Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

For a Tootsie Pop

The class is quiet as the teacher walks from the room after explaining some basic rules with me, and at first I think to myself that this is actually a good class. . . .but if I only knew how wrong I could be.

As soon as the high school freshman English teacher leaves the room, the class suddenly jumps to excitement, and takes some advantage of the "new guy".

That is when I do it:

Pulling out a jar of candy that is the size of the small desks themselves, I tell the class that if I think they are good, I will give them candy.

The class goes silent with the occasional shooshing of each other and a couple of other cocky ones who think that the candy is theirs no matter what.

Taking out one particularly juicy one, I pop it in my mouth and start my speech:

"Now." I begin. "We begin the study of Hamlet, Act four, scene one."

The first kid speaks as the others ignore him entirely and stare with glazed eyes upon my massive bucket of candy.

Suddenly, the controlled mood of the room breaks when Doug enters the scene and asks to visit the teacher, and with the class breaking into endless noise, I breath out to him that the teacher is gone. . .

Turning I see that the bucket of candy has spilled.

Picking it up I see a couple of students pull some towards them and fight over the small tootsie pops.

I let them fight for the few that got away, and I make the first child read again, when Doug comes in again, repeating the frustrating process.

I've noticed that he is eying the candy.

"Sorry, I forgot my pen." He says, and then leans close, as if I didn't take the hint of him looking at it.

"May I have a piece?" He asks.

I reply sweetly. . .perhaps too sweetly:

"Certainly. Would you like to read Hamlet, Act four verse one?"

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