On the first day of school, two best friends discover a frightening secret about one of their new teachers.
Source of this prompt: Donovan, Melissa (2014-01-02). 1200 Creative Writing Prompts (Adventures in Writing) (p. 6). Swan Hatch Press. Kindle Edition.
It’s the first day of sophomore year of high school. Being a sophomore is only marginally better than being a freshman. At least you’re an upperclassman, but sophomore year is the year you spend waiting to turn sixteen so you can learn to drive. It’s going to be a long and boring year; at least that’s what Sarah and Drew think. They live in a small town and everyone knows everyone else. No one leaves and no one new ever comes along. Half of Sarah and Drew’s teachers taught their parents in high school, because their town just doesn’t change.
Homeroom started at 7:30 in room 202. Sarah and Drew took seats together in the back of the room, mostly so they could mock some of their classmates without being overheard. The room was noisy with the sound of teenage voices calling across the room to one another. Drew looked up at the wall clock; it was 7:37 and Mr. Ransom, their homeroom teacher, was late. After a few more minutes of banter, the students heard the sound of the doorknob turning and the click as the door was opened. They settled down, waiting for Mr. Ransom, but instead were surprised to see a thirty-something woman enter the room and cross to the teacher’s desk.
Sarah, Drew, and the rest of the students stared at the tall, angular woman. No one had every seen her before. She had short blond hair and large, dark eyes that seemed to see everyone at once. She moved gracefully as she stepped behind the desk, turned, and wrote her name on the white board: Mrs. Jessie Strait. They were still staring as she turned around and surveyed them all. Each student felt as if she was staring right at them and no one else. It was only a moment but it seemed like forever, and then Mrs. Strait spoke with a low voice. “I am Mrs. Strait. Mr. Ransom has retired and I am your new homeroom and History teacher.” She did not smile at all and Sarah swallowed nervously. Who was this woman? Why hadn’t anyone ever seen or heard of her before? As Sarah listened to Mrs. Strait talk about homeroom rules and expectations, the class began to buzz as kids traded whispers and speculations. Sarah saw Mrs. Strait’s lips tighten just before she slammed a fist down onto the desk. In the stunned silence that followed, Mrs. Strait said, “I expect silence when I speak. It is a measure of respect. Do not make me ask you again.” Sarah and Drew exchanged glances and when the bell rang for first period, there was a speedy but quiet rush for the door.
Sarah and Drew met up again at 4th period lunch, and as expected, the air was full of questions, and rumors. The room quieted just a bit as Mrs. Strait walked past the cafeteria and after she passed, the conversations picked up again. One student said that Mrs. Strait had already assigned detention to four students. Another said that she had caught someone smoking out back and had them suspended immediately. Drew said, “Marcus told me that Mrs. Strait dropped a book and swore…but it wasn’t in English!” “She swore?” said Sarah. “What language was it?” Drew leaned eagerly toward Sarah and whispered, “It sounded like Russian!” As Drew sat back, pleased at imparting this news, Sarah could only shake her head. How would Marcus know that it was Russian? No one in their little school spoke Russian. She was about to say that to Drew when she heard someone at the next table say something that stilled the entire corner of the room. “She’s in witness protection. My uncle works for the FBI and I overheard him telling my mom this morning. She’s a Russian defector!”
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