So here's the new story! This didn't win the poll but i was inspired and i didnt want to stifle it. i hope you all like this and this chapter is a little boring but give it a chance! this will be updated weekly i think. i'm going to do longer chapters for this story. It's not going to be long. 11-12 maybe (my luck it'll be longer.) Kendall is a 12th grade teacher and he's a cool one. lol . Please review and let me know what you think! Like Kindergarten will be finished up sometime next week or the week after that.
I was sitting my classroom waiting for students to enter. I was running an orientation for my twelfth grade AP English students and their parents. It was 8:30 and I knew that most of my students would come to the later orientation. I was reading the paper when I heard a knock at my door.
"Hello, come in." I smiled at the young teen.
"Are you Mr. Knight?" she spoke quietly.
"That's my father, call me Kendall." I held out my hand and she hesitantly shook it. "What's your name?"
"Jayla Michaels."
"I've heard about you. You're very smart and stellar in English. I heard it's an honor to have you in a class." I smiled at her as she blushed.
"I guess."
"Please have a seat. Where are your parents?"
"They didn't want to come. I'm old enough to do this on my own." She shrugged and I nodded.
"So it looks like you'll be the only one here, so let's get to know each other. I want to have a friendly relationship with all my students."
"Okay." She whispered. She was wearing a beanie that covered the top of her head, but you could see her bangs peeking out and her wavy brown locks went to her shoulder. She had a button up open with a tank top on and a pair of skinny jeans and converse. She seemed kind of artsy.
"Tell me about yourself. What do you think I need to know?"
"I like the color of green." She smiled and I nodded.
"Me too, have you picked a college."
"I'm going to go to Yale."
"Have you filled out your application?"
"I did last year."
"Congratulations! You are ahead of the game." I joked and she nodded. She began to turn this ugly shade of green and made a mad dash for the garbage can. "It's okay, let it out."
"I'm sorry." She apologized after she was done. She went and sat back down and put a hand on her stomach.
"Is it the flu or something?"
"Or something."
"What else should I know about you?"
"I… uh…I need to do my senior portfolio two months in advance because I don't know how many days of school I'll miss."
"Oh…uh…why?"
"I'm…uh… I'm pregnant. Two months to be exact and yeah…" she trailed off and I could tell she was embarrassed.
"Hey, it's okay. No judgment here. I'm here if you need anything."
"Thanks, at least someone is."
"Your parents aren't?"
"They wanted me to get an abortion, but I didn't listen."
"Are you going to be able to handle possibly going to Yale and a baby?"
"I don't know. I think I could do it. It all depends on if I get in or not."
"What does the father have to say about this?"
"He doesn't care. He hasn't answered any of my calls."
"Do you mind me asking who it is?"
"It's a boy from the next town over. We met at a party that I was dragged to. He put something in my drink…so….I don't really remember much."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. What do you hope it is?"
"I want a girl." She smiled and it was the first genuine smile.
"I have the homework assignments for the first month of school already planned. Do you want them?" I offered and she nodded.
"You're going to read this short story, answer the questions and write an essay on the theme."
"Thank you. I have you first period and I may be late. I'm only two months along and I already hate getting up."
"I understand but I don't want you taking advantage of me. I expect you in class." I told her sternly.
"I know, I'm just letting you know." She said as she wrapped her arms around herself. There was knocking at the door and I noticed it was another student and his parents.
"I'll see you on the first day of school. Have a fun rest of the summer." I smiled at Jayla and she nodded.
"Thank you Mr. Knight." She waved goodbye and the next student entered.
SEPTEMBER.
"Welcome to period 1 AP Literature. I'm your teacher Mr. Knight but please call me Kendall. I'm going to allow you to choose your seats so please rearrange yourselves accordingly." I spoke as I watched my class move around the room. Jayla sat in the back of the room by herself in the corner. Nobody wanted to be around her.
"No one wants to sit near the whore." A boy, Jake, called out. I noticed Jayla take a deep breath and stare at her desk.
"No one wants to catch the STD's she has." A blonde girl called out.
"That is enough!" I shouted. "I will not tolerate bullying in my classroom. Don't make me assign seats." I told everyone but no one moved.
"It's fine Kendall. I prefer to sit alone." Jayla shrugged and I nodded.
"Fine, but I will not tolerate cursing in my classroom either." I told the class.
"Tell us about yourself." A girl shouted.
"well, I'm single, I'm 24 and I like the color green." I sent a smirk in Jayla's direction and she giggled. "My classroom is always open. You can come talk to me about anything without judgment and you can eat lunch in here too if you want." I told everyone as the bell rang.
"Just a reminder that the homecoming dance is in 2 weeks, you all should go. I'm chaperoning." I smiled as my class left. Jayla was the last to leave.
"Goodbye Mr. Knight."
"Bye Jayla." I gave a wave.
LUNCHTIME
I was eating an apple, grading the summer assignments when someone knocked on my door.
"Come in." I smiled when I saw Jayla walking in.
"Hi, I'm sorry but I thought this would be better than sitting in a stall in the bathroom." She shrugged as she put her books down.
"That's true. You can come every day, I don't mind."
"Thanks and I apologize in advance for you having to see me eat."
"It can't be that bad."
"Trust me it is." She giggled and grabbed her PB & J sandwich.
"How's your first day going?"
"It's as I expected. Everyone is staring at me and nobody wants to sit near me."
"I can assign seats if you want. I feel bad."
"Don't, I knew I would be ostracized the moment I found out I was pregnant."
"How did you find out?"
"I didn't get my period and I thought nothing of it until I started puking. My parents also had this big gala dinner planned and we put a dress on hold for me in a size 2 and when I tried to zip it, I couldn't. I went to the doctor and sure enough, baby on board."
"Were you scared?"
"Petrified. When I told my parents they said that if I got an abortion, I could go on a shopping spree, no limit. They thought I would choose clothes over my baby. How stupid are they?"
"Is it rough at your house?"
"They don't really talk to me. The nanny does though. My parents are barely home, being the top lawyers in the county and all." She shrugged as she began eating some cookies.
"It's gonna' be okay Jayla."
"I know, I know, I just…I need to go. Thanks for letting me eat here." She smiled but I could see the tears waiting to fall.
"Jayla wait-"
"No, I just…yeah." She ran out of the room and I dropped my head to my desk.
"Jesus." I muttered and waited for my next class.
WEEK LATER.
I sat listening to music at my desk during my lunch period. Jayla hadn't returned for lunch and I was slightly upset. I didn't want her to feel alone.
"Kendall?" Jayla peeked her head into the room and I motioned for her to come in.
"How are you?" I asked as she sat down.
"I need a favor."
"What?"
"I need a recommendation for Yale. None of my other teachers will do it and I thought that I could come to you."
"Absolutely, when do you need it by?"
"Next week, I need to send in my application the day of the homecoming dance."
"I'll give it to you in the next few days. I'm honored you would ask me." I smiled as she pulled out her lunch.
"here." She smiled and handed me a sandwich.
"Thank you, but don't you want it?"
"I made an extra for you. It's kind of like an apology for the way I acted last week."
"It's the hormones. I get it." I joked and she nodded.
"Yeah…hormones."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just cry at everything nowadays and my parents haven't talked to me and left me a few booklets about adoption in my room so…I think I know what they want."
"Are you gonna' listen to them?"
"Maybe…I'm not sure."
"What do you want? Deep down inside, what do you see in your future?"
"I see me in college, getting my degree, getting a job…with my baby." She whispered the last part and I nodded.
"Do what you think feels right. There's still tons of time left. 7 months right?"
"Yeah, 7 months until I weigh a gazillion pounds."
"Don't worry about the weight."
"Yeah…so enough about me. Tell me about you. What does my favorite teacher like to eat for breakfast?"
"Favorite teacher huh." I smiled. "I like eggs in the morning."
"Why did you want to become a teacher?"
"I don't know honestly. My dad was a teacher and I wanted to follow in his footsteps."
"That's nice."
"What are you going to Yale for?"
"I think I'm going to become a lawyer."
"Is that what you want?"
"No but…it's what my parents want and I can't let them down again."
"You've never let them down."
"That's not what they say." She muttered.
"So are you going to the dance next week?"
"No, my parents won't let me out. I'm on a very tight leash right now."
"What's the worst that could happen? I mean you're already pregnant." I joked and she glared at me.
"It's not funny." She whimpered as I saw some tears leak from her eyes.
"I'm sorry. That was mean of me."
"It's fine. I'm overreacting; it was a pretty funny joke." She shrugged with a slight giggle.
"I'm your teacher, I should be nice. I apologize."
"It's fine Kendall. "She reassured and I nodded.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." I said apprehensively.
"When I told you I was pregnant…what did you think? Did you think less of me?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Teachers are refusing to write me recommendations and they don't call on me in class when I'm the only one to raise my hand. I'm kind of offended."
"At first, I was a little…shocked but I was happy that you were honest with me and told me what was going on so we can work on keeping you up date so you can graduate. I'm proud of you too."
"At least someone is." She muttered as she picked up her book bag.
"I'm glad you trust me. If you need anything…and I mean anything, come to me." I told her as the bell rang.
"Thank you, have a nice weekend Mr. Knight." She waved goodbye and I smiled. I had to get going on her recommendation.
THAT WEEKEND.
I was heading to the diner with my friends Logan, James and Carlos. It was our monthly dinner. I walked in and was escorted to where they were already seated.
"Hey look! It's professor Knight!" Logan joked as I sat down.
"Shut up Dr. Mitchell."
"Glad you're finally here." James spoke. James was a model and Carlos was a construction worker.
"Sorry, I was writing a recommendation for a student of mine."
"Those kids are waving at you." Carlos pointed at some of my students. I gave a small wave back and ignored the snickering of my friends.
"Hi, I'm Jayla and I'll be your waitress." I looked up and locked eyes with Jayla.
"Hey, I didn't know you worked here." I said.
"Yeah, been working here for about a year. I need the money now more than ever." She shrugged and I nodded.
"Well, we'll have 4 beers and 4 hamburgers with fries please." I told her.
"I'll be back with your drinks soon." She said as she went over to the table with her fellow peers.
"Who's that?" James asked.
"That's one of my students. She's pregnant."
"Dude…you can get fired for that!" Carlos scolded and I rolled my eyes.
"It's not mine doofus."
"Here are your drinks, food should be out shortly." Jayla smiled as she brought the other drinks to her other table.
"She seems nice." Logan commented.
"She is. I kind of took her under my wing. She's…very alone right now." I told them as I watched my students laugh at Jayla. She just walked away and I could tell she was crying a little.
"She's bullied…right?"
"Yeah, it's pretty rough in school."
"Here's your food, sorry for the wait." She smiled as she placed the burgers in front of us.
"Thank you very much." James told her as she went to the other table. The kids were laughing at her again as she picked up her tip. She rolled her eyes and came back to our table with some extra napkins.
"How much did they give you?" Logan asked.
"$1.43." she shook her head and walked away. I was angry at them, I would definitely be loading on the homework next week. We all ate and laughed as Jayla continued to waitress.
"Here is your bill; I used my discount on you guys. Hope you don't mind." She smiled as she brought our dirty dishes to the kitchen.
"Leave her a big tip." I told the guys as I paid the bill and placed a $10 for my tip. The guys followed suit and I smiled. "Thanks you guys." We headed out the door before Jayla could refuse the money.
.LINEBREAK.
"I want you to read the next two chapters in the book then write a summary of each page. Furthermore, I want you to write a poem about how to tip at a restaurant. This is to get your creative juices flowing." I smirked as the class groaned. The bell rang and everyone filed out except Jayla.
"Funniest thing happened to me this weekend…a guy and his stupid friends left me a tip that was more than the actual bill." Jayla glared.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Just give me my recommendation and I'll be on my way." She said as I handed her the papers.
"Are you coming back for lunch?"
"Have I missed one this week?"
"No…so you'll be here?"
"Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!" she waved the papers in the air and left the room.
LUNCHTIME.
"My feet hurt." Jayla groaned as she sat in a desk with her feet up.
"Wear more comfortable shoes."
"But I need to look good. It's hard being a pregnant teen." She joked as she ate the Chinese I bought for her.
"Liking the food?"
"It's delicious. Thanks for this."
"No problem. You don't have to do the homework I assigned. It was inspired by you."
"I figured. If I do it, can I get extra credit?"
"You have a perfect average in this class. You don't need extra credit."
"I know but still…"
"No, it's the weekend. Enjoy yourself."
"Oh yeah, looking over possible adoptive parents for my baby. The baby I want to keep."
"Relax a bit then. You don't want to be too stressed out. You have to take care of your baby."
"I have an appointment this weekend actually."
"You must be excited."
"Very."
"I have lunch detention all next week so I won't be here but please feel free to come eat here."
"Okay, I'm gonna' head home early so I'll see you next week. Have a nice weekend." She smiled and I waved goodbye.
"There's something special about that girl." I whispered to myself.
Good? Bad? Boring? Should i continue? Please review!
BTW: Kendall and Jayla will not be in a relationship at any point during this story.