(SEPTEMBER) Freshman Homeroom: Mr. Kirrell

Freshman beware. If you are receiving this message, you have been selected for Mr. Kirrell's freshman homeroom class. With a little luck, you will make it out of this situation after shedding tears only once, but do not be ashamed if you do not achieve this. Just enjoy your life as it was before you ever planted your rear end in a chair in his room.

Mr. Kirrel sighed. Five minutes into sitting down and he was already being harassed by the overactive imagination of the young girl before him, and her... pet. Apparently neither child had been taught patience as the former had thought it smart to barge in, and the latter to take pictures of him without his express permission. John eyed them both with disapproval, positive that these children were in his freshman class. He would certainly have his work cut out for him this year, and perhaps for even longer after that. Choosing to ignore the boy for the moment, John's eyes settled onto the eager "reporter" in front of him, and he would not argue if it was said that at that moment, he was attempting to stare her down, he would not deny the statement. Leaning forward on one elbow, hand resting beneath his chin, Mr. Kirrel spoke, voice dangerously low, "I don't suppose that you would give me the chance to say no, Miss..." Here he trailed off. Although it was mandatory for him to know his students' names by some point, he wasn't too sure he was going to want this student to remain in his memory banks for years to come.

Carson had run off from the courtyard in embarrassment straight to his home room. He noticed the teacher speaking to two students with a rather dark expression on his face--the third one he'd seen this morning-- and decided to hang back outside the door until they were done. They took much too long though and he faintly noticed the late bell. The dirty blonde boy attempted to slip in unnoticed but he could have sworn the teacher's eyes slid towards him as he slunk quietly in an empty middle seat.

Henna was already sitting at her desk, her books piled up at the corner. She looked around at the other students. She was curious about this teacher. He looked like such a grump. She shook her head slightly. She was anxious for the day to be over already. She wanted to go to the beach with her brother. She smiled at the thought of her older brother, Keller.

Aside from the fact that the duos name escaped him, Mr. Kirrell had no clue who he was dealing with. Had he been familiar with the clever little journalist he would have chosen his words wiser - for of course Dani would absolutely give him the chance to answer. Would his answer stop her from getting the information she needed? Of course not!

“Danielle Thompson.” She offered finishing off the homeroom teacher’s sentence as it trailed off. Although he may have only wanted her last name, Dani wanted to make sure he would remember her. “And this is Gary Winters.” She replied gesturing towards the boy clicking away behind the camera. Dani always introduce Gary along with herself, for the simple fact that she would be up a creek without paddle had he not always been at her side. Not only was Gary an amazingly talented photographer, but he was even better friend. Her one and only…since most classmates didn’t want to get involved with the journalist - everyone had more or less, something to hide.

Leaning onto the edge of the table so that she was looking the teacher straight in the eyes Dani flashed a friendly slightly mischievous smile to compete with his own stern expression .It would be a lie to say that his cold stare wasn’t a little…okay okay very intimating, but she knew that there would be times like this and she would have to rough through it. “You learn quickly Mr. Kirrell. I’m honestly surprised that you’re popularity with the student body is so negative.” Dani continued, blunt as usual with her choice of words. Flipping through her note pad for an empty page Dani’s gaze was the first to break eye contact.

“My source tells me you’ve been working here 14 years now” Little did anyone (besides Gary who accompanied her) know her source was a midnight trip to the teacher’s records. “So, you started teaching here the year following the tragic loss of a student from sophomore class. Since then have he run into any strange or abnormal occurrences?” Glancing back up at Mr. Kirrell he didn’t strike her as the type to believe in ghost stories, but that didn’t negate the fact that mysterious things had happened within the school’s wall. It would be an intriguing story, and having a teacher’s experiences (his or any others for that matter) would make it more interesting to read.

Mr. Kirrell's eyes showed every ounce of humor he was feeling at the moment, which equated to no more than zero. Narrowing them, he zoned in not on the names that the girl so kindly supplied him with (he would have no use for them in the near future), but on the fact that she had commented on his capacity to learn, no matter that her words were meant to be seen as positive, and the silly notion that there might be a ghost about the school.

While he would never admit it, the child's smile unnerved John like few things had in his 42 years of life. However, he could most certainly butt heads if the girl before him thought she could keep up. Their game would have to wait, though; the late bell had already rung and he had wasted enough time for the day on childish antics. He had indeed taken notice of those who had slipped in after the pair, as it gave him a chance to stall until just the right moment to say, "Well, I absolutely hate to tell you this, but class is starting." His lips curved up slightly to form a cold smile, as he continued, "I can offer you some information before I must ask you both you and your pet to sit down..." This pause was to wait for the inevitable.

Moving his camera from his face, Gary made a 'Pffffft' noise at Mr. Kirrell's final comment before putting his hands behind his head. "Whatever you say, teach." Gary replied before taking an empty seat by the window. It was his and Dani's favorite seat to take during class. Anything could go down during class, and they needed to be alert. It'd suck if the fearless duo missed out on a great scoop. Scanning his surroundings, his eyes picked out some pretty interesting looking people from his class. There was a small, frail looking boy who didn't really look his age. Maybe he skipped a grade or two? Then there was girl with nice, long white hair. He felt the need to touch it for a moment, but thought against it. That would be weird. Gary felt it was important to remember faces. It was all apart or the "work" he and Dani did.

Chander heard the late bell ring as he dashed through the door. Dang! Late for my first day! Chander thought. He hurried into the first empty seat he saw. Dropping his books with a thump on the desk as he slid into the seat. HE looked around at the other students already seated. Chander sighed, he didn't like the look of the teacher one bit. He was already sure he would have a hard time with him. He generally got along well with teachers but this one looked awful.

Yui Dashed through the hallways as fast as she could. She overslept again and she was super late. She ran around people trying to avoid being hit this time. She almost missed her classroom because she was running so fast. She quickly entered the class and then bowed to the man who she guessed was the teacher. "I'm so sorry i'm late!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and then an embarrassed blush embraced her face as she turned as red as a tomato.

Emily rocketed through the door of the class, finally having found the right room. She couldn't believe how large this school was and how hard it was to find the right rooms. She sighed as she found an empty desk beside a boy with brown hair and glasses and set her backpack beside her chosen desk.

She smiled at the boy and said "Hello" before she turned her attention to the front of the room. She was a little surprised that there were so few students in this class but that was how she liked it. It was much easier to get to know her classmates in a smaller class.

Idly playing with his camera, it had taken Gary a moment to realize that the small blonde with interesting glasses was speaking to him. "Huh?" he blinked, turning his head to get a better view of her. "Oh, hey. Sorry about that, kinda spaced out." He grinned, scratching the back of his head. The face didn't really ring a bell to him, though he was sure she did live on the island. Shrugging it off, he resumed playing with his camera. Class was probably going to go on for an eternity, but hopefully this Kirrell guy wasn't too boring.

Smiling, Emily said, "It's okay. I do that sometimes too." Her short, wavy blond hair fell forward, only stopped from getting in her eyes by her black headband. "My name's Emily."

She leaned over, extracting a book from her bag, and straightening up she put it on her desk. She stretched her arms back over her head as she looked around at the other students. There were a few of them. She wondered if she could manage to pull off a friendship with any of them. She really hoped so.

“Of course! I would hate to keep you from teaching any longer than I already have!” Dani said while slipping her pen into the spiral binding of her notepad. Knowing she’d have another chance to question her teacher she settled into the empty seat behind Gary. This was her normal spot since that fateful day they met, Dani taking her frustration out on a poor defenseless camera. Right beside the window - perfect to spot any possible scoop and directly behind Gary so that she could alert him to anything that catches her eye (that he can capture in a picture).

Flashing a smile at the teacher that clearly hadn’t reached her eyes, Dani settled into her seat done with her journalistic prodding….for the moment. She hadn’t been too pleased with the way Mr. Kirrell had referred to Gary. PET!?... He certainly lived up to his reputation, but Dani wouldn’t be broken by this teacher…and from the looks of it Gary hadn’t been bothered by his words. Actually he seemed rather content with fiddling around with his camera exchanging a few words with one of their classmates.

The classmates…hmm it was a rather small class, but these would be student’s they would be learning beside for the rest of the year. Looking around at their faces Dani wondered if she’d possibly be able to gain a new friend.

Emily watched the blonde girl sit near them by the window. "Hi." she said quietly. "My name is Emily." She said, smiling. "Do you like this school?" she asked, readjusting her headband in her blonde hair. "I'm not so sure about it. It's only my first day. I've lived here since I was little though."

she grinned then she frowned in the teacher's direction. "He seems crabby doesn't he?" She readjusted her books on her desk as she spoke, shaking her head at the thought of being taught by this teacher. She wasn't too nervous. Her own dad was very strict.

Yui made an entrance every time, it seemed to Carson. His pensive expression lightened a bit because of the distraction caused by his clumsy friend. A blonde girl with glasses rushed in a bit later... Carson wondered why so many people were in such a hurry, but let the thought pass.
Pulling out a grey, college ruled notebook half-filled with musings, poems, occasional drafts and blurbs from his bag, Carson stretched up and bent over a page that was not covered in his scrawling handwriting. He set to work composing a small haiku for the occasion, not that there was much of one. But still the instructor had yet to start class and Carson preferred to occupy his time in another way besides napping.


It wasn't his best, but little things like that entertained him when he stayed home or in the hospital. Writing was something the hazel-eyed boy had picked up in his vast spare time when he was younger, and it allowed him to keep from wallowing too much in The darker corners of his consciousness. Carson smiled as he began another.

Mr. Kirrell only raised an eyebrow at the petite but loud girl, before waving her to a seat. He had no time for apologies, as it was time to get things started. Looking around the room, he noticed that the students seemed to have enough sense to at least sit in a somewhat organized fashion. Unless they did so unintentionally, he thought, determined not to overestimate what might just be a small container of wild cards. Standing up and walking around to the other side of his desk, pausing for a moment before continuing on around the classroom at a leisurely pace. He realized that he didn't talk very loud; it would be for the best that he remain in motion for the duration of the class.

Clearing his throat, he began, "No doubt you all are excited and perhaps a bit apprehensive about your time here at Valevay, unless you're too confident for apprehension." Here he paused, and made of show of turning to look at Danielle, before slowly raising an eyebrow in her direction. Moving on, he continued about the classroom, "Well, as a teacher of this school and your homeroom teacher, the best advice I can give you is that high school certainly isn't about recess or arts and crafts. If your middle school was this way, I feel so very sorry for you." He probably didn't sound one bit sincere about his statement, but that didn't matter much to him. Stopping, now back in the front of the room, John continued his speech, "Now, today will be the only day you will be allowed to appreciate your own tastes in this classroom, unless your tastes just so happen to mirror mine." A small but sinister smile made its way onto his face at the last statement, disappearing quickly after its appearance. "You there," he pointed to a girl that appeared to be daydreaming, with long hair a blinding white, "what is your favorite piece of literature?" Mr. Kirrell didn't have too much faith in the answer, but he sincerely hoped that it was not Twilight.

Henna looked over at the teacher who had just called out to her. "My name is Henna," she said abruptly. Playing with her long white hair, she grinned at the teacher, relatively certain that her choice would throw the teacher for a loop. "I like Harry Potter," she said silkily as she leaned forward and crossed her legs under her desk, swinging one foot.

Gary nodded, taking in this new found information. Turning his head to look at the petite blonde, he simply told her his name before returning to play with his camera. He could hear bits and pieces of her and Dani's conversation, not really paying attention to much of it. Although it was cut short thanks to Mr. Kirrell's voice. Jeeze.. This teacher gets worse and worse. Gary thought, watching his semi sinister smile. The brown haired boy wasn't really interested at looking at him though, so he kept fiddling with his camera as he listened to Mr. Kirrell.

Shifting in her seat so that she was facing her classmate straight on (an interviewing habit) Dani offered a friendly smile. Briefly introducing herself she answered Emily’s comment about their crabby looking teacher with a slight nod. She would have answered properly had her attention not wandered off to the blonde boy a few seats away. Bending slightly over his notebook he had been jotting words down on his paper for quite some time now. What exactly…that was undecipherable from her particular position almost at the other end of class from him.

Studying the boy’s face from her seat Dani couldn’t help but smile as he did. Whatever he was writing at least he seemed to enjoy it. Moving on Dani took in the rest of the student’s. There hadn’t been very many in this class…probably because they were terrified of the infamously sinister instructor. Ah, speak of the devil! Righting her seat Dani listened as Mr. Kirrell addressed the class, taking occasional glances out of the classroom window. Hardly missing the look Johnny Boy had given her, Dani merely smirked while tapping her pen rhythmically on her notepad.

Carson lightly bit his lip as he tore his eyes away from his writing. The girl who'd answered Mr. Kirrell had sounded so self-satisfied when responding to their instructor, Carson felt he had to look up. Personally, he might have chosen Thoreau's Walden, which he'd taken maybe half of last summer to read through. The Harry Potter series wasn't half-bad either though--in fact that was one his sister used to read with him.
Of course when he did glance up and around he noticed a blonde watching him--the one from before class--as she smiled. The least the boy could do was offer a smile in return. Carson nodded slightly at her in greeting and added a tiny, hesitant wave as he did--the latter gesture likely unnoticeable, as last-second and inconsiderable as it was.

If the girl he had addressed expected him to be impressed that she was actually paying attention, or her choice in literature, she was sorely mistaken. However, as a gleam that most would be wary of lit up in his eye, Mr. Kirrell nodded. "Very well; it's a respectable series in its own right. Shall I call you..." He paused in mock contemplation as he eyed the girl; his first impression of her had already been made. "Yes, I will refer to you as Ms. Parkinson from now on. If you understand why, congratulations," he eyed her for her response, but moved on in terms of speaking. Without turning away, he addressed his next volunteer. "The blond in glasses, what of you? Have you something a bit more classical for me to remember me by? Do not feel threatened if you do not, however. As I stated, today is about you. The only one, so by all means, do not hesitate because you think you may get a name that you feel is ill-suited to your wishes. If you are lying, and I can usually tell when you are, this turn out to be even more highly unfavorable for you." John shrugged to show that despite this new information, it didn't really matter how it all ended to him.

Henna smirked. "call me what you want. I don't care. I consider that name to be a compliment." She leaned back in her seat, letting her hands rest on her desk, completely relaxed. "But you should know that if you address me by any name except that which is mine...I will not respond to you." She raised one eyebrow and readjusted herself comfortably in her seat. Henna lazily pushed her long, shiny white hair over one ear, her green eyes flashing mischievously.

Henna did not take her eyes off the teacher even as he began speaking to the cute little blonde girl sitting near two other students.

"My name is Emily and I guess I don't really have any real favorites," Emily said, easily looking up at the teacher. "See, my parents don't keep books around the house. I will read just about anything I get a chance to though." Emily thought carefully. "I think the last thing I read was a Shakespeare play...but that was a while ago and I don't remember which one it was."

Emily was a little embarrassed at admitting her parents didn't keep books around the house. She had asked her parents many times why there didn't seem to be any books...and there was no TV either. Only specially chosen movies that her mom and dad chose. She assumed they were just over protective and just didn't want her seeing certain things.

Mr. Kirrell only adopted the same facial expression as the girl before him at her response. He had chosen the name correctly, if the blatant disrespect and haughty demeanor were anything to go by. Crossing his arms, John replied, "If you consider it to be a compliment, why fight the name? Surely you do not believe one person calling you something you are proud to be will affect you adversely?" Contemplating the girl once more, he decided he might as well add to his side of the argument, "And if you are so inclined to ignore me or go off sniveling to your parents or your legal guardian, I can always show them why I have been a teacher here for fourteen years." He smiled coldly, and did not wait for a response as he moved closer to the blond whose parents appeared to be archaic monsters. Don't keep books? Who ever heard of such nonsense? However, it amused him to no end that they all seemed to assume that he would want their name when asked a completely irrelevant question.

"Quite a tragedy we have on our hands, wouldn't you say, Lady Macbeth?" He made sure to make eye contact with the blond to let her know that he had chosen a name for her, despite the lack of actual information. "I'll do as much as I can to help correct it." John had hardly been more sincere about such a statement in all of his years of existence.

Somewhere in between these two conversations, he managed to catch the smirk on the other, nosier blond girl from earlier. He was sure such a sign did not bode well, but he refrained from reacting in favor of keeping his attention on the two he had formally addressed.

laughing outright, Henna said, "I don't really care why you've been a teacher. That's not relevant to your class is it?" She looked at the teacher with a bored smile. "It's not that I am fighting the name."

she smirked again. "It's the simple fact that it's NOT my name, and so you cannot expect me to answer to a name that I am not used to being called." She stretched out her legs. "as such, few people would remember that a name not their own was now a name they were to answer to and it would be too much trouble for one to remember the new name to bother with. So I will not even attempt to remember to answer to this name which is not mine." She flashed her green eyes. "And I don't snivel or whine to anyone. I handle things the way I see fit." She tapped her fingers on her desk. "so it's too much trouble for me to even attempt to remember that. It's also not worth wasting my time over."