Mr. Jones was a fair teacher, at least as far as Trig goes. His tests were rehashed homework questions, which were rehashed classroom assignments. His face looked like a rehashed school boy, with a fledgling beard trying to hide how fresh out of college he was. Being his last class he was always tired, but he did try.
The material wasn’t rocket science. I did my work, spoke up in class, which is why I looked at him with waterlogged eyes when he handed my test back.
Perfect.
Such a terrible score, and for most kids this would be a terrible end to a long school day. Being in the back of the room gave me plenty of time to rehearse my reaction, to give my performance the dread the role required.
It’s not that I couldn’t learn the material, or hated math. Or him. Quite the opposite; I knew the material backwards and forwards. The way he stuttered when answering a question he didn’t have an answer for was adorable. The way his eyes lingered on a low hanging pendant before looking up abashed even more so.
I wore a lot of necklaces.