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I s else I was sure that I would love the fact thatErik would drive them crazy all hour

Lit class was an experience First of all, the classroom itself was totally different than any I’d ever seen There were bizarrely interesting posters and paintings and what looked like original art work filling every inch of wall space And hanging fro ind chimes and crystals--lots of thenized fro to the most revered of all the A out of the movies (well, the ones on the Sci-Fi Channel) She had seriously long reddish-blond hair, big hazel eyes, and a curvy body that probably uys drool (not that it’s very hard to e boys drool) Her tattoos were thin, pretty Celtic knots that traced their way down her face and around her cheekbones,expensive-looking black slacks and a oddess figure e And, now that I thought about it (and not Erik), I realized Prof Nolan’s blouse had the goddess embroidered on the breast pocket of her blouse, too Hmmm

"I was born in April of year 1902," Professor Penthesilea said, instantly grabbing our attention I mean, please, she barely looked thirty "So I was ten years old in April of 1912, and I re? Do any of you have any idea?"

Okay, I knew exactly what she was talking about, but it wasn’t because I’er I thought I was in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, and ot me the entire DVD collection of his movies for my twelfth birthday This particular movie I watched so many times I still have most of it memorized (and I can not tell you how many times I snot cried when he slipped off that board and floated away like an adorable Popsicle)

I looked around No one else seehed and raised my hand

Prof P smiled and called on me, "Yes, Miss Redbird"

"The Titanic sank in April of 1912 It was struck by the iceberg late on Sunday night, the fourteenth, and sank just a few hours later on the fifteenth"

I heard Damien suck air beside me, and Stevie Rae’s little huh Jeesh, had I really been acting so stupid that they were shocked to hear me answer a question correctly?

"I do love it when a new fledgling knows so?" Professor Penthesilea said "Absolutely correct, Miss Redbird I was living in Chicago at the tiet the newsies shouting the tragic headlines from the street corners It was a horrid event, especially because the loss of lives was so preventable It also signaled the end of one age and the beginning of another, as well as bringing aboutto study all of this, plus the deliciously ht, in our next piece of literature, Walter Lord’s h Lord was not a vampyre--and it’s really a shame he wasn’t," she added under her breath, "I still find his take on the night co and very readable Okay, let’s get started! The last person in each row, get books for the people in your row fro cabinet in the back of the roo than reading Great Expectations (Pip, Estella, who cares?!) I settled in with A Night to Remember and my notebook opened to take, well, notes Prof P started to read Chapter One aloud to us, and she was actually a good reader Three class hours almost over and I’d liked all of them Was it possible that this va place I went to every day because I had to and, besides that, all my friends were there? Not that all of the classes at SIHS had been boring, but we didn’t get to study the Amazons and the Titanic (frolanced around at the other kids while Prof P read There were about fifteen of us, which seee in my other classes, too All of the attention

Thenred and bushy on the other side of the room near the rear of the class I’d spoken too soon--not all of the kids were paying attention This one had his head down on his arms and he was sound asleep, which I knew because his chubby, way-too-white-and-freckled face was turned in ht have been drooling a little I wondered what Prof P would do to the kid She didn’t see sleeping in the back of the roo, interspersed with interesting firsthand facts about the early twentieth century, which I really liked (I loved hearing about the flappers--I would definitely have been a flapper if I’d lived in the 192os) It wasn’t until the bell was about to ring and Prof P had assigned the next chapter as host ourselves, that she acted as if she noticed the sleeping kid at all He’d started to stir, finally lifting up his head to display the bright red sleeping circle that was on the side of his forehead and looked bizarrely out of place beside his Mark

"Elliott, I need to see you," Prof P said fro up and then dragged his feet, scuffing his untied shoes, over to her desk

"Yeah?"

"Elliott, you are, of course, failing Lit But what’slife Va, honorable, and unique They have been our warriors and protectors for countless generations How do you expect towho is more warrior than man if you do not practice the discipline it takes even to stay awake in class?"

He shrugged his soft-looking shoulders

Her expression hardened "I shall give you one opportunity to make up the zero for class participation you received today by writing a short paper on any issue that was important in America in the early twentieth century The paper is due to, he started to turn away

"Elliott," Prof P’s voice had dropped and, thick with irritation, it made her sound way scarier than she’d see I could feel the power radiating from her, and itto protect her The kid stopped and turned back to face her

"I did not excuse you What is your decision about doing the work to make up today’s zero?"

The kid just stood there without saying anything "That question calls for an answer, Elliott Now!" The air around her crackled with the coly unaffected, he shrugged again "I probably won’t do it"