Teacher of the Century Read Free Page B

did something that no student had done since Kitty Carnuba back in 2079 or so.
    He handed her some poetry he’d written and asked her to tell him what she thought of it.
    â€œWhenever you get the chance,” said Byron. “I’m sure you’re busy.”
    Cilla turned slowly through the poems, which he’d gone to the trouble of printing (God bless him!) on sheets of paper. There was one about his father, and one about the way he’d felt on his first day at All Einstein High School. There was one about a journey to the stars, and one about a perfect world that never was.
    And then there was one titled “The Angel.” It included the following lines:
    I squint from the shadows of life like a prison,
    Outnumbered by forces inhuman and heartless.
    I’m saved by an angel of learning arisen,
    Like minds, kindred spirits together a fortress.
    After reading the full text of “The Angel,” it was all she could do to keep from crying until Byron left the room. On the pretext that she had to get ready for her meeting with the principal, she sent Byron on his way, promising to read the poems at her first opportunity...
    And then she let the tears flow.
    The poem touched her deeply...not so much because of its quality as for its subject matter. Though her name was never mentioned, she had no doubt that it related directly to her.
    She had known that she and Byron had made a positive connection, but seeing the boy’s appreciation in print, and expressed so glowingly, filled her with joy. For once, she felt like she was actually helping someone; for once, she felt like she was getting through to another human being.
    For once, she felt like maybe she was making a difference, even if it was only in the life of a single student.
    It was a miracle she had never expected to see again in her lifetime. She had done plenty of good work long ago, in the days before the hivenet and godlings. She could not even count the number of students she had helped to succeed, or helped to succeed more, or exceed all expectations...but it seemed that the desire to learn had disappeared around the same time the students had stopped wearing clothes. Though Cilla had received teaching awards in recent years, she attributed them to past glories and the absence of competition in the teaching field. She knew all too well that she had made no impact on students in many years.
    Until now. As she reread “The Angel,” she sobbed tears of pure happiness. She felt like she was fifty-five again, or even forty-five or thirty-five.
    All because of one student. One excellent student out of hundreds...an unacceptably dismal success rate decades ago, but today it was wondrous enough to make a teacher break down and cry. Not just any teacher, either, but America’s so-called Teacher of the Year for ten years running and a nominee for so-called Teacher of the Century.
    If she hadn’t been so damned happy, Cilla Franklin might have been disappointed in herself.
    *****
    â€œCongratulations,” said the naked principal when Cilla entered his office for their “pow-wow.” “You’re not dead!”
    As good a mood as Cilla was in after receiving Byron’s poems, Caesar’s remark threw a shroud right over her. “Not yet,” she said coldly. “The godlings like to play with their food.”
    â€œI disagree,” Caesar said flippantly. “I think you’re off the hook. In fact, Ludwig tells me you’re in the clear.”
    Cilla distrusted every word from the principal’s mouth, but she played along. “No more death sentence?”
    â€œYou’ll be able to receive that Teacher of the Century award after all!” said Caesar. He glanced down at the gold hoop in his newly-pierced left nipple, then looked to Cilla for approval. “Like the piercing? I’m getting my scrotum done next.”
    Ignoring his nipple, Cilla leaned forward. She sensed that he was