Sentimental Journeys

I am in a large classroom full with little inquisitive faces looking at me for answers. My brain frying to pieces as I try to decipher the cryptic words in the textbook. Equations, atoms, compounds, elements, electrons are all foreign jargon to me. What do I know what is the head or what is the tail of physics? Where do I find the answers? This is obviously not my strength and the students can see that I am flustered so they begin plotting my demise.

I try to remain calm and talk them through the slides their subject teacher prepared for them prior to their absence. As science is not my specialty, I am not able to elaborate extensively, I can only regurgitate what is on the screen. I flick from one page to another, the first few moments are fine however, within minutes I can see a group of boys giggling, glancing at me from the corner of their eyes. Hhmm I can sense something cooking. An ominous feeling overwhelms me but I try to stay positive. They are children, what can they possibly do?

Then, unfortunately the large screen on the wall stops working and I my heart stumbles. Frantically I scramble through the leads and wires to restore the display to continue with the lesson. My heart races to moisten my armpits and send my pulses off the roof. When I look up, I see the boys standing on top of the table with great pleasure. One of them choses to do a little dance. “Hey Miss look what I am doing!” My jaw drops in shock horror. This is a science room with gas taps on the tables and other contraptions and he is prancing around while the rest of the class break out in a rapture of laughter. They are loving the entertainment, while I stand frozen in my degraded position. In a horse voice I say “please get off the table,” but my words fall on deaf ears. Oh my lord this is a catastrophe!

I regain my senses quickly and type an email to the classroom support team, begging them for mercy. The wait is agony and I can confirm that, being a supply teacher in a secondary school is proving to be more challenging than I anticipated. An electric impulse sends my nervous system to the gutters as I feel utterly helpless, waiting to be rescued.