Page 10 of Burning Skies
I bite back the Mr. Rogers joke I’m dying to make because he hears them all the time. “You have some great students on the newspaper.”
“They’re gonna shorten my lifespan. Those two in particular. They’re always competing to get the story, and it’s giving me an ulcer. They’re seniors. They should know better.”
I snicker. “Want another cookie?” I hand him the platter so he can take the last one.
“Thanks, Honey.”
When I turn back, I find Beau watching me. “What? Aren’t you supposed to be catching a snake?” You can add “acts like a bitch” to “has a resting bitch face.”
He smirks and holds up the container where the snake rattles around. “Just thought you might want to offer me a cookie. You know, since I saved your life.”
I hop off the table and gather my things before I turn back to him. “Sorry. I don’t have any more cookies left.”I’ll never offer you my cookies again.
Adrian whistles and mutters something about the McAllister-Walker feud, which I ignore because my disdain for Beau has nothing to do with those old vendettas.
Tripping over her own two feet, Trish somehow manages to stay upright and runs up to Beau. “I could make you cookies. What kind do you like?”
With my resting bitch face firmly in place, I scoot by the annoying couple and march toward my classroom, which is in chaos when I walk through the door. I set my things down, stick my fingers in my mouth, and let out an ear-piercing whistle. All of my unruly students freeze.
“What in the good Lord are you doing? Pretty sure you’re not supposed to be swinging from the rafters if a teacher runs late.”
“Sorry, miss.” They race to their seats.
“Get out your notes. We’re going to reviewTheOdysseythis afternoon to help you study for your quiz. Mr. Rogers says his freshmen know this story better than mine. Are we really going to let his students think they’re smarter than us?”
“Oh, hell, nah!” The kids are up in arms, and I chuckle to myself.
A student raises her hand. “Miss Honey, what are we reading afterThe Odyssey?”
“The best play ever,Romeo and Juliet. It’s about two rival families who hate each other, and the daughter of one falls for the son of the other. It’s very messy.”
“Does it have a happy ending?”
“Sadly, no, but in my mind, those two ride off into the sunset together.” I grab the chalk and start a timeline on the board. “Okay, remember thatTheOdysseyis structured like a burrito. It actually starts way down here.” I make a mark for where the story begins. “Then it wraps around itself. What’s that called? When a story tells something that happened in the past?”
“A flashback!” someone in the back calls out.
“Ding, ding. That’s right.”
Emilio holds up his hand. “What kind of burrito? Are we talking that fake crap at Taco Bell or the kind my grandmother makes?”
“Which one has the really good fillings bursting out of it?”
“Myabuela’sburritos for sure.”
“That’s like this story. It’s filled with many interesting things. Get out your worksheets to help us note all of the key events that happen as Odysseus tries to get back to Penelope, the woman he loves. Remember, he could have stayed with Calypso or Circe, who are goddesses, but he fought tooth and nail to return to his wife, the woman he’s always adored. And even though Penelope has been hounded by dozens of suitors, her heart has been loyal to Odysseus for the twenty years he’s been gone.”
“Dang. That’s a long time,” Emilio says.
But the girl behind him sighs. “Is there really a time limit on love?” As she says those words, I spot Beau and Trish walking by, and his eyes lock with mine. Trish gives me one of those crazy-ass smiles and hooks her arm in his.
He’s all yours, Trish.
I close the classroom door and turn to my students. “We’ll have to see if Penelope forgives Odysseus for being gone so long and entertaining those goddesses. Open your textbooks.”
2
BEAU
