Free A Little Crushed by Viviane Brentanos

remember.
    “Okay, folks. Let’s get this show on the road. I thought we’d begin with some more of the great bard. Who would like to read from where we left off? You. Simon, isn’t it?” Deliberately avoiding Rebecca and her friend, he zeroed in on the carrot kid. “Off you go.” Arms folded, he leaned back against the desk. “Let’s take it from where Romeo climbs up the balcony to woo his love.”
    “To what?”
    A wave of laughter ricocheted around the room. Even Max had to smile at the look of pure terror on the freckled face. “ Woo , you philistine. It means to court, to flatter, to flirt. What’s the matter, Simon? You have never tried to flirt?”
    “Only with his hamster.” Laughing so much at his own wit, Peter nearly fell off his chair.
    “At least my hamster is a girl. You snog your dog, and it’s a boy.”
    More raucous laughter.
    “For goodness sake. You’re all pathetic.”
    Rebecca leapt to her feet with such force her chair careened back and crashed to the floor. Grabbing her bag, she stormed from the room and slammed the door so hard, the glass pane rattled.
    For a moment, Max didn’t know what to do. A stunned silence swirled around his head. His students stared at the door in unison, mouths open before turning their collective gaze on him. It was like a scene from the Dawn of the Dead.
    David Keeley pierced the tension first. Lips parted in a cruel grin, he leaned forward and tapped Emma on the shoulder. “Hey Brown, you wanna stop hanging around with her. She’s well on the way to the funny farm.”
    “And you’ll be on your way to detention if you don’t shut up.” Max wasn’t sure if he was allowed to tell a pupil to shut up, but he didn’t care. Gripping the edge of the desk, he held his temper in check. He itched to wipe the arrogant smirk from the boy’s face. Why he felt compelled to defend a girl who showed him so little respect, he didn’t know—except Rebecca was a troubled soul.
    “O...kay, Simon.” He loosened his tie. “Let’s take it from ‘With love’s light wings did I o’er-perch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold love out .’ Come on, we haven’t got all day.” Ladies and gentleman, the part of efficient, in-control teacher will now be played by Max Jackson. Yup, that’s how he was going to do this. He would act at being a teacher. He’d been pretty good on the boards during his college days.
    His strategy worked. Max got through the remainder of the lesson on autopilot. His class remained subdued, buying into his brooding mood, no doubt. When the bell sounded for lunch break, he shared their relief.
    “Essays on my desk by Friday.” His command mingled with the muted chatter. “Miss Brown, Emma…can you wait behind, please?”
    Max waited until the room emptied of inquisitive pupils, and he closed the door. Emma stood by his desk, bag clutched to her chest, gaze focused on the blackboard. He doubted his scrawled examples of Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter fascinated her. She bit at the inside of her mouth. He made her nervous. Great. It seemed to be his forte these days.
    “Relax.” Smiling, he tried to put her at ease. The blush deepened. The penny dropped. Oh Lord, that’s all I need: a schoolgirl crush. “I want to talk to you about Rebecca. You and she are best friends, am I right?”
    “Oh, yes, but please don’t report her to Mr. Black.” Emma looked close to tears. “I know she was rude to you the other day, and she shouldn’t have run out like that, but well, you don’t know the whole st—anyway, she’s really not that bad, sir. She is very kind really. She…um… She loves animals.”
    “So did Adolf Hitler.” He couldn’t help it; it just slipped out.
    Loyalty momentarily pushed aside, she giggled.
    “Emma, I respect that you wish to support your friend. It is truly commendable, but you shouldn’t allow her to overwhelm you quite so much. And to put your mind at rest, I have no intention of