Educational Opportunities

[zombiiiez]

Imogen sat quietly at her desk with a fresh notebook in front of her and a pen perfectly positioned in a 45˚ angle on the pages. She loved the look of a new notebook and pen - ready for lessons and note-taking. Students were filing in one-by-one, taking their places about the room. Imogen always sat at the front out of habit. It made her visible, with no distractions in front of her to get in the way of absorbing information.

It wasn't that Imogen was particularly interested in what they were trying to teach her, but she carried an innate sense of responsibility to do the best she could. Otherwise she'd spend most of her time kicking herself for being a procrastinator, or lazy.

"Morning class," said the teacher as she strode in carrying a briefcase. She pulled out a few pages of notes, and a stack of syllabi which she placed on the desk. Imogen smiled - she'd always liked this teacher. "I'm Mrs. Lockhart. Obviously, this is Advanced Algebra, annnnnd I think we'll start off by going over the syllabus." Mrs. Lockhart picked up the stack of papers and handed it to Imogen. "Imogen, hand these out, would you?"

"Sure," she said, taking the stack and rising from her seat. She wasn't ashamed to be a teacher's pet... it got her the grades she wanted. She went down the lines, handing out the syllabi to everyone.
​

 

[Primal-Beast]

Landon sar in the back. He wore the usual. He was leaning back. The black wavy hair covering his eyes. He was sleeping. He didn't really respond when the girl came passing out notes. He was too tired actually. When she was close enough he grumbled something like a thanks. He blew the hair out of his eyes. They were dark brown. He looked at her. His eyes reflecting the world back at people. He was actually not a half bad looking person. He smiled warmly. Though honestly he had no idea what was going on. He looked down at the sheet was tempted to tear it up. He didn't though. Just for the sake of his being first day here.

 

[zombiiiez]

Imogen smiled politely at him, almost feeling bad for him. It was pretty early... She'd heard rumors about him that made their way through the halls, but she wasn't keen to believe just anything she heard. "Welcome," she said quietly, carrying on up the rows until she made it back to her seat. She knew the class was irritated with her, always sucking up to the teachers, especially Mrs. Lockhart, and it especially ground their gears that the teachers liked her back.

"So this morning is just going to be a review. I want to know where you're all at in terms of prior knowledge. That way I can make plans for the rest of the year," said Mrs. Lockhart. She began scribbling things down on the whiteboard, asking questions of various students throughout the hour. Imogen took notes, jotted things down, and made sure not to answer many of the questions immediately.
The hour seemed to fly by, at least to Imogen. Mrs. Lockhart was wrapping things up, but before she dismissed the class...

"Imogen and Landon... could you two stay behind for a couple minutes? The rest of you have a wonderful day and I'll see you Wednesday."

Imogen stomach lurched somewhat. Was she in trouble? What about Landon? What could she possibly have done wrong? Shit.. While the rest rose from their seats and filed out the door, Imogen glanced back at Landon.

 

[Primal-Beast]

Landon had not written down any notes. He was too tired to. He just sat, leaned back sleeping. When she said Welcome He merely grunted in response. The entire class period it looked like he wasn't listening at all. The class dragged on for what felt like hours. He was tired of this class. When the bell wrong he was about to get up and leave. Until the teacher called him back to take a seat. Son of a... He sat down and waited. What did he do this time? And what did the girl do? She seemed like a teacher's pet. He would have been surprised if she said she didn't complete her homework. He sat back down in the back and waited for what the teacher had to say.

 

[zombiiiez]

"Thanks, guys," said Mrs. Lockhart in a velvety voice. She took her glasses off and put them on the desk, rubbing the bridge of the nose before addressing them further with a kind smile for both of them.

"The reason I've asked you to stay late is because I have noticed some things about you two. You're complete opposites. Landon, you didn't do a thing this entire class period, while Imogen sat up front and almost annoyingly took notes and answered questions. I'm not condoning the behavior of either of you two, but I think I have an idea that would benefit you both. Imogen... I want you to tutor Landon."

Imogen's eyes widened suddenly. "Tutor!?" she spurted, "You want me to tutor Landon in math? Are you kidding me? I can barely keep up with my own course load, let alone keep track of Landon's too!"

Mrs. Lockhart smirked somewhat. "Oh, I think you can, Imogen. Besides, I'm not asking you to do his homework for him. I'm asking you to help him. Landon, can you jive with this? I know you haven't had the most wonderful grades thus far... I want you to succeed. I think you're a bright student, but you need a little... push. Or a shove."

Imogen looked to Landon, feeling a sense of camaraderie in the fact that she was certain neither of them wanted to be paired with one another.