Chapter 1: Introduction
The classroom buzzed with the steady hum of teenage excitement—a droning, muffled murmuring of whispers, giggles, exchanged notes, and illicit phone scrolls. With twenty-seven high school juniors all crammed into a space barely big enough for ten, Paola knew there was no shutting it down. And she didn't honestly try.
"Now listen up, Juniors," she announced, raising her voice a pitch to be heard over the hubbub without shouting. A smattering of kids looked up, while others continued in their secret activities.
It wasn't that they disrespected their teacher, for most idolized her in one way or another, but every class had that one kid who needed to make his presence known. That one kid was Jose.
Jose-the neurotic, twitchy kid with a permanent rash on his neck, and teeth that seemed perpetually clenched and teeth-grinding. His peculiarities had long since morphed into amusing jokes amongst the students, but recently they had transformed into something darker.
Ever since Paola had instituted a zero-tolerance cellphone policy, Jose's fidgeting and whispering stopped being a source of laughter and became the cause of disruptions in the classroom.
Jose's eyes lingered where they shouldn't; his glances toward Paola's shapely figure weren't exactly veiled.
She was, after all, a striking woman who, during her decade-long teaching career, had captivated the hearts of many male students and colleagues. Paola always brushed the comments off with a light-hearted chuckle, thankful that her husband and two young children admired the very same traits that had made her popular amongst her pupils.
“Now, let’s turn to page 245 in our textbooks, shall we?” Paola asked, pointing at the board where the instructions were written as a reminder for those who failed to listen in the first place.