Chapter 16: Math Class with Sam

As Tifara and Sam sat in their assigned seats near each other, the bell rang and they watched their Geometry Teacher close the door. Their teacher was a bold man with white hair and beard, wrinkles on his face and wore glasses. Their classmates' chatter echoed across the classroom.

"Alright, students," The Geometry teacher announced, walking straight to his desk. "Time to lower your voices. I'll be taking some roll call now."

When students talked amongst one another and lowered their voices, Tifara studied the entire classroom. Then she saw some girls including Calpurnia gossiping about her while looking at her back and forth. Some boys' cheeks blushed whenever they examined Tifara's body.

Tifara held onto her necklace when fear dominated her heart. She looked up at the ceiling and thought, Oh, dear Lord, please help me! Sam noticed her actions and saw her put her head down.

He tapped onto her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

Tifara turned to Sam, frowning at him, tilting her head left a little, moving her eyes down. "No…I'm not…"

Sam angrily turned to the rude people around him, then returned his attention back to Tifara, "They botherin' you again?"

"Yes…"

He turned to the rude people and Tifara back and forth with his serious face. "Jus' ignore them, Tifara. Especially Calpurnia. And keep dependin' on Elohim. Trust Him, you'll get through it. It's His timing, y'know."

Tifara grinned at Sam. "Thanks, Sam."

"No, problem," Sam responded, smiling back at Tifara.

After their Geometry teacher roll called all his students' names, he got up from his chair and walked towards his white chalkboard, after he activated the PowerPoint. "Okay now, students. Take out your notes. We'll be doing 'Introduction to Euclidean Geometry' today."

The students obeyed him and pulled out their notebook papers from their binders. While the teacher lectured the class and his students took notes, Tifara took a look around the classroom and saw that all the students were taking notes. We'll, everybody's doin' quite well, Tifara thought. Except Calpurnia, of course.

Calpurnia turned to Tifara and her classmates around her back and forth a couple times, before she wrote on a piece of paper. Hold on…she curiously thought, What's she doin'?

As soon as Calpurnia finished writing a note on her desk, she began to pass a note in class. Tifara gasped quietly with her hand covering her mouth. Calpurnia's passin' a note in class! She thought, I better do somethin' now. It's my chance for payback for what she did a couple days ago. If I'm currently grounded, so can Calpurnia.

Tifara quickly stood up from her desk and pointed her finger at Calpurnia. "Excuse me, sir. Calpurnia's passin' a note in class."

"Oh? Is that so?" Tifara's Geometry teacher said, giving Calpurnia his serious look on his face, as he and the rest of the students turned to Calpurnia. Calpurnia hid the note behind her back just in time and forcefully grinned at the teacher.

"Wh-What?! Of course not, Tifara. Why would I do that, sir?" Calpurnia replied as her fearful sweat poured down from her face. "Don't listen to Tifara, sir. She's the one that's lyin', y'know."

"Oh, if that's the case"-Tifara smirked at Calpurnia-"then what you got behind your back?"

"Oh, really now?" Tifara's Geometry teacher returned his attention to Calpurnia after getting his focus off of Tifara. He noticed Calpurnia's hands were on her back. "You're not hiding anything on your back, are you?"

"Well, of course not, sir. Honest," Calpurnia answered fearfully.

"Really?" Tifara's Geometry teacher questioned. "Well then, if you got nothing behind your back, may I see it please?"

"Well, uh, sure…" Calpurnia said, "Of course, I would. Jus' give me a min-"

"No, I want to see it now, Calpurnia!" The teacher roared, putting his hand out forward, moving his index back a couple times.

Calpurnia widened her fearful eyes. "B-B-But, sir. I-"

"Now, Calpurnia!" The teacher roared, "Don't make me ask you again, do you understand me?"

Calpurnia frowned, putting her head down, placing her hands besides her legs. "Yes…sir…"

"Good," the teacher said as he closed his eyes and smiled out of relief.

As Calpurnia walked her way towards her teacher, Tifara sat back down her seat. While the students whispered amongst each other and watched Calpurnia, Sam turned to Tifara with a grin. He quietly high-fived Tifara.

"You did great, Tifara!" He whispered, closing his eyes with a grin on his face.

"Thanks, Sam," Tifara whispered back, performing the same action to Sam as he did to her earlier.

"No problem."

As soon as Calpurnia made her way near the teacher, he gave her a serious look on his face. He pulled out his palm hand and moved his fingers except his thumb backwards a couple times. "Now hand it over."

"Um…uh…" Calpurnia trembled, fearfully putting her head down, looking up at the teacher's face back and forth.

"Now, Calpurnia," the teacher nearly closed his eyes when he gazed at her.

"Yes…sir…" Calpurnia just put her head down and handed her teacher over her note.

Her teacher unfolded the note and looked inside it. After he read it, he returned to Calpurnia and glared at her. "So you passed a note in class to bully one of my students, calling her a 'slut,' huh?!"

Calpurnia returned her attention to her teacher with a frown on her face. "But, sir. I-"

Her teacher shook her head. "Now, now, now, Calpurnia." Then his head just stood still. "I've jus' had it with anymore excuses from you, young lady." He turned and walked towards his desk, pulling out his office referral, writing on it. "Be prepared to be given an office referral and be sent to the principal's office, Calpurnia."

"Yes…sir…" Calpurnia turned around and glared at Tifara.

While the students continued to whisper amongst each other, Tifara gave Calpurnia a sly smirk on her face. Looks like we're now even, Calpurnia, Tifara thought. This is what you get for bullyin' people, includin' trippin' me over a couple times, especially from a day before yesterday. Hopefully, you don't go to church with Saul this weekend. 'Cause I really can't have her bein' with him there. Really.

Once the teacher stapled the note to the office referral and handed it to Calpurnia, Calpurnia took it and left the classroom for the principal's office. Then the teacher stood up from his desk and returned his attention to his students. "Alright, class. Quiet down now;it's time to return to lecture."

The students quieted down and returned to their teacher's lecture, taking notes from the PowerPoint. After the teacher lectured the class, he pulled the worksheets from his desk and passed five of them to all four rows each, along with ten bags of the shape pieces.

"Alright, class," the teacher declared. "We're going to play a Math game, as an activity with your partner of your choice. Once you and your partner are done with your activity, please raise your hand and I will come to pick them up. If neither of you can solve the problem, also please raise your hand and I will come to assist you. Other than that, get to work!"

When Sam and Tifara received their worksheets and a bag of green shape pieces, they turned to one another.

"So you ready to do this, partner?" Sam asked.

Tifara closed her eyes and smiled at Sam, tilting her head right, putting her hands together. "Sure thing, partner. Let's get started."

"Mhn," Sam agreed as he and Tifara then scooted their desks towards one another and worked on the activity together.

"So Sam?" Tifara asked.

"What's up?" Sam questioned back.

"I heard you had P.E. with David, can you tell me 'bout that?"

"What? The kid from your homeroom period class?"

Tifara shook her head. "Yep, that's the one."

"Sure…he's jus' a loner as always and people wouldn't bother hangin' out with him, because he's a late bloomer. So he gets bullied a lot."

Tifara gasped with her hands covering her mouth, widening her shocked eyes. "That's awful. Did you help him out?"

"Uh-huh, of course, I did, Tifara." Sam shook his head. "And it gets even worse. I tried to be friends with him, but he refused to do so. 'Cause he doesn't want to associate people who are friends with quote unquote 'Titsfara.'"

Tifara put her head down and growled. Her shadow covered her forehead and eyes. "I see…"

"Yea, he's kind of a bitch, if you ask me."

"Uh-huh…I see that…"

Now why does this boy want to be alone all the time?! Doesn't he realize that it's unhealthy to be lonely?! Why can't he be at least nice to people like Sam?! Tifara angrily thought.

Then she displayed her annoyed face and moved her eyes right, crossing her arms. But for some reason, he's nice to Saul all the sudden…Recalling her time watching David being kind to Saul, she touched chin and rubbed it with her finger. Ghee, I wonder why…

"Uh, Tifara?" Sam questioned, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Huh?" Tifara responded to Sam's call.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. Really," Tifara said, closing her eyes. "I was jus' thinkin' of somethin'. That's all."

"Oh, okay. Good," Sam said out of relief. "I was jus' makin' sure you're alright."

Sam and Tifara continued to work on their activity until they finished it, turning in their worksheets to their teacher. They continued chatting with each other, until the school bell rang.