Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 05:42:10 -0600
From: Prince Ernest <prince_ernest86@live.com>
Subject: Chapter 14 Room 108 Adult/Youth Section

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and as such should be treated with utmost respect. The students described
are not living, breathing human beings mind you. They exist only in the
realm of pure imagination, somewhat. These are my fantasies that I have
developed over the years. The students described in the story do not really
exist, but are rather the combination of several different students. Thus I
am not harming anyone, because they combine features and thus are not
really in existence.  ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REAL PEOPLE IS ENTIRELY
COINCIDENTAL ON MY PART.

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Room 108-Chapter 12: The Face to Face


       I walked back into the room intending to get things back on
track. The class wasn't rowdy by any means, but I always hated leaving the
room for a minute. I wanted them to know I was in control, and again I
swear it wasn't for any narcissistic reason. I wanted them to do their
best, and since they were still growing as individuals, I felt they needed
guidance. I wanted to provide that guidance for them.

       I looked over by instinct to see where Liam was. Byron was talking
to him up near my desk, but as I moved closer, Byron waved goodbye and went
back to his desk to get started on his work. I knew he had plenty of work
to do, but I didn't care that he was talking to Liam. If anything, I was
slightly jealous. I wanted Liam for myself, and only for myself. I didn't
even know if Liam was gay, into me, or into the boys in the classroom, but
I was being an extreme predator in deciding he was mine. When I got close
enough to Liam that we could whisper to each other, Liam leaned over to me
and whispered very softly.

       "Byron was just informing me of some of the extra-curricular
activities that you have them do. It sounds like I'm going to fit in just
perfect here at Pat Nixon Middle School."

       I decided to play this one a little bit cooler than the voices
inside my head were screaming. Liam was grinning from ear to ear, so I
decided that if he wasn't going to say anything provocative, I wasn't going
to give him any reason to think so.

       "Well I do try and push them pretty hard during the afternoon
practices. I figure that every practice should be considered as an
extension of the game, and that's why I think we will have a winning
team. The boys want to win, I want to win, and I think I've done a pretty
good job of preparing them to win."

       "Exactly! So many coaches just take it easy on the kids during their
practices, but I think it's important for every practice to count. If we
ever take it easy on them, they might start to take it easy on themselves
and then we start to lose our edge."

       "Hold on Liam...slow down there a little bit. Yes, I'm glad to take
you on as my Assistant Coach, but we haven't introduced you to the team
just yet, so we should take things slow. This is a difficult age to work
with, and again I appreciate your enthusiasm but we need to make sure that
the boys still understand that I'm their coach and you are the
assistant. Byron looks like he already half-idolizes you from this moment!"

       I wasn't trying to be mean to Liam, but I did mean what I said. I
wanted the boys to understand that I was still in control of the situation,
and that Liam would be assisting me. Discipline and order was important
when working with teenagers, and I feel that by having a clear cut model of
hierarchy, it would only benefit us in the long run. Also I wanted him to
earn their respect and trust, and I felt that if I just made him the
assistant coach without making him work for it a little bit, the boys might
not take him so serious. I had decided to make him go through a little
trial that the boys could have input with. It might seem cruel, but I
wanted the boys to take ownership of the team with me, and having them put
Liam through a mini-ringer might not be the worst thing to ever happen to
him. I saw Liam's face get a little worried look on it, but he was able to
keep his composure through the rest of Advisory.

       I wasn't able to much talk to Liam until lunch, when we were able to
settle down and really get to know each other. I was eager to know more
about this little stud that was finally a legal vision for me to want to
touch. I got down to questioning him immediately.

       "So Liam, tell me about why you have decided to explore the
glamorous world of Middle School Social Studies."

       "Well Mr. Lambert, I would say it's because of Mrs. Orton, my 8th
grade Social Studies teacher. She was such a great influence on me because
she made each one of us feel like we had her complete and utter attention
during the lesson. The class had about 25 students in it, but we all felt
like she knew us personally and would do anything to help us succeed. She
even stayed after school to help us with our homework if we had
questions. Plus she was a bit of a weirdo, and would do crazy ass things in
order to make us laugh and think social studies was cool. For example, she
had pictures of Snoop Dogg and Tupac up in her room, and she even ate chalk
one day! She did all of this so we wouldn't think her class was boring, and
that was awesome. I never liked social studies before her class, and now I
love it."

       "How interesting Liam. And how do you think that has affected you
personally, and how do you think it has affected your view of education?"

       Again, I did want to know more about him personally, but I figured
getting to know him as a teacher and educational colleague would be a good
way to loosen him up before we moved onto the personal questions. I wanted
him off guard when I decided to make my move.

       "I think it taught me that it doesn't matter what the subject is, it
matters who the teacher is. Any subject can be entertaining and students
can learn from a variety of different manners, but it matters how the
teacher goes about it. If the teacher is someone who doesn't get excited
about their subject, then how can they ever truly expect someone in their
class to get excited for it as well? Also I think it taught me that every
student should be made to feel value in their classroom. I mean Mrs. Orton
had a huge amount of students in her classes, and yet every student felt
like she really did know and care about them. And I think that goes along
way into making students want to succeed in a classroom. If a teacher
doesn't care about their subject, and they don't care about their students,
then why should the students give a fuck about them?"

       "Interesting points Liam. I can tell that you do have a good
understanding of what it takes to make a good teacher. You need to be a
huge motivator in student's lives. That's half the battle in the world of
education now. And that's something that can't be taught either, so it's
good that you already understand it and know how to go about doing it. The
other hard part is knowing what's important in the subject, and what you
don't have to go about teaching. My host teacher told me something vitally
important and I want you to have this bit of knowledge as well. She told me
to forget about the standards, and to teach what I thought was
important. Once I had completed my lesson plans, Michelle told me to THEN
go back and find a state standard to tie it into. Standards in our field
are so open ended that we can get up and teach anything we want, and we
will probably find a standard for it later. I thought that was some good
information, and I've got one more important piece of information for you,
if you want to hear it that is?"

       I decided to turn a little bit of the charm on for him, in order to
start reeling him in if I could. I leaned in to him when I said this last
line, and winked at him. I was pleased to see that he leaned into me as
well, as if we were exchanging confidences and were actually old friends
instead of new acquaintances.

       "Mr. Lambert, I'm willing to learn anything and everything that you
are willing to teach me. Ms. Arthur said you are a great teacher, and
you've only been here like three weeks. You seem to really have impressed
her already. "

       I was sure at this point that he was flirting with me because of his
willingness to learn anything from me as he so delicately put it. But I
still had a few tricks up my sleeve.

       "Okay here it is, straight from me to you. Rule number one as a
teacher. Vitally important. You have to learn to stop swearing, even if
it's in front of other adults. If you keep it up in front of adults, then
you will eventually say something in front of students that you shouldn't
say. And there is no quicker way to get yourself in trouble than to curse
in front of students. Do I make myself clear?"

       Liam just nodded at me and sort of smiled. I was trying to establish
my dominance over him by slightly chiding him, even if it was in private. I
figured that if he knew right away that I was interested in him, he might
get frightened and end up leaving me high and dry. Instead, I wanted him to
work a little bit for my approval and then I would have him not just for a
little while, but for a good spell of time.

       We continued our discussion but moved away from the educational
topics and into the banal conversations that seem to be the mainstay of any
relationship and any conversation really. I was interested to get to know
him on all levels, and now that I had some idea of him as a teacher, and
had made sure to note my disapproval of something he had done, I decided to
move the conversation to more safer ground where he would be less likely to
earn my disapproval, and I could get to know him as a person.

       "So Liam, tell me a little bit about your family and where you come
from. It's important to know someone who with whom I will be sharing my
students and classroom. I just want to know that I can trust you and also
maybe by telling me a little bit about yourself, I will get to know how you
might react to certain situations that arise in the classroom. No harm in
that right?"

       "Ha! Well there isn't much to tell about myself Coach. By the way do
you mind if I call you that?"

       "Actually, I don't mind at all. Most of the kids call me that, even
if they aren't on the soccer team. It's just so natural now, I think when
some of them hear me called Mr. Lambert, they have to take a minute to
think who is being talked about."

       "Okay then. Coach it is. Well like I said, there isn't much to talk
about. I grew up a little south of here, and I led my team of soccer
players to the state championships in my junior and senior year of
school. I played soccer since I was twelve, but our team wasn't very good
in middle school so we didn't go very far. I'm one of four boys though and
I'm the oldest of them. My brothers are named Jayden, Evan and Ben. Jayden
is 15 while Evan and Ben are 13 year old twins. I've always had to take
care of them while I was growing up, and I miss them a little bit now that
I've gone out on my own. My dad has been the parent for us all our lives
pretty much. Mom died when Evan and Ben were born, and I was five. I
remember a little bit of her, but not too much. I've always been a good
student in school, and I want to help guide middle school students because
I just feel it's such a weird age, and they need all the help they can
get. I bet that sounds really dumb doesn't it?"

       "Actually Liam, that's why I chose to go into middle school grades
myself, because it's important for the kids today to have important role
models that they know care about them, and will be there to support them
when they can. Four brothers you say? That's quite a task for you to take
upon yourself at such a young age, but I think it has made you into such a
fine young man."

       "Well thanks Coach, but all I did was to make sure they got fed and
their homework was done when I could. Dad is great to them, but he works on
an oil rig off shore, so I was the one that tucked them into bed at
night. Our aunt takes care of them now since I'm gone. It's good money for
dad, and so he keeps doing it. He loves all of us, but he needs to work at
that job so we can all have the things we need."

       What an incredibly positive and mature young man. I was finding
myself more and more attracted to him as we continued discussing various
other points of our lives. He was such a bright young man with a great
future ahead of him, I almost felt like emailing Natalie and letting her
know that I wasn't worthy of such a great young mind to mentor. He deserved
someone better than myself.

       And yet as it was, I didn't want to lose him. He was everything I
wanted in a partner, and I could tell he was still trying to hit on me. He
would brush his hair out of his eyes so he could look me straight into the
eyes and make me feel weak in the knees. This adult, well barely an adult
more of a kid really, was making me feel like I was the same age and
maturity of the students who we were supposed to be teaching.

       "Liam, you have already set yourself up as a great role model by
working to make sure that your brothers were well taken care of and had a
good home environment. You know what it takes to work with younger
students, even if you are just a couple of years older than they are. It's
important to build relationships with students that are positive and full
of support. I imagine that you have had to deal with a few issues while
making sure your brothers were provided for." I said it with a slight
chuckle. I wanted him to relax again, even as we continued our verbal
sparring matches.

       "Thank you Coach, but I swear I just did what any big brother would
do for his younger brothers in those situations."

       How could you not love this kid?

       "Coach there is one more thing that I want to talk to you about. I'm
gay Coach, and that's not going to change. I want to tell the players on
the team especially, but I don't know about the students in the
classroom. I want the players to know because some of my fellow classmates
from college will be going to other middle schools and high schools, and
I've told them. I'm sure my classmates will tell their students about how
Pat Nixon takes in faggots, and I want the boys to hear it from me and know
the truth about it before they hear it from someone else. What do you think
about that Coach?"

       I was completely blown away. From the moment I had met him this
morning, I had suspected that Liam might be gay or at least bisexual, but
here over our lunch of Turkey Manhattan from the school cafeteria; he had
confirmed my suspicions and had done so in an incredibly mature manner. I
felt that his reasons were logical and I did think it was important for him
to be honest with the students. I had spoken to him about how important it
was to build relationships, and I thought this would be a good way for him
to build trust within the soccer team. I could already tell him that most
wouldn't matter, and three in particular it might make him seem cooler too.

       I started to reach over so that I could touch him on the shoulder
and confide in him too that I was also gay and that he might not have too
much to be afraid of when I heard a cough in the doorway, and looked over
to see Hayden Van Diver standing there with a shit eating smile on his
face, and his lunch tray in his hands.

       "Hey Coach, I heard about your new assistant and wanted to know if I
could come and have lunch with you two. I am the captain after all, right?"

       I decided to play it along with Hayden for just a minute and see how
Liam would react.

       "Sure Hayden, come on in. I'm sure once you get to know Mr. Malcomb,
that you will see you two have more in common than you think."


*****

Will the twists and turns at Pat Nixon Middle School ever stop? I know this
chapter seems a bit all over the place, and I also know it's probably not
one of my better ones, but I'm happy and proud of it. I hope you all
continue to enjoy the story! I love writing it for you guys, and I hope you
know that! You guys keep me motivated when I don't want to sometimes!!

Again I've got some model pictures of the boys that I wouldn't mind sharing
with people if you don't mind sharing some good stuff with me. Just say
hello and let's see where we go from there.

Questions/comments/concerns/and dare I say complaints, please direct to my
email, prince_ernest86@live.com Or Skype me @ prince_ernest86.

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