The Whale - 3. Part I, chapter 3

- III -

The rest of the day was relatively peaceful. Russell did make snorting noises when I walked by his desk, but I ignored him. I decided that from now on, no matter what he did, I would not react. I hoped that sooner or later, he'd get bored and leave me alone. Math class was the last one today, and when I walked in, there was the principal again. At first, I hoped that he came to announce that Russell was leaving for a military school, and that everyone should say their good-byes now. Of course, that wasn't the case. He smiled at the entire class and beckoned to a young woman who was standing by the door.

"Two newcomers in one day!" he said cheerfully as if that was great news. "Mr. Lindberg had retired, as I am sure you are all aware of... So let me introduce to you Miss Connor!"

He looked so theatrical that I almost laughed. Everyone muttered something inaudible, and Connor smiled.

"Hey, guys," she said lightly.

"Hey..." several people muttered indifferently.

"Miss Connor, it's an honor..." Luke said with feeling.

Oh, great. He is also a poet.

"Russell..." the principal sighed darkly.

To my amusement, Miss Connor laughed.

"Yes," she said. "I have never heard that one before. Refreshing, really..."

There were some amused chuckles from the class, and I was satisfied to see Luke's eyes narrow a bit in a thoughtful manner. Excellent, I thought. Maybe now he'll concentrate on making her his new target. I felt kinda bad for being so happy that he found a new victim, but at the same time, somehow it seemed to me that Connor could take care of herself just fine.

"All right," the principal said tightly. "Have a good rest of the day now..."

He left the classroom, and Connor started writing something on the blackboard. The minute the chalk touched the board, there was a screeching sound, and I looked up. Luke was sitting with his eyes closed, and of course, he was the one making the noise. I blinked. Really, what is his problem? Why is he such a freaking jerk?! Almost everyone laughed and stared at Connor, waiting for her reaction. If I were her, I'd be bright-red by now. But I was right -- Connor knew how to hold her own. She didn't even flinch.

"Do you need to use the restroom, Mr. Russell?" she asked indifferently. "Sounds like you have some really bad case of gas... Might be harmful to others."

Luke's eyes immediately flew open. There was silence, and then laughter exploded. Even I was laughing. I laughed so hard that I snorted. Thankfully, nobody noticed. I looked at Luke. He slightly narrowed his eyes again and thoughtfully looked at Connor, who finally turned towards the class.

"You okay?" she asked him with genuine concern, her face solemn.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered almost cheerfully.

"Good," she nodded. "Now, how about you come up here and solve this for me?"

I loved her that moment. I really did. Russell blinked and slowly got up.

"Okay," he walked up to the board and took the chalk out of her fingers.

He stood still for a couple of minutes, his left hand shoved in his pocket. Finally, he started to write something on the board. I wasn't great at math, but I did well enough to immediately see a mistake in his calculations. It wasn't a big mistake, just a small one, but it screwed up the entire thing. I felt so gleeful that I had trouble breathing. Finally, he stepped away from the board and looked at Connor, his mouth twitching in a sarcastic smile.

"Done, teacher," he said respectfully.

She glanced at the board and sighed.

"You might want to re-read a couple of previous chapters, Mr. Russell," she said with regret.

I knew she was mocking him. The mistake was small, and it was clear that he knew what he was doing. He frowned and looked at the board. Connor walked up to him and took away the chalk.

"Here," she said and quickly corrected his calculations.

He all but hissed at that. She looked up at him -- she was at least three inches shorter -- and smiled pitifully.

"You may be seated," she said so gently that I almost started laughing again.

Boy, it sure felt good to watch him suffer! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw his eyelid twitch ever so slightly. I couldn't tell if it was because he was actually embarrassed or pissed off. Probably both. He silently walked to his desk and sat down. The rest of the class felt like Christmas to me.

When I got home that day, my mother was making something in the kitchen. I knew that she had today off. She worked at the art gallery, and usually, she would only take one day off instead of two. She said it was because she was a single parent now and needed to work more, but I knew it wasn't that. She was making enough money without extra time, and dad paid his alimony and child support on time. I knew that she loved being at that art gallery and that she'd much rather spend time with paintings and sculptures than me.

"Hey, mom," I said cheerfully and she smiled at me.

"Hey, honey," she said warmly. "How was your first day?"

"It went okay," I shrugged. "I loved the math teacher."

"That's great!" She nodded. "I am making your favorite pie..."

Suddenly, something inside me started to scream. "No more pies, Amy! Look at yourself! Russell is right -- you are a freaking baby elephant!! You have to stop, before you balloon even more! No! More! Pies!!"

"Umm..." I said uncomfortably. "I think I'll skip the pie, mom..."

She looked at me like I just told her I was pregnant.

"Are you feeling okay?" she sounded so concerned that I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Yes, mom," I sighed. "I am okay. I really need to start losing all this fat..."

She blinked. When I started gaining weight in the very beginning, she kept telling me that it wasn't a big deal. Which it wasn't, she was right. I mean, it's not a big deal when you go from 110 to 115. But after I hit 165, she was gently trying to tell me that maybe, I should slow down on hamburgers, but I would just ignore her. I wouldn't even listen when she would talk about me losing weight, so finally, she just gave up and accepted the fact that I was digging my own grave with a spoon. I guess that's why she preferred to hang out at her art gallery -- so she wouldn't see me eat like a horse.

"Okay," she said finally. "What would you like for dinner tonight?"

She sounded so careful that it reminded me of old spy movies. You know, when someone says the code words to a person they are not sure is the right one? And then they just wait for the reply to see if it's their agent or not? Yeah, that what it reminded me of. I shrugged.

"Salad?" I asked, and my mother blinked rapidly. "Just the salad, mom... No toppings, okay?"

She looked like she was about to start crying and scream Hallelujah!!

"Sure," she said quickly. "I'll make it by six, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed. "I am going to do my homework now."

I saved the math homework for last, and was snickering the whole time I was doing it. Luke's pink face made math my favorite subject.