A Simple Story

By Apollo W

Mr. Doug Freedman, though not particularly memorable or impactful in the eyes of his students, played a role in their education. While he may not have been the most inspiring or influential teacher, he still contributed to their learning journey. The notes he provided during class, although not exceptional, served as a resource for students to study and understand the subject matter; after all, they had worse teachers.

After the class moved on from note-taking, they engaged in textbook work or essay writing. These activities may not have been particularly exciting or groundbreaking, but they provided a structure for learning and helped students consolidate their knowledge. The simplicity of the work allowed them to socialize and spend time with their friends, which likely made the overall experience more enjoyable for them.

However, it is not uncommon for students to eventually forget about individual teachers once they graduate from high school. Teachers come and go throughout a student's educational journey, and their impact may vary from person to person. While Mr. Freedman may not have left a lasting impression, it's important to recognize that teachers play a crucial role in shaping students' education and lives, even if their impact is not immediately apparent or widely acknowledged.

Despite the physical distance between Doug and his two sons, he maintained some connection with them through occasional phone calls. Their lives had taken them to different parts of the country as they focused on raising their own families, but they still found time to catch up with their father. Doug looked forward to visiting them during summer breaks, which provided an opportunity for quality family time.

Doug's relationship with his wife had evolved into one of mutual respect and understanding. They had grown apart over time, leading his wife to pursue her own passions. Despite their separation, there was no animosity between them, as evidenced by her sending him a postcard from Europe. It seems they had found a way to maintain a cordial relationship.

In the midst of Doug's relatively quiet life, his love for his kitten, Zero, brought him immense joy. Zero, with his distinctive orange fur and a white circle marking, was the source of companionship and warmth in Doug's home. Doug's passion for being a handyman allowed him to create a unique environment for Zero. He designed his home with ramps that encircled the rooms, providing a playground for the kitten. Each room held special hiding spots for Zero, adding an element of excitement and surprise to their daily lives.

From an outsider's perspective, Doug's life may not appear thrilling or eventful. However, Doug's happiness stemmed from the contentment he found in his hobbies, his bond with Zero, and the positive connections he maintained with his family. Despite the absence of excitement, Doug embraced the simple pleasures that brought him fulfillment, ultimately making him a contented individual.

A few years had passed, and Doug was getting ready for retirement. He had about two more years he thought, looking around the classroom he spent the better part of thirty years in. This was his home away from home. He wondered if anyone would remember him when he left, and with that thought on his mind, he took in a deep breath and began to plan his first day of school. Little did he know that this was not going to be just another school year.

Doug, like most teachers that he knew, enjoyed the first day of school. The first class he was teaching this semester was a grade 10 classroom, and in the afternoon, he would be teaching AP History classes. Doug had planned a few fun icebreaker games for the students in the morning because it was the first time they would be in his classroom, and even if the students thought of Mr. Freedman as a boring teacher, he did care about them. He greeted each student at the door with a welcoming smile and good morning.

The students all took their spots in the class, and Doug began his lesson, and in walks Kevin about 20 minutes too late. A few of the students who were in junior high with Kevin were a bit shocked to see him come during the first day of school. Just like Mr. Freedman being your standard run-of-the-mill teacher, Kevin was the run-of-the-mill “Troubled” Teen, or as his peers called him a jerk. A few of the “good” kids or nerds, gave a grumbling moan to themselves, this was going to be an interesting class with Kevin in it. If this was a superhero comic, then Kevin would be the classic villain. Every time Mr. Freedman tried to engage the class, Kevin would say some comment about it being boring, or he would start kicking the chair in front of him or whatever else chaos came into his mind. Needless to say, the first class of the year did not go well for Mr. Freedman and every class that Kevin came to.

Kevin’s back story is simple for anyone who knew him. Kevin and his mom moved to town about ten years back around the time that he was five. His Dad left town and took all their saving with him. They went to live with his grandmother, who died shortly after their arrival. His Mom got a night job working at one of the hotels in town, doing the best she could to support her son. As the years progressed Kevin began to rage increasingly, feeling like no matter what he got the short end of the stick. An example of this that always comes to mind for his mom was when Kevin was ten, she got him a dog from the local shelter, hoping that Kevin would at least make a friend with it, but the first thing Kevin did was kick it and told it to get lost. Crushing her heart and feeling at the end of her rope. Then the phone rang.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

On the other end was Mr. Freedman, and his heart was in the right place. He talked with Kevin’s Mom for over an hour, and she shared story after story about her son and feeling as lost as Kevin felt angry. Freedman thanked her for all the information and explained that if there was anything that he could do to help Kevin just let me know.

Later, Kevin found out that Mr. Freedman had talked with his mom about the first day of class and all he could see was red. Kevin began to hatch his plan, and as any good supervillain knows, you strike at the heart of the hero. For the next week, Kevin pretended to be the average student and did not cause a lot of problems besides the standard small hick-ups. He had heard from the other student’s little snip-it’s about Freedman and found out that he loved his cat. Connecting the dots, Kevin decided to cat-nap Freedman’s cat, and that way he would know not to meddle in other people’s lives.

That night, Kevin waited until his mom went to work, and he sprang his plan into action. The funny part is, if Kevin spent the effort he did on his master plans and placed it into positive things, he would have a much easier time at school. He dressed in his darkest clothing and found his face mask. He also gathered up all the tools of his trade. He found his leatherman, and a few other odds and ends he thought he might need. He googled up Mr. Freedman’s address, which he had bullied out of Albert in Math class who was Freedman’s neighbour. Then with that, he grabbed his bike and took off across town.

For Doug, it was just a normal Friday night. He cooked up his favourite dinner, which was Breakfast for dinner, and put on his go-to channel on the TV. Zero hopped up next to him on the couch and began to purr away. The two were peas in a pod.

Halfway to his destination, it began to pour rain down on Kevin. A rain that would have found a perfect place in a horror movie that Kevin loved to watch when he was home alone. That being said, he blamed Freedman for the rain as well, saying to himself over and over that he would not be out here if that teacher left good enough alone.

At the end of the movie, Doug grabbed the bag of cat treats from his coffee table and began to play fetch with Zero. Their favourite game was to throw a little furry mouse across the room, and Zero would jump and scramble across the room, drop it at Doug’s feet and get a treat. They would play this for hours if they could, but soon Zero got tired out nowadays after about 30 minutes.

Kevin found the little two-bedroom rancher easy enough. Kevin noticed that most of the lights in the house were out but in the living room. He decided to head around back and see if he could get into one of the empty rooms.

Zero with a stomach full of tasty cat treats climbed up one of the walls ramps and found a nice cat bed up in the right-hand corner of the room and was soon purring herself asleep. This brought a smile to Doug’s face. He had a stressful week at school, and it always made him feel better to see his loved one snuggled up like a bug on a rug. He curled up on the couch again and decided to find a comedy on the TV.

Kevin could hear laughter coming from the living room as he placed his ear against the guest bedroom window. He did a quick double-take of the drive away, making sure his teacher was alone, one car parked in the drive away. Perfect he whispered to himself. Pulling his mask over his face, and then the hood of his sweater over the rest of him. He set to work.

Kevin had broken into several houses before. Never with someone home before, and never with the security alarm stickers on the window, but he had enough practice enough now that he could pop a window open now without too much trouble.

Doug decided that he needed a treat himself and was making snacks in the kitchen. A nice meat and cheese tray would do him well. He left the film running on the TV so Zero could have something to watch. Doug laughed, Zero will always be his little kitten, but Zero was not watching the TV. Zero heard something coming from the back of the house and using the ramps crawled her way toward the sound.

Kevin lifted himself easily into the room, careful not to knock anything over. He paused for a moment and took in the view of the simple room. Against the far wall was a double-sized bed, with its covers neatly covered. There was a dresser against the corner of the room, and a few bookcases filled with books and other miscellaneous items. He saw a photo of Freedman and two boys on the walls from what looked like family trips. Kevin laughed to himself and began to look around for anything of value.

Zero had not met many other people and did not trust this dark figure in the room. From up on his ramps, let out the largest hiss she had ever done. Kevin, not thinking that the cat would be above his head, jumped and fell into the bookcase, smashing one of the photos to the ground, and started to swear profusely. Thought to himself house careless he had been.

Doug heard the sounds coming from the back bedroom: the hiss, smashing glass and then a male voice swearing. He did not think, he came running. Forgetting that he had the knife in his hand. He rounded the corner of the room at all speed that his legs could carry him. For a split second, he saw the man in black in his home. He saw the smashed glass on the floor. The window was open. For a second, he heard the sound of hissing and panic from his pet.

Then for a second, he felt the blood dripping down the knife in his hand.

Then heard a thump on the floor.

A bloody hand raised his mask off his face.

For a second, they both shared the same feeling, pure shock.

Then there was only one of them in the room.

Doug Freedman was no longer just a simple teacher.