Mr.Simmons stood at the front of the room in a suit and tie. He was lecturing the thirty history students in his 12th grade class about their test tomorrow. Most of the students listened intently, the only sound besides Mr.Simmons voice, was the sound of pens scribbling furiously on paper. The topic of their assignment would be Hitlers reign and its effect on society.
Jack leaned back in his dingy school chair at the rear of the classroom. He was Jewish and his parents had banned him from studying such nonsense. He rocked back and forward on his chair, tapping his ballpoint pen on his chin with a blank page in front of him. He had exactly six hours;not including tomorrow morning, to kill Mr.Simmons, or else give up his dreams of becoming an astronaut. And that definitely was not happening.
Jack gazed around the room. It was amazing the number of ways you could take someone out in a school classroom. He looked at the kid in front of him with the purple tube pencil case, a pair of scissors hung half out, blades glinting as the light struck their sharp surface. I could jump up right now and stab Mr.Simmons in the head. Jack thought, that's sure to take anyone out. He still had a year before he was eighteen, they may let him off easy.
He shook his head, too obvious.
Jack glanced at the heating panel on the side of the room. The temperature knob was a few steps away, he could pretend he dropped something, open the lever and take everybody out with gas poisoning. He paused, nope, way too obvious.
Jack sighed, looking at the classroom chairs with their metal frames. He spotted one that was rusting at the edge. He could trip over it, coordinate his movement so that it flew at Mr.Simmons, cut his teacher and gave him tetanus. Nope, the guy was probably vaccinated.
He listened as Mr.Simmons droned on. "And the effect of Hitler's -"
Mr.Simmons froze mid speech. He looked straight at Jack and grabbed his chest.
One of the girls in the front row -Kassandra White - stood up, "He's choking! Somebody help him! Who knows CPR?"
Jack gulped. He heard a voice from the front row. "Jack, you're a life guard aren't you?"
Jack hopped up, running to the front of the class and laying the old man on the floor. Mr.Simmons was paling now, he loosened the old mans tie and opened his suit coat and shirt.
Jack paused as he checked the man's airway. No one in the class new what CPR looked like. . .
He grinned. "What the hell are you smiling about dude! He's dying!" A voice echoed across from him.
Jack was pushed into motion. He checked Mr.Simmons airways, he could see the green cap of the whiteboard marker lodged at the back of the mans throat. He closed his mouth, no one needed to see that.
He pretended to do compressions on Mr.Simmons chest. Knowingly hitting two spaces lower than he should be. The man paled even further, and soon the rising and falling of his chest stopped.
Jack looked down, cradling his head in his hands. He wanted to jump up and celebrate. To shout to the heavens, they'd saved him today. He was going to be an astronaut after all, stupid Mr.Simmons and his love for Hitler. The man was insane.
Mr.Simmon's coughed.
Jack froze, looking up.
Mr.Simmons coughed again. The green whiteboard marker cap soared from his mouth and across the room. He shot up, gasping for air, the color slowly coming back to his face.
The children applauded. "Jack you're the best! Well done Jack!"
Jack sat back, his jaw agape.
Mr.Simmons looked at him, a devilish smile on his exhausted face. "Thank you so much Jack, you've saved me."
"No problem sir. . ." He whispered. Jack looked at his reflection in the classroom window, he was paler than Mr.Simmons had been a minute ago.
I think my teacher is immortal.