The Assignment

“Did you do it?” Shit. No, I did not do it, I completely forgot, for some reason I didn’t think I had to do the assignment until next week.

“Hello? The final assignment, did you do it?” Alex asked me again. He was tall with short hair that curled slightly in the front, his body hovered over me as I sat at the cafeteria table eating my subpar school breakfast that they served early in the mornings before classes started.

“No, I totally forgot, I thought we had until next week to do it,” I replied.

“No bro it was due today! How did you forget? I even asked you if you wanted help planning it out on Friday!” Alex said. It was true that Alex had asked me Friday after school if I wanted help, but it slipped my mind with everything going on at home.

“What are you going to tell Mr.Folter?” I wasn’t sure, Mr.Folter was known as the hardest teacher at Tor Middle School, and he never accepts assignments late, I would have to come up with a really good excuse to get out of this one.

“I’ll just tell him my dog ate it,” I replied trying to play off the mounting anxiety I now had in me.

“Seriously dude, Mr.Folter is going to kill you! This was it, the big finale! There’s no way you are going to pass, and then you’re going to be held back! Even worse you’re going to have to face the consequence!” Alex started to get more flustered than I was.

“Shut up dude, it’s fine I’ll figure it out, maybe he won’t even collect it,” I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Mr.Folter collected everything on time, there hasn’t been a single assignment he has forgotten to collect all year.

“Yeah okay, you better hope so.” Alex knew it too. The bell rang, I threw out my half-eaten Sausage egg and cheese sandwich and walked to first period. I didn’t have Mr.Folter until third period, maybe I could figure something out before then.

Part 2

After two periods of thinking about what I could possibly do for the assignment to be done today, I decided I only had two options. My first option was to tell Mr. Folter I left it at home and my parents were going to drop it off for me, and then use Will. Will was the shortest of all of us and would be easy to intimidate into doing just about anything, even this. Or, I tell Mr.Folter the truth.

Time for third period. I could feel my stomach cramping as I walked into the room. I sat at my desk next to Alex who already had his assignment out. His was in a white box with a red ribbon tied on the top.

“Did your mom help you with that one?” I asked sarcastically, I don’t think anyone has ever turned in their final assignment like it was a gift.

“Shut up man, so what if she tied a ribbon for me? At least I actually did my assignment!” his face was red with embarrassment. He was right though, at least he had something to turn in. As the bell rang for a second time telling us that class was starting Mr.Folter walked in. His black shirt was perfectly pressed with not a single crease in it. As he moved to his desk, silence appeared over us.

“Good morning class,” He said excitedly, I could already tell he was excited to collect everyone’s final project.

“Good morning Mr.Folter,” we replied in unison.

“I’m sure you are all eager to turn in your final assignments, so why don’t we start with that? As I call your names you will bring me your projects and then place them on the table next to my desk.” Shit, of course, he’s going to start with that. I should have known by how organized Mr.Folter was that he was going to want each one turned in one at a time in alphabetical order. Lehrling, that was my last name, I was the second to last person in class in alphabetical order. He began calling students down. One by one each brought a slightly different-sized box, in all different colors, except for Talon Dummkopf, which was in a bag.

“Mr.Dummkopf,” Mr.Folter said before Talon could walk away from him.

“Yes Mr.Folter?” he asked sheepishly.

“Do you really think it was appropriate to put your final project in a plastic bag?” Mr.Folter asked, as we all knew he gave a specific grading rubric for this assignment, which consisted of using a box to put the assignment in.

“Well, I didn’t have a box Mr.Folter,” Talon said as he stared at the ground.

“You’ve had three weeks to plan for this assignment, you are telling me within those three weeks you couldn’t find a single box to use?” Talon continued to look at the ground, he didn’t have the gull to say another word to Mr.Folter.

“Mhm, have a seat Talon,” Mr. Folter said as he started marking a piece of paper with his red pen. After seeing this exchange I knew it was no good to try and lie to Mr.Folter about the assignment, and he would know if I did it at school.

“Mr.Lehrling,” It was my turn. I very slowly stood up and walked over to Mr.Folter at his desk. As he looked up from the attendance sheet I could see his face shift from confusion, to realization, and ending with disappointment. He sigh, “Mr. Lehrling, where is your assignment,” he asked, already knowing the answers.

“I’m really sorry Mr.Folter, I don’t have it, I really thought we had another week to complete it.” he sighed again.

“See me after class.” I took my seat, I tried as best I could to listen to today’s lesson but I could barely hear it over the sound of my heart beating. The bell rang, and as the rest of my classmates left, I got a silent ‘good luck’ from Alex, and I waited at my desk for Mr.Folter.

Part 3

Mr.Folter walked over to my table, his eyes full of disappointment, and annoyance. He sat down next to me, “Tom, do you want to explain to me why you don’t have your project today?” I looked at my hands, I couldn’t force myself to turn my head towards him. I knew what the consequences of not having the project were, I was scared.

“Tom, look at me when I speak to you and answer the question.” I looked over at him, but I couldn’t look him in the eyes.

“I’m really sorry Mr.Folter, I don’t know what happened. I have a lot going on at home, and it’s hard to keep track of things at school now.” Mr.Folter sighed and looked down sympathetically. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. The anxiety coming off of me must have been felt by him, for he said, “Alright Tom, I understand you are having a hard time at home, but I’ve taught you better than this. What was the first lesson I taught this year?”

“Dissociation,” I responded without hesitation.

“Yes, now granted dissociation isn’t easily mastered, but I’ve certainly taught you the skills to be more adequate in using this in your everyday life.” He was right, he taught us all the techniques, meditation practices, everything we needed to disassociate when necessary.

“Did you prepare for this project at all?” He inquired.

“Yes,” I responded, “I chose to focus on the techniques from the 1700s, I found quite an interest in those.” He smiled, as I knew the 1700s was his favorite era, that was partially why I picked it. “I had a whole plan and everything, I just . . . forgot.” I sighed and waited for his response.

“Alright Tom, here’s what I’ll do, I will give you today and today only to complete this assignment. You will turn in your final project tomorrow, however, if you only turn in part of it, and it is not up to standard, I will not accept it.” I looked at him with a smile.

“Really?” I asked, “You mean, you aren’t going to . . .”

“No,” He responded, he then got up to walk back to his desk, he stopped and turned back at me, “However, rules are rules, if the project is not completed to my standards by tomorrow, I will be forced to hold you to the consequences.” I shook my head, I understood how big of a deal this was for Mr.Folter to let this go without punishment. I would start my project immediately after school.

Part 4

Once the final bell rang I started to think about my final project, where I could go, the closest … but whatever it was going to be I had to think of it quickly, and follow through no matter what. I was so in my thoughts I didn’t notice Alex trotting behind me.

“Hey, what happened? You’re still alive so that’s a good sign!” He shouted, I barely heard him over my own thoughts.

“Mr.Folter gave me today, I’m going out now to complete my assignment,” I replied without shortening my strides.

“That’s great news! Do you know where you are going to start? I went to the park, the easiest place if you ask me.” Alex trotted next to me as I bulldozed down the street to my intended destination.

“No, I don’t want easy, I need to prove to Mr.Folter that I can do this. I’m going to the Ally.” Alex stopped when he heard me say that, and a faint ‘good luck’ was all I heard from a distance.

The Ally was known as the toughest assignment spot to pick from and is only ever attempted by Juniors and Seniors of the high school for their lengthier projects, but I knew I could do it, at the right time on a Monday, I could find everything I needed to complete my assignment to Mr.Folter’s satisfaction. It wasn’t far from school and the timing was perfect.

Lucky for me I was about 5’7” with a bulkier build, so I looked older than my age. No one would question a high schooler hanging around the Ally after school hours. Once I got there I was able to find a decent spot to lurk in. I gazed amongst the crowd, looking for the right person. As I did I found her, the perfect victim. She was approximately 5’3”, maybe 5’4” at most, smaller than me just like Mr.Folter said they should be. Her hair was dirty, and her clothes were tattered and older looking like they hadn’t been changed or washed in a while. She was most likely a girl of a broken home, one that wouldn’t care what happened to her, the foster system where kids run away or fall through the cracks constantly, or homeless which would be the perfect scenario. I moved from my lurking spot and slowly made my way toward her. She was eating an apple, from the definition in her cheekbones, and décolletage that must be her first meal in a couple of days. As I got closer I pulled my phone out and pretended to be scrolling through it, at just the right angle I bumped into her from behind, knocking her apple into a dirty puddle.

“No!” she cried as she watched the half-eaten apple splash in the probably death-filled puddle before her. I turned around as if unknowingly.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” I replied

“It’s . . .Okay,” she said, tears filling her eyes. I looked at her with compassion and gently placed my hand on her shoulder.

“Here let me make it up to you, what do you want, a sandwich? Coffee? How about both?” I asked sincerely, I watched her eyes light up hesitantly, but with hope.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course, this was my fault, there’s a coffee shop about a block from here if you cut through the Ally, may I?” I held out my hand and looked at hers. My heart my throbbing, this was it, the make or break moment, if she doesn’t take my hand . . . she looked up at me and smiled, and sheepishly took my hand.

“I would really like that, thank you,” she said. I gripped her hand and guided her down the Ally. The sun was starting to go down and the shadows creeping out. As we traveled I stroked her hand with my thumb, and I saw her face light up each time. She was comfortable and found me trustworthy. Once we were out of sight from the crowd I twirled her around, as if she was an elegant dancer doing a pirouette, and allowed her body to fall into mine. She giggled and looked into my eyes. As she did so I grabbed the syringe I prepared on my walk to the Ally and carefully stuck it into her neck. It was fascinating, within moments I saw her eyes go from delight to horror, to nothing. I grabbed her body as it flopped, almost lifeless, and carried her, almost dancing as I went. This was it, my assignment was beginning, and it was going perfectly so far.

Part 5

“Hey, how’d it go?” Alex was standing over me, I continued to sip on my orange juice before pulling the yellow box out of my backpack.

“You did it? In one night? I can’t believe it, I thought for sure you were gonna get the punishment from Mr.Folter today!” He said with excitement behind his voice.

“Jee, thanks for having faith in me pal,” I responded. The bell for first period rang, I gently placed the box back in my bag and pranced to class. Today I couldn’t wait for third period to come, it felt like days in between each bell. Finally third period rang, and I walk tall and confident into Mr.Folter’s class. I took my seat and waited patiently for him to arrive. As he walked in wearing his black button-down shirt and maroon jacket, I watched him with anticipation, hoping I could hand in my assignment before his lesson.

“Good morning class,” He said.

“Good morning Mr.Folter,” we responded in unison.

“Before I begin my lesson, there is one more assignment I need to collect, Mr.Lehlring, do you have it?” I practically floated out of my seat with my yellow box in my hands. I skipped to his desk with excitement and placed my box delicately on it.

“Well, Mr.Lehrling, it seems you have an assignment, but why don’t we check the quality in front of the class.” He picked up the box and lifted the lid.

“I think you’ll find it to your satisfaction Mr.Folter, I even went for the extra credit option,” I said. In the box was my assignment, 5 perfectly torn fingers, and for extra credit the tongue. Mr.Folter smiled, I knew he would be proud.

“Well, I am quite impressed, what devices did you use for this torture assignment Mr.Lehrling?” he inquired.

“Well, to make sure I could fully disassociate as you taught us, I started with the pear of anguish in her mouth. I completely dislocated her jaw and then tore out the tongue, making it nearly impossible for her to scream, the sounds it made were more like a humming of a lullaby, it was quite lovely. Then I used the saw method to cut the fingers, that’s why the ends are jagged, but I thought that made it more authentic to the 1700s era of torture I chose to reference, as their blades wouldn’t have been sharp and sleek like what we have today.” I beamed as I told him my story. He inspected all fingers and tongue most likely looking for the tearing and cut marks at the ends.

“Very well done, this certainly makes up for the lateness of your assignment and shows an understanding of the era you chose, as well as some individualized artist rituals you performed. You may have a seat.” he placed the fingers and tongue back in the box and I strolled back to my seat with a new swagger. I knew I would get an A.