The class went by quicker today, Mr Lee’s mind kept off the monotony of students' bothersome behaviour by looking forward to the end of today. After his short lecture, he zoned out while students worked. Mr Lee still answered the occasional question whenever a student would walk up of course, but he wasn’t very attentive today. Mr Lee didn’t notice as the girls beside the window all chatted rather than taking notes on the reading he gave them. Mr Lee didn’t notice as some boys sitting in a cluster began jeering and laughing. Mr Lee didn’t notice as Tim stayed slumped at his desk while he was the one to be jeered at.

“M-Mr Lee?” Jasmine said approaching his desk, Mr Lee had been staring down at a stack of assignments this class had turned in to him when today’s lesson began– but he’d yet to make any progress grading them.

“Yes, a question?” He said, widening his eyes and shaking his head a little to wake himself.

“Well… not really a question. It’s just—” Jasmine was hesitant as she spoke. Jasmine was one of the few students Mr Lee taught in two classes at once, so he could see how nervous she was– and how serious she had to have been.

“What’s up? You can tell me,” Mr Lee spoke more carefully now, looking from her nervous expression, then to the classroom behind her, he already knew what was going to be said. Tim was still slumped across his desk, but he’d been plastered with sticky notes. And they bore messages Mr Lee couldn’t quite read from far away, but maybe it was better not to see such horrors up close.

“It’s about those boys–”

“I see, thank you.” Mr Lee cut her off as he stood up and walked over to them. “You guys, focus on your work.” That is all he’d been saying to students over the last semester, and then he would have Tim, or whatever other student was being harassed move to a desk away from those guys– But that was not a solution, it was just laziness. 

“You four, up.” He said, walking over, lean-sitting on Tim’s desk blocking their access to pin him with notes while staring him down. Their boys all appeared quite shocked, they hadn’t been used to Mr Lee doing so much. Being so– confrontational.

The boys didn’t listen to him at first, just turning to each other as they pulled their packets up and began flipping through them to random pages of reading.

“No. I know you boys understand my words. Get up.” He commanded them again, more intensity in his voice as he glared down at them, his tired eyes surely a sight to behold. They stood this time, all of them; and when they did about three of them stood taller than Mr Lee –granted he was leaning on a desk– but that didn’t make their faces any less wary. “Go stand in the hall, all of you.” He pointed towards the door, as the four students briskly walked out. Mr Lee watched them go, grabbing their backpacks as they went. They wouldn’t wait in the hall to get chewed out, Mr Lee knew that much, they’d go run off and find some kid in the halls to harass– but this much was more than usual, this much was what Mr Lee could do.

Spinning around Mr Lee looked as if the whole class was staring at him, but before he even had to say ‘Back to work’ they all were. “Tim, are you okay?” Mr Lee asked, tapping the shoulder of the young boy, but he was unresponsive save for shaking Mr Lee’s finger off his shoulder. “Stay back after class, and get some work done before then.” Mr Lee said to Tim as he walked back to his desk, mouthing thank you as he passed by Jasmine.

He looked out the door into the hallway and could see the boys from earlier had already run off, maybe it was better that way. Nothing Mr Lee said would get through to them at that moment, and he didn’t want to go and talk with them. As he sat back down, Mr Lee took a sip of coffee, the caffeine only exacerbating his already elevated heart rate. It's just– it had been so long since he told off students like that.

It seemed weird to feel pride in that moment, but when he’d spent months doing less the simple bare minimum felt great. He spent more time watching his class that period, Mr Lee watched as students –after taking a moment to settle down from what they just saw–  chatted while working, he watched them crack jokes using historical figures, he watched as someone would call their friend an idiot, before promptly explaining the confusing concept to them. Mr Lee watched them be students, and despite himself, he smiled.

By the time class ended that day Mr Lee didn’t feel as if a train had run over him, he still wanted to get another cup of coffee for sure, but he wanted it with a soft smile on his face. 

“Hey Tim, stay back for a second.” Mr Lee said while waving goodbye to all of the other students. By the time they’d all left and it was just Mr Lee and Tim, the room felt weirdly peaceful. “Are you doing alright Tim?” Mr Lee asked. It was a stupid question with an obvious answer, but he didn’t know what else to ask first.

“Yeah, I can ignore them,” Tim answered, not making eye contact with Mr Lee as they spoke, “You don’t have to make a scene during class like that, it’s fine.”

That answer horrified Mr Lee, did his students see him as such a closed-off resource? He was supposed here for them, yet, Mr Lee couldn’t blame them for seeing him that way. It’s not as if he’d been particularly a great teacher these last few months, it’s not as if he’d been the advocate for them he should have been. “No Tim, I should be doing that. I’m sorry I havent, I’ve just been– no, there isn’t an excuse Tim, I’m just sorry.”

Tim’s eyes still traced the floor and he didn’t reply.

“When else has this been happening?” Mr Lee asked. He paused for Tim to answer but quickly added “I won’t make a fuss with your other teachers if you don’t want me too, I– it’s just that someone should know.”

“It happens most of the day, I’m used to it now.” Tim’s voice wasn’t shaky, although it was sad. He picked his fingers, although they did not yet bleed.

“Well, you can always come here to get away if you need to. Is it bad at lunch? You can come here to eat if you’d like, I never eat downstairs so I’ll be around.” Mr Lee said even though it wasn’t true. He taught five out of eight periods and Tim knew that– but Mr Lee also knew that the offer counted. It was those three free periods, the lunches, it was the offer that made someone feel seen.

“Maybe, I don’t know.” Tim answered, letting his hands fall limp to his side before they could bleed. Little victories. 

“I’ll be here.” Mr Lee said again, “Alright, you can head to your next class. It'll be starting soon.” He watched as Tim nodded, before slipping away out the door just like those other boys had before.

Turning around and heading back to his desk, Mr Lee plopped into his office chair grabbing his empty mug and holding it before his face. Staring Gengis Kahn in the eyes, ‘That was good, wasn’t it?’

The rest of the morning went by quickly, Mr Lee’s next two periods were without classes. He spent his time as the morning sun slowly rose past his window grading. For a short while, there was a sunbeam directly beaming down onto his desk, illuminating the work he graded. For once Mr Lee got ahead on the work he had to grade, and by the time lunch had started Mr Lee had gotten not just all of the grading he had to do today, but tomorrow’s as well. 

Usually, lunch was just another free period for Mr Lee, he tried to only work through lunch when he was behind on grading –which was always– but today was different. As he finished the last pile of work to be looked over he had on him, short essays written by his Eastern Empire’s Elective, Mr Lee leaned back and looked out his window. The sun was out of view now, its’ rays shining onto the trees and birds Mr Lee watched.

Mr Lee grabbed his empty mug and began making his way towards the teachers’ lounge. He hadn’t brought anything with him for lunch today and going out to get something for lunch sounded too tiresome, so coffee it was. He usually never had time to worry about being hungry until the evening, being on top of his workload like this was so peaceful.

 It felt nostalgic almost, to walk the halls while kids aimlessly chatted and made their way to the cafeteria. Time is strange like that, even though he’d walked this same hall while seeing those same kids, and had ahead of his work like this a mere few months ago– today everything felt nostalgic, as if from a bygone time. The one change, Mr Lee could suppose, was that he hadn’t finished early because he was rushing to meet someone this time. Not intentionally.

By the time he’d finished his walk for coffee, his mug a quarter empty as he returned, Mr Lee’s classroom was no longer empty. Pulling the door open Mr Lee heard only one voice softly chatting, but stepping into the room he saw two students sitting.

“It’s just so strange, why go out of your way to ask me like she asked me to be in a group– why go out of your way to do that if you’re only going to switch groups a day later!” Jasmine said before noticing Mr Lee had returned. She quickly tapped the hand of the student in front of her, and when they turned around Mr Lee saw Tim sitting with her. An assortment of snacks was spread between them, nothing healthy for sure. “Hello, Mr Lee!” Jasmine said a broad smile on her face. Tim looked towards Mr Lee for a moment, before looking back down at the bag of chips before him. “Tim said you were okay with us eating here, we knocked and that pushed the door open. Sorry, we came in when you weren’t here.

“No, no worries at all,” Mr Lee said smiling at them. It wasn’t a challenge to fake one at that moment because seeing those students sitting there made him smile all on their own. “I’ll just be putting some music on, and otherwise I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Thank you,” Jasmine smiled again before turning to look at Tim as she continued telling her story. Mr Lee didn’t pay them much mind, he didn’t listen to their words even if the tones of speech he heard were quite amusing. Walking over to the tired CD player on his shelf Mr Lee turned it on and pressed play. He hadn’t used the thing in ages, not since the study periods the week before midterms. 

Mr Lee took another sip of his coffee before sitting down and opening his laptop. Clicking on the file named aptly named Ceramics, Mr Lee began re-reading the course plan for next year.

This too felt nostalgic; quietly humming to Sia while working, two students quietly chatting in his room, and the smell of early spring fluttering in through the window Mr Lee had opened earlier.

Even as he read through dull pages of supply lists Mr Lee smiled. When he got to the pages on the planned curriculum, Mr Lee grabbed a notepad and flipped to a new page before writing out the things he’d changed, as well as some things he found ingenious. 

At some point he forgot Tim and Jasmine were there, at some point he forgot he was still in the classroom he’d grown to be bored of, at some point, he’d forgotten he was doing work. He was too busy reading, writing, and humming a familiar tune. 

Time moved slowly while he worked that day, maybe that was just because everything was so peaceful. By the time the hour and a quarter allotted for lunch had passed, and Tim and Jasmine had slipped off to class, Mr Lee’s CD had looped around once and he’d finished reading the course pack. He’d finished his coffee too. 

Mr Lee left the music on as his afternoon class filed in, if anyone found it odd no one pointed it out. ‘He’ll be here soon, won’t he,’ Mr Lee thought to himself as he stood to pause the music, his students were mostly all here, but he let the song playing finish before he did.

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