Challenging Days at School

   It was a hot day in the western suburbs in early September. Austin Wolfe, or Austin, walked on the sidewalk, carrying a heavy bag. Filled with excitement, he turned around a corner, and saw his school in front of him. It wasn't a big building, double story, with a yellowish paint on its wall. Nothing stood up but a flagpole. It wasn't a windy day, so the flag wasn't waving. He kept walking until he realized that he reached the back part of the school. Taking a shortcut through a hedge, Austin walked over the football field, to arrive at the front of the school. All of the sudden, in the distance, he saw a man that he was trying to avoid all time, John Trivett. He and John faced each other, fists were prepared, ready to release it out. "I've prepared all my energy to beat you," said Austin. Still, John just smiled, while looking at him, then said, "Shall we begin?" "With pressure," Austin replied. 

     

The boys circled, Austin was terrified but his adrenalin was pumped so high. John threw the first punch. Austin blocked it but then the bully's left fist came from nowhere and hit Austin on the cheek. He went down on his knees and John jumped on him, beating him. Austin's thin arms were helpless to protect him from the repeated strikes. The big boy also stood and was about to deliver the final kick to Austin's ribs when a man's voice stopped the fight. "Boys! That's enough," Coach Clifford shouted. He stepped forward, pulled John away and ordered him to go to the principal's office. 

Sneering, the boy walked away. The coach then helped Austin to stand up and check the wounds on his face. "I'm afraid you have to go to the clinic, then see the principal," advised the coach. The man then handed Austin a piece of tissue for the blood and the tears. As Austin felt better from his pain, he stood up and tottered to the door. Coach Clifford called, "Oh, Austin." The boy turned, "Yes?" "On your next fight," the man pointed a finger at Austin, "you'd better learn to watch out for left hits. Unless you want to lose some teeth." "I'll do that, Sir," Austin answered and walked to the clinic to get first aid.  

Later, Austin walked to the principal office. He was feeling quite well, but still tottering on his way to the office. In it, he saw John, talking with Max Glover, the principal. Austin then talked to the principal, defending his statement. After quite a long conversation, the principal made 2 decisions. "First John, we will invite your parents to school and there is a chance you'll get a letter of reprimand. Second, knowing that Austin is the victim, he will be allowed to be absent for 2 days for recovery. In case Austin's condition becomes worse, John's parents will be responsible for the medical treatments. I also called Austin's parents to pick him up, because he cannot continue to join the class today," Max elaborated. Then, Austin got up from his seat, and walked to his parents who were waiting for him in the lobby.  

After being absent for two days, Austin was ready to go back to school. He checked his agenda, and there was going to be a test for that day. He was frustrated to take the test, because he didn't like math at all. He walked to school, the same route as 2 days ago. But this time, he remembered not to arrive at the back, but at the front part of the school. He walked past the school buses while waving at the nearby junior students. 

Walked again, and he saw Mr. Eugene's math classroom. The test had started. Austin wasn't full of energy after he saw his results. He got a C minus. He was so devastated, and all of his hard work, including learning at 11 p.m. the night before, resulted in a C minus. Mr. Eugene must have seen his face, when he called Austin to see him after class. In his office, Mr. Eugene asked, "Having some trouble, Austin?" "I just don't understand," the boy said, "I mean, I tried. I did all the work. But it's like it's overwhelming. I froze up and, you know, I got a panic attack." With a soft-spoken voice, Mr. Eugene pulled a piece of paper out of his desk and wrote down several names. He said, "These are math tutors, Austin. I want you and your parents to call one of them. I think they'll be a big help." "Okay," Austin said uncertainly. Then he took a deep breath and told the truth, "The thing is, Mr. Eugene, I just don't like math. I'm never going to like it. It's too hard to understand." The teacher smiled at him. "I want to teach you to love learning about math, that's all." He advised him. "I want you to love learning whatever it is you study." He nodded and took the note home. He and his parents got a tutor and his grades improved a bit, not much. But he started to get some B minuses. He started to like math, unlike last month. 

Walking through the busy halls now, Austin smelled fresh paint and weird biology lab odour. He got a drink at the fountain and headed for the English room, Mrs. Chloe's class. She was a serious old woman. In class, she had given the class a writing assignment. "Write about your Christmas vacations," she said. "Be as creative as you can. But," the serious woman added, as she always did, "make sure you use proper spelling and grammar." 

That night Austin sat at his desk at home and stared at a blank sheet of paper. He didn't want to write a stupid essay about his Christmas vacation last year. So he gave up on the assignment and wrote what he wanted to.  He wrote a short story, science fiction. It was about a distant planet called Zypso QJ6, that didn't have winter and summer all the time. And it didn't have vacations either. The aliens on the planet worked all year. The next morning, he handed in the story, and when he got to class the next morning it turned out that Mrs. Chloe had read and graded the essays. "Almost everyone in class wrote an essay about his or her summer vacation. But one decided to take his imagination into the test. Austin Wolfe is the only one who gets an A for hard work. But," the serious woman added "though he should've paid a little more attention to proper spelling and grammar." He ended the experience with applause for his hard work.