The day was over; I was tired. Classes had gone well, although there were one or two students who simply didn't seem to grasp that college is another way to spell work. One of my more difficult students, Laura Buisson, the daughter of a trustee, was especially obstreperous. Her attitude of entitlement and assumption of authorityβall unearnedβgrated on me. Her midterm performance was undistinguished at its best. On her present course she was bound to fail. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, the door to office left slightly ajar.
I must've drifted off for a moment. I was awakened by the clunk of a foot on my desk. Sitting up and opening my eyes, it was Laura, in all her arrogance, slouched in a chair, one leg up my desk. "Yes, Laura," I asked. "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"
"My grades," she responded churlishly. As it there could be any way for her to respond.
"You're giving me bad grades," she said, throwing her midterm up to my desk.
"I see." I was angry. She had that special talent of instantly making me see red. Her behavior only compounded it. "I'll be happy to talk to you about your grades, but first, sit up, take your foot off my desk, and start acting like an adult. Please pick up your test and hand it to me in a slightly less-arrogant manner."
Sitting up, she glowered at me as she picked up her exam.
I looked the exam; it was her very best work, a 68, a D+. Good lord.
Going over the answers I explained to Laura why she had only earned a 68. She was unimpressed.
"You need to treat me better. You don't like me because my mother's a trustee. You need to fix this or I'll talk to her" she stated.
I was doing my best not to slap her silly. "I don't respond well to demands or threats, Laura. Your performance is substandard, your attitude poor, and your manners atrocious. Maybe, if you took classes seriously, your scores would be better and you might even learn something."
She bolted upright, leaned across my desk, and tried to slap me. I blocked it. I was furious. She tried again, this time I caught her wrist. "You arrogant, presumptuous, little bitch! Who do you think you are?" I pushed her away, and walked around my desk. Laura closed the door.