chapter one: boredom dans la classe

I felt like writing this because I was so bored during Math class. The teacher was explaining the homework to the very slow people who did not even do what they were supposed to do. Here's day to day at my new school (and I don't want to appear overconfident because I am not):

I wake up at 6:30 and ride the public bus to school. Then I go with my sister to her locker and she goes with me to mine. We wander around school for a while and go to the bathroom lots of times. By 8:15 the bell (HURRY HURRY!! HURRY HURRY!! Late late late AGAIN!!) rings and I'm in my homeroom. Then English starts. I sit with either Esi, Mathuesha, or Lyza since Devikha (super-sociable buddy) now sits with Allison. Today it was Lyza.

It's usually boring, we read some text from our mythology book and spend the rest of the period discussing it (pointlessly). Like, how is a black-out related to reconciliation? Mr. Santin's nice though. I understand why he has to break it down to the simplest of terms. He tries to explain everything SLOWLY to my very slow classmates (who, no offence, can't even pronounce the easiest words properly. And I have to pretend I don't know what I'm doing either.)

The same with Religion, where there is always homework. Every night we have to read some corny story in our ancient textbook and answer uhm, dumb questions. Ms. Paul-Donegal should know me by now because I answer a lot and have "Oh good, you know how to write" handwriting. Even if what I say and write are different from her terms or too complicated for my fourteen-year-old classmates. Hello, Sir Jade taught us some theology! Believe it or not, our R.E. topic is finding Scriptures in the Bible. Pas très dur! I can do that mega-fast since I know how the books are arranged AND we finished with that...when I was in Grade 4. And also I know what Incarnation and Trinity are. Grade 4. Of course, I was the one who defined it ("Yes S'leen?" yet again!!)

I sit next to Aezelle who I made friends with the first day and who luckily got assigned in the seat next to me. I meet her outside the portables before classes and when I head off to next period I say "See you later!" because she has second lunch, same as me. I'm so glad I have managed to find friends I can actually count on. Makes me wonder how I'll do in Grade 10 if I pass. I'll deal with the present for the meantime though...

And now for the MOST exciting part of the day, Mathematics!!

chapter two: staring out the door wishing for the bell to ring

Actually, Math is so boring it's all I can do from bolting out of the room. I have class in the portable next to R.E. which is 13. Our chairs are arranged U within U (if you can picture that) and I sit in the back row, outer side. That means I'm near the door and far from the board, making it really easy to be distracted. Besides, the PTs are located in the parking lot, where there is always some sort of commotion.

Today it was yet another group of hip-hopping blacks probably on their way from skipping class. They passed by our portable as I happened to be looking out and a girl yelled (like they do) "MAH!" then they walked by. Minutes later there was a huge laughing hullabaloo outside, as can be expected of them. Honestly, I wonder why nobody bothers to discipline them. There's this black guy, a tenth-grader who failed, in my Math class. He always wears a hoodie and the teacher makes him take it off every time. Today he very rudely said, "Yeah yeah I know, I'm taking it off!" (pronounced "Yih yih, I noe, I'm takin' it off")

The students always take advantage of Mr. Alix's apparent cluelessness and the fact that he is boring. When he came in he said, "So class, how was your weekend?? I hope you had an interesting one. Courtney how was your sister's wedding? How's the food, is it pork, beef or chicken? Was there ah dancing?" Courtney just sat there looking bored/amused and nodded. "You know ah class, I know how to do the tango, do you know how to tango? And cha-cha and swing..." (Insert small amount of dance here)

Quenessa (another very rude black girl, one of the "twins") said, "Sir could you do a demo!"

"Only ah, if you perfect the exam." (Not very likely at this rate)

Mr. Alix, the world's most boring teacher, let us finish our Friday's quiz for five minutes. I'd done it before so I just sat there with my head in my hands. I'd woken up with a migraine so I wasn't feeling too well. We then checked the homework, in which he had us come to the board one by one to answer each question.

Mine was: (7) - (- 8) which is duh, positive 15. But for the sake of my slower classmates and the very clueless Mr. Alix, I wrote it down step by step like I used to do in fifth grade. Then I reassumed my comfortable position chin-on-palm. Re-answering the homework must have taken us 25 minutes, as the others didn't even bother doing it.

While Mr. Alix was checking the answers on the board, the rest of the class talked loudly and noisily. Nobody was paying attention (like I said, Mr. A. apparently has no clue that he is the world's most boring teacher. And he is Pinoy.) Tenth-grader Fletcher even had the gall to set his ring tone on loud and walk to the front of the class. He pretended to sniffle until Mr. Alix noticed him.

"What is that, you? Turn that phone off or, ah you give it to me."

"Phone? What phone? I ain't got no phone."

"It's in your pocket, ah Mr. Fletcher, give it to me,"

"What, oh you mean this?" (Obviously handing out anything but the phone)

Then, "Which pocket?" Of course Mr. Alix could very well not reach into Fletcher's low, low-slung jeans to pick out the offending cell phone. That would be a criminal offence. "Next time ah, I will confiscate that. Return to your seat." And multiplication of fractions. He continued checking answers.

After a while things got really boring. I just sat there and absently drew circles on my binder. Then I took out a graphed looseleaf and began to write a diary entry.

ten things to hate about math class:

1. 
   
   The fact that what they are doing is very, very basic and which I have done two years ago.
   
   
2. 
   
   The fact that we have possibly the world's most boring teacher.
   
   
3. 
   
   The fact that I sit next to that annoying know-it-all Philip John Krolikiewiecz (or something), who speaks out of turn and actually thinks it's cool.
   
   
4. 
   
   The fact that I have VERY disrespectful, class-disrupting classmates.
   
   
5. 
   
   The fact that we hold classes in the portables.
   
   
6. 
   
   The fact that my other seatmate Lindsay was absent today.
   
   
7. 
   
   The fact that there are two boys who sit in front of me who have very, very bad and outdated hairstyles. One of them, Cody, is pinkish and has blond hair in a ponytail. It annoys me to death that a pink boy actually wears his hair long. And worse: the other, Anoj (Indian?) looks like he has a small bowl on top of his head, which I can assure you he doesn't. It is merely his hair. It is slicked back and always looks oily, it is disgusting and so is the way he tries to be cool. And I have to see that everyday. Him and Cody are practically best friends with weirdo hair.
   
   
8. 
   
   The fact that I am classmates with Quenessa, Vashia (other twin), and something-or-the-other Fletcher. Three very irritating people who interrupt and talk in that homie accent of theirs (sorry but I can't stand them. Some blacks are okay though.)
   
   
9. 
   
   The fact that I can't talk to anybody in my class except Lindsay, occasionally, because Mr. Alix always makes us do exercises and I have the misfortune of being seated next to Phil.
   
   
10. 
    
    The fact that I don't answer as much as I should, even if I know the answer.

Now Mr. Alix was on to Quenessa's answer. "Qua, you didn't write anything?"

"But Mr. Sir, the question is like harder than the others'! Theirs was like - 1 or something."

"Do this do that, the brackets and exponents, blah blah blah," explained the teacher, and beside me Philip was going "The answer is 6,421. The answer is 6,421. The answer is 6,421." When Mr. Alix wrote the final product - 6,421 - Phil went (to nobody in particular), "See, I told you so!"

The same with another problem, only this time it was "The answer is 110. 110, it's 110. I told you it was 110!"

"Class ah, if you do not know the answer, write it down." said Mr. A. I opened my binder and wrote down with my pencil. I could practically sense Philip breathing down my neck to see what I was writing. Probably to tell me how he got his answer.

What I actually wrote was: Math is ugh. This is basic basic basic basic. I have been doing this since the first grade!! I MISS TRIGONOMETRY., with the emphasis on Trigonometry which I never really liked. I made sure he saw it.

Ha, that should fix him.

chapter three: that is my whistle, do not blow it

Now I am home, tired out from gym gassers. Gosh my legs hurt. And I have to take that test tomorrow. What will happen to me?? I have friends now.

My mother dearest's bugging me to get off the computer and review my Math. As if!! Like Adrie very wisely and unassumingly said, "That is my whistle, do not blow it". Meaning it is my problem, do not bother with it. I am almost sure I'll pass. Tests here are very easy. But what am I going to do in Grade 10? I'm really enjoying 9.

Oh maybe I'll just blow that later.

I T ` S M E E E E E . ;P