Grant and Bennie were best friends sitting next to each other in Ms. Baker's English class. Graduation was near and couldn't come soon enough. Both of them failed a couple of years of high school and were damn near twenty. Fortunately, they decided to get back on course and their day was coming soon.
Grant spent most of this time training for football, basketball, and track. That interested him more than some boring history or economics classes. That was also why he was so far behind. He was the social butterfly guy and was usually friendly until he met Ms. Baker.
Bennie was the one always being called out in class for being off-focus. He had and attention span like a kid watching a documentary about World War II. Bennie had a brain but he usually kept it on the top shelf. When he finally decided he wanted to pursue a career in acting, he learned that it would probably help if he graduated first. There was only one thing in his way. Yep, Ms. Coral Baker. The very person he expected would help him.
Using the tablet attached to his desk, Grant checked his grades on the school website and he couldn't understand what he saw. He couldn't figure out why he had a "D" in the class when he turned in everything with an "A" or "B". More of a mystery was how Samantha, who missed at least three assignments and was late turning in another, had an "A."
He tapped Bennie and asked him to check his grades on the school website, too. He was worse off. An "F" was staring him in the face! It didn't make sense. He didn't miss an assignment and never saw a grade less than passing.
Ms. Baker was sitting with her legs crossed on the edge of her desk while she explained the details of the book report they had to complete to pass the class. She stopped talking mid-blabber and stared at the two friends.
She was a tough one to figure out. She spoke with an accent that suggested she was from Texas most likely. She never raised her voice, ordered pizza for the class on Fridays, and went over every question that was going to be on tests prior to exam days. She would always beg the principal to let her take the class on field trips to get them out of class. She was a few years out of college. Despite all her positive traits, something seemed off-center.
Ms. Baker slid off the desk and straightened her skirt. "Did you have a question, Grant?"
All forty eyeballs in the room whipped around to look at Grant. He didn't care.
He grumbled. "My grade for this class isn't right. Neither is Bennie's."
"You're free to see me after class. I'd be happy to discuss it with you!"
She was over-the-top happy. Like she was about to go to the amusement park not discuss a progress report.
Minutes later, Ms. Baker dismissed the class and Grant and Bennie went to her desk. Samantha was hanging around for some reason.
Grant looked at her. She had sandy brown hair straight to her mid back. She was taller than everyone in the room and gave off the smell of a flower bed. The smile she had made her face glow. Her eye shadow, blush, and all her makeup was perfect. The question was what was hiding beneath the prettiness?
"Okay," Ms. Baker said as she pulled her gradebook from the drawer, dropped it on the desk, and flipped to the current grades for each student. "Grant, you have a 'D' in my class right now. Looks like you received a zero because you turned in your book summary late."
Grant slid behind her chair and glanced at Samantha's grades before Ms. Baker closed it.
He said, "I e-mailed it to you just before midnight. My computer kept freezing but I got it to you."
"I did get it—at 12:02! I'm sorry but did you remember when I said it would be a zero if it was late?"
He recalled what he saw in her gradebook. "How did Samantha get an 'A' on her summary?"
"She spent a lot of time on it and she came to me for help. If you ever need help, you can ask me."
Grant remembered that he overheard Samantha say she never turned hers in. What kind of help was she getting?
It was like steam was blowing out of his nose and ears but he kept calm barely. "Yes, ma'am."
"Also, don't be late handing in your parts of speech homework tomorrow. You're so close to graduation but you have no room for error. You're almost there! You can do it!" she said while pumping a fist into the air.
Grant shook his head and stood aside to let Bennie have his turn.
He wanted to spank her pumpkin-shaped ass so bad for what she did. He dismissed the thought. That could never happen.
Grant walked over to chat up Samantha who was sitting in one of the desks in the front row.
She was a fire head wearing her version of the school uniform. Her collared shirt was hiked up to just beneath her breasts showing her belly button ring. Her skirt was up around the middle of her thigh. She was like that all day and Grant wondered how that escaped Ms. Baker's attention. He was beginning to think something was up between those two.
"Hey, Grant," Samantha said while tossing her fluffy locks off her neck. "Are you going to be at the Starlight Club tonight?"
"What's going on at a club on a Monday night?"
"The Spicy Soup band is playing! Don't you like them?"
"Yeah, but I'm trying to graduate. I'll go to the club on the weekend. Is your homework for tomorrow finished already?"
Samantha's eyes shifted upward. "Yeah, I did it early."
Grant scoffed. "Whatever. I bet you did."
"I did! Ask Ms. Baker!"
Bennie moved towards the door and said, "Come on, man."
He sounded like his girlfriend broke up with him.
Grant stepped into the hall at his side. "What's the matter, bud?"
Bennie was pacing in circles while blowing out in frustration. "It's fucked up! I'm failing because of my attendance? I only missed five days! How many did Samantha miss? She's taken three vacations this year alone!"
Grant crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Calm down. So, you noticed she's playing favorites with Samantha, too. If we could prove it, we would have her right where we want her!"
Bennie calmed himself and stopped pacing. "If we get this proof, are you going to tell the principal?"
Grant smirked but it turned into an all-tooth grin when he thought more of his plan. "I have something else in mind. I think she needs to get a lesson."
Bennie approached his friend. "Oh, you have to let me hear this..."
The next day, Ms. Baker let everyone work on their book reports and wasn't teaching a lesson. Some of the class's attention was in their novels but others were on their phones watching movies, filing their nails, or sleeping. Samantha's desk was occupied by air as usual.
Grant was staring out of the window while gnawing on his pen. The sunlight was so bright, it illuminated the whole room. It lifted everyone's moods especially Grant. He couldn't help but grow a bulge in his pants when he thought about what he wanted to do to Ms. Baker. If his plan backfired, being expelled was the best he could hope for!
When he heard the door open, he whipped his head towards it. Samantha—forever and ten minutes late, staggered in and plopped in her seat. All she had was a folder and her neon pink phone!
Grant patted Bennie's arm. "Sam's, here. I know she didn't do the homework but I bet she gets a 100 on it. We need that proof!"
Bennie was slouched but rose up and leaned over towards Grant. "I'll get her phone. Maybe I'll find something on it."
They waited for her to leave the room. She left her phone. She probably forgot it!
Bennie walked by her desk, which was at the front near Ms. Baker.
With an inconspicuous hand swipe, he had it and walked out of the door with it!
Grant shook his balled fist and smiled. A couple of minutes later, his phone vibrated with forwarded text messages from Samantha's phone!
He opened them. One of them was very intriguing.
"Samantha, I corrected your homework so that you made an 'A' on it. Check your e-mail. I sent you a copy of Friday's test. I thought that might make your day. Tell your mom and dad that I said hi."
The next message was a picture of Ms. Baker with Samantha and her parents at the park.
