Chalk Dust
Chalk Dust
The chalk was tapping against the blackboard after each word she wrote. Words. Words made out of meaningless chalk dust were all that came out – commas and then periods, sentences and more words. They all jumbled into each other, but nothing seemed to make any sense.
“Jane, what do you think?”
“What?” Jane was knocked out of her reverie.
“Jane. I asked you for what you thought about what I just said regarding the paragraph on the board. Would you like to give your opinion?”
Jane simply looked at her teacher and then the board. She tried to blink away the tears of embarrassment as all eyes were on her now.
“Jane. I’m waiting.” She tapped her perfect high-heeled shoes on the plywood as the chalk left residue on her red pencil skirt.
Jane stared at the words – letters that blurred making no sense in her brain. Just words, nothing more, words made out of meaningless chalk dust. Her head spun and she furrowed her eyebrows trying to decipher something out of these symbols. She shook her head because nothing made sense. Her head fell into her hands on her desk.
“Yes? Jane?” Her teacher urged annoyingly.
She lifted her head and said, “Fine. I’ll tell you what I think. This class is shit.”
The teacher’s eyes widened with shock. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Jane’s hands were trembling so she clenched them as tightly as she could on her desk. The class around her was buzzing with excitement over the scene Jane was giving. “Sitting in this class every single day is hell. Putting up with you as a teacher is hell. And you know why? Because this class it shit. You are shit. Even your perfect outfits are shit.” She leaned back in her seat. “How’s that for my opinion?”
Jane’s teacher was livid. The bell suddenly rang and everyone filed out, chatting wildly about Jane’s comments.
Jane did not move from her seat.
Her teacher shuffled hurriedly over to her and bent down low to the point where she was in Jane’s face. She placed one hand firmly on Jane’s desk and the other on the back of her chair, giving the impression of a towering menace with smoking ears.
“You listen to me, Jane. You cannot say things like that to me, especially in front of the rest of the class. I am your superior, and you must treat me as such, with respect and dignity. Now this is the last time I’m going to tolerate something like this from you, Jane. Do you hear me, Jane? Look at me when I’m speaking to you! Good. Now I’m giving you two weeks detention for this stunt you just pulled. And this is the last straw. Next time it’s going to be suspension. Understand?”
She began to walk away, but before she exited the room she told Jane,, “You know what to do.”
Jane examined the chalk handprint that her teacher left on her desk. There, just on the corner of her desk, sat the chalk dust, the very same that created those words that had created this whole mess.
Jane finally pushed herself up off her seat and picked up the erasers. She saw words made out of meaningless chalk dust become nothing more than a swirl of white residue, all the letters blurred like little nothings just as they were in her head.
She filled the bucket from the closet to the brim with water, dipped the sponge in, and met it with the board. Jane watched as she quietly wiped the board clean, and all of her problems were slowly washed away.
“Jane, what do you think?”
“What?” Jane was knocked out of her reverie.
“Jane. I asked you for what you thought about what I just said regarding the paragraph on the board. Would you like to give your opinion?”
Jane simply looked at her teacher and then the board. She tried to blink away the tears of embarrassment as all eyes were on her now.
“Jane. I’m waiting.” She tapped her perfect high-heeled shoes on the plywood as the chalk left residue on her red pencil skirt.
Jane stared at the words – letters that blurred making no sense in her brain. Just words, nothing more, words made out of meaningless chalk dust. Her head spun and she furrowed her eyebrows trying to decipher something out of these symbols. She shook her head because nothing made sense. Her head fell into her hands on her desk.
“Yes? Jane?” Her teacher urged annoyingly.
She lifted her head and said, “Fine. I’ll tell you what I think. This class is shit.”
The teacher’s eyes widened with shock. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Jane’s hands were trembling so she clenched them as tightly as she could on her desk. The class around her was buzzing with excitement over the scene Jane was giving. “Sitting in this class every single day is hell. Putting up with you as a teacher is hell. And you know why? Because this class it shit. You are shit. Even your perfect outfits are shit.” She leaned back in her seat. “How’s that for my opinion?”
Jane’s teacher was livid. The bell suddenly rang and everyone filed out, chatting wildly about Jane’s comments.
Jane did not move from her seat.
Her teacher shuffled hurriedly over to her and bent down low to the point where she was in Jane’s face. She placed one hand firmly on Jane’s desk and the other on the back of her chair, giving the impression of a towering menace with smoking ears.
“You listen to me, Jane. You cannot say things like that to me, especially in front of the rest of the class. I am your superior, and you must treat me as such, with respect and dignity. Now this is the last time I’m going to tolerate something like this from you, Jane. Do you hear me, Jane? Look at me when I’m speaking to you! Good. Now I’m giving you two weeks detention for this stunt you just pulled. And this is the last straw. Next time it’s going to be suspension. Understand?”
She began to walk away, but before she exited the room she told Jane,, “You know what to do.”
Jane examined the chalk handprint that her teacher left on her desk. There, just on the corner of her desk, sat the chalk dust, the very same that created those words that had created this whole mess.
Jane finally pushed herself up off her seat and picked up the erasers. She saw words made out of meaningless chalk dust become nothing more than a swirl of white residue, all the letters blurred like little nothings just as they were in her head.
She filled the bucket from the closet to the brim with water, dipped the sponge in, and met it with the board. Jane watched as she quietly wiped the board clean, and all of her problems were slowly washed away.