Suzie’s House 82: Breaking Point – The First

Ben knew what to expect already, but he’d been real good about this paper. He checked his spelling twice and had Lisa help him with his grammar. The topic was “Write about something you care about.” He’d done that.

Just once he wanted to get a good grade out of English.

Mrs. D. took her sweet time handing out the papers. When she came even with his desk, she stopped. She stared at the top sheet in her pile for several seconds. He kind of thought she might actually say something to him, something she hadn’t done in a while. Her eyes darted to either side like she was checking everyone out, then she placed the paper on his desk in front of him slow and careful.

F.

She gave him an F. There were only two points off for spelling, and a bunch of little red marks over his commas, but not enough for an F. On the back of the last page she had scrawled, “Not an appropriate topic.”

“Not an appropriate topic?” Ben didn’t mean to shout, it just came out loud. “What do you mean it’s not an appropriate topic?”

“What did you write about?” Matt asked. He sat in the seat to the left, back one row.

“Skateboarding.”

“I do no believe skateboarding is near and dear to your heart,” Mrs. D. said like he was stupid.

“How would you know?!”

“You will not talk back to me, young man.” Mrs. D. hovered over him, glowering.

She was in the wrong, but she expected HIM to grovel. Just like his father. After school, he would have to go home and apologize for using the last of the milk on his cereal. It didn’t used to be so bad. Before, he could swallow his pride and let Mrs. D. yell because he knew if it got too bad, his mother would be there for him. Not anymore. Now his mother would rather play with her new boyfriend, and wouldn’t even let him come home.

Ben couldn’t even talk about it to his best friend, Gene, because Gene had it so much worse.

Why did all this have to happen to him? Just when he’d been so sure everything was going to be great, it fell apart. Why? What did he do wrong?

Nothing! That’s what. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and he wasn’t going to take it any more.

“Apologize,” Mrs. D. snarled at him.

“No!” Ben lurched to his feet. Since she was on the side of his desk with the bar, this at least got him out from under her. “I’M not the one who should be apologizing.”

“What do you think you’re doing? Get back in that seat at once!”

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He couldn’t stand to be anywhere near her. He didn’t like the way everyone in the class was staring, either. Ben ran out the door. He left all his stuff behind and everything.

She shrieked at him, but hadn’t even moved from his desk when he ran into the hall. He didn’t know where he was going to go or what he was going to do. He just had to get away. He skidded around a corner, then slowed down.

“Hey,” Gene came up behind him. He must have run out of the classroom at the same time. “Mrs. D. totally sucks. She isn’t being fair at all. Like you said, how’s she supposed to know what matters to you? And she shouldn’t talk to you like that either. Wanna go get a pop from the broken machine down by the gym?”

Ben only nodded. He didn’t trust his voice. They turned around and almost smacked right into Lisa. He and Gene glanced at each other. Gene looked as surprised as Ben felt. “What are you doing here?” He sounded amazed to himself but he couldn’t help it.

“Come on,” she said with authority. “What she’s doing isn’t right. We’re going to do something about it.”

“Do? What can we do?” They were only kids. No one ever listened to kids.

“We’re going to the principal. He’s a friend of mine. He’ll listen to me.”