02 Not Long Ago

Starting junior high school was quite an experience for a thirteen year old Arnold. Not because of the other students or the half-caring teachers. No. It was because he got to see so much more of the things he liked. With so many people around, his little indiscretions went completely unnoticed and he liked that. He liked it a lot. You would normally think that with more people around that it would be more dangerous for exposure; but, the truth was, with so many people around it provided a very valuable resource. Anonymity.

He was quite happy when he found out that their new biology teacher used to teach high school. It was the perfect cover for him, because he hoped beyond hope that she would give them things they shouldn't experience for another couple of years. When she introduced dissecting a frog, his guess had been correct and Arnold had to stop himself from going to the front of the class to hug the woman. He hadn't had anyone help feed his desire like this since primary school.

Unlike everyone else in the class, who were completely disgusted at the display, Arnold was fascinated. He had discovered a long time ago that little creatures had lots of little things inside them to play with. He never imagined it was an actual science! There were even wonderful tools that could be used as well!

Arnold held in his shiver at the thought of stealing the set of dissection tools. If he had them, then he wouldn't have to rely on the old kitchen steak knife he had been using since he was a kid.

“Now, now, don't be shy.” The woman said as her gaze took in all of the disgusted faces and she felt a hint of satisfaction. “Come up to the desk for a closer...” She stopped talking when a blonde buzz-cut boy practically appeared beside her.

“Can I touch it?” Arnold asked her and pointed to the heart of the frog.

“Not with bare hands.” She replied and pointed to a box of rubber gloves. “You could catch a disease or become very sick if you handled them without protection.”

Arnold shrugged. He had been touching them on the inside for years and hadn't gotten sick yet. She helped him put on the gloves and then she started to ask him questions about the organs they could see. He answered what he could. He didn't have much knowledge past the basics. Heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, and kidneys. She was impressed that someone so young knew so much about anatomy. When she started to expand his knowledge and pointed out the other organs he had missed, she saw the excitement on his face and he sucked up the information like a sponge.

“What's your name?” The teacher asked.

“Arnold.” Arnold responded without looking up from the frog's innards.

“I think you and I are going to get along very well this year.” She said with a smile.

Arnold smiled back, because she had let him touch her bright silver tools! If she let him play with them some more, he had to agree. They were going to get along very, very well.

Biology became his favorite class, even when the teacher gave them lots of things to write down. When she warned them that they needed this knowledge to continue in the field, he dove into it with reckless abandon. He passed every exam with perfect marks and every time she brought out a new specimen to dissect, he didn't have to be asked to approach. He was by her side, had rubber gloves expertly applied, and stood ready to help as much as he could.

She was surprised that his interest never waned and he was always eager to learn anything she wanted to teach him. She had never met anyone like him before, and it touched her heart that she had instilled in him the same passion that she had for the subject.

By the end of the year when she sat down to calculate her students marks, she had saved his for last. She went over everything he did, and she wasn't surprised that he had achieved perfect marks in her course. If she added in the extra credit assignments that normal students used to keep their marks up, he had actually made 130% in her course. She had to take several breaths when she realized the sheer amount of work he had done for her.

On grading day, each of the students had the opportunity to visit their classrooms and their teachers one last time. It was usually to return the subject book that those teachers taught, probably because they were too damaged to pass in before their report cards were given out. The biology teacher sat there all alone, knowing that every other book had been returned except one. She sighed at the sad state of them all and she would need to replace a dozen of them, at least.

She heard a knock on her door and looked up to see that blonde buzz-cut that she had come to adore. “Arnold.” She said, almost in a whisper.

Arnold walked over to her and passed her the biology book he had used all year. It was in pristine condition and didn't look like it had ever been opened.

“Wh-what... Arnold...”

“It's a great book and I took extra special care of it.” Arnold said, then his eyes fell on the stacks of defaced books and he frowned.

The teacher stood up and put his book down on the middle of her desk to keep it separate. “Arnold.”

Arnold looked at her and the frown disappeared. “I'm sorry they can't see how important the book is.”

She looked at the open door and walked over to it, closed and locked it, then came back over to him. “I have something for you.” She said and opened her top drawer. She took out a flat wooden box.

Arnold's eyes widened when she opened it and it was a set of those wonderful tools.

“You are the best student I have ever had.” She said. “You deserve a reward for that.”

Arnold took the box and set it on the desk, then he stepped close to her and gave her a hug. The teacher's breath sped up at the strength in his embrace, hesitated for only another moment, then she put her arms around him and hugged him back.

“Thank you.” Arnold said.

She shivered at the deep sincerity in his voice. “You're welcome.”

Arnold let her out of the hug and she let him go as well. After a moment, he said something that surprised her.

“I wanted to hug you that first day when you brought out the frog.” Arnold said, then he turned around and walked towards the door.

“Arnold.” The teacher said and he turned back to face her. “I'm being transferred... again... to another middle school across the state.” She said. “I won't see you here in the next school year.”

“That always happens.” Arnold said as his face fell back into impassivity. “I meet a wonderful teacher, that gives me access to all this great knowledge, and then I never see them again.”

The teacher thought about what to do, then she reached into her pocket and wrote something on a business card. She walked over to him and held the card out to him.

“When you graduate high school, you are still going to have lots of questions.” She said. “I want you to call me and I'll answer anything you want to know.”

Arnold took the card and read the name and number, then put it in his pocket. “You'll really teach me, even though I won't be in school?”

“Arnold.” The teacher said and rubbed the top of his blonde buzz-cut. “I have so much I want to teach you that you have to wait until then to learn it.”

Arnold let a smile appear on his face, showing teeth and all, and she shivered at the intensity. She unlocked the door and watched the young man leave, then she watched him walk down the hallway. If she didn't know any better, she could swear he had a bit of a swagger in his walk. The thought made her smile and she went back inside the classroom to clean everything up.

When she had everything sorted and put away, she picked up the pristine book Arnold had returned to her, grabbed her purse and left the room. She shut the door of her classroom for the last time, then she smiled as she walked down the hallway and put a bit more sway into her own walk.