone in the room seemed to relax at the normality of the neutral expression other than Ms. Landreau. She frowned at his performance. She then marked something down on her clipboard.
Dr. Rogers glanced at her and then deliberately turned away. He faced the class and for the rest of the class he lectured as though determined to get this lesson in even if it was his last one. Somehow it conveyed a sense of urgency and John, along with the rest of his class found himself leaning a little forward, hands scratching down as many words of the lecture in their notebooks as they could catch.
When the bell sounded and the students were dismissed there was a relief that seemed to run from Dr. Rogers through them. John filed out with the rest of the class and Dr. Rogers went to his desk, ignoring Ms. Landreau.
John shook his head. He knew they were doing evaluations for every member of staff from the teachers down to the janitorial crew. Recently the school had changed hands. It had always been a private academy but recently the people who built and ran the school sold it to what was rapidly becoming a network of charter schools. The name would stay the same but already a foot note had been added to the sign in the front of the main campus building.
It was no longer Rutherford Academy. It was Rutherford Academy: An Albemarle Network Charter School. As near as he could tell, part of becoming a part of the network involved evaluating and firing nearly every member of staff. John wasn’t entirely certain the janitorial staff would even remain. This was his last class before lunch and his second evaluator. Ms. Landreau had been in his first class of the day as well. Mr. Green had been sporting a forced smile as well.
‘Maybe she wants them to look happy to teach.’ John thought as he went into the lunch room. The one class he had that morning without an evaluator had a new teacher in it. Ms. Lees was gone from room 247 and a man calling himself Professor Michaelson was in her place. They spent the class having their seating chart rearranged and playing getting to know you sorts of games. John thought that was ridiculous since about two thirds of the class had been at the Academy since kindergarten and the late comes had mostly arrived at the beginning of High school. As it was October even their three new kids who joined as the semester started knew everyone’s names by this point. It was just the professor who was at a loss.
John shook his head. There were evaluators in his afternoon classes the day before and he wondered how many of his teachers remained.
Ten til Midnight 