72 First Day

"Traditional first day of school pancakes!", Phil exclaimed as he set down a plate on the table, "Whipped cream smile!". 

"Dad! I'm going to high school now", Luke remarked, raising his arms in surrender, "Just put it in my mouth". 

"Here!", Phil laughed as he squirted whipped cream directly into Luke's mouth. 

"Eww. That's disgusting", Claire muttered as she saw the spectacle before her, "Stop it". 

"Save that bossing for the people in the office young lady", Phil proudly retorted. 

Claire sighed and walked over to the coffee mug and began pouring some coffee into a mug, "I'm actually kinda nervous today".

"You're going to be great", Phil comforted, "And remember, if you get into a jam, just do the impression I taught you". Switching to a ridiculous accent, Phil continued, "Hey, you can hang your clothes in me". Seeing no one reacting to his joke, Phil explained, "Christopher walk-in closet". 

"I'm not doing that", Claire resolutely shook her head, "Nope. No way. It's my first day at work. I don't want to be known as the woman with the weird jokes that no one gets because that would ruin my reputation and make it impossible for me to take over Dad's company which would be really bad for our family because Haley's going college, Alex will in two years and then Luke will in four years as well". 

"Take a deep breath", Phil muttered, trying to calm down Claire who was spiralling out of control, "Everything will be alright". 

"Relax Mom. You're working for Grandpa, it's not even a real job", Haley interrupted as she walked up to the kitchen counter, "It's like that summer when I worked for Dad. He was just trying to get me to feel good about myself. He didn't even need my help"

"That's not true", Phil argued, "I needed your help distributing all those fliers". 

"And I did. Wink. Wink", Haley jokingly stated. 

"I'm surprised you're not panicking", Phil remarked as he looked at the calm Alex who was peacefully eating some cereal. 

"Why would I be?", Alex questioned, "Zephyr and I spent a lot of time over the summer and we made a series of plans for any possible scenario that may happen in our future". 

"That sounds more like you", Phil muttered under his breath. 

"See", Haley exclaimed, gesturing towards Alex, "This is what happens to a kid when they're in a healthy sexual relationship and have space and time to figure out what they want to do with their lives". 

"As if you're anything like Alex and Zephyr. If you were even a shred of what Alex was like, I wouldn't have to worry about you", Claire scoffed, aware of how Haley was referring to her, "And besides, don't you have some studying to do?". 

"Oh please", Haley rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen, "It's a community college. The most they'll tell you is to bring a glue stick". 

"That doesn't mean you can slack off!", Claire yelled, being ignored by Haley. Turning around, Claire turned to look at Phil, "You have to be on her this time Phil. We can't have a repeat of last year. I need you to make sure that she's studying". 

"Sure. No worries", Phil answered without even paying attention to the question. Instead, he was too busy seeing how many bacon strips fit into Luke's mouth. 

"Phil!", Claire exclaimed, "I'm being serious!". 

"Don't worry honey", Phil snapped his head to look at her, "I'll be on Haley the whole time". Before anyone could speak up, he shook his head, "Nope. Realised it as soon as I said it". 

[Time Skip]

"Yo!", Zephyr exclaimed as he entered a classroom with the words A.P History written on the wall. Looking around for a second, Zephyr made his way over to a seat. As he walked over to the seat, a skinny Indian boy trembled and as soon as Zephyr was in front of him, he stood up and ran away. "Thank you", Zephyr thanked and took a seat. Putting an arm on the desk, Zephyr leaned his head on his fist, turned to look to the right and suavely greeted, "Hello". 

"What are you doing here?", Alex asked, finally snapping out of her surprise. 

"I've got a free session", Zephyr replied, "And I thought it'd be a fun experience to see what A.P History is like". 

"And the teachers just let you like that?", Alex inquired, astounded by what she was hearing. 

"They didn't seem to mind. I think they've finally realised my greatness", Zephy muttered, stroking his chin in thought. 

Alex sighed. Despite how much she loved her boyfriend, she had to make things clear, "Look. I love that you're doing this, but I really want to do well. So, I'm asking you to not distract me, okay?". 

"Of course", Zephyr nodded his head, "I'll make sure to not disturb you. My lips are sealed". Zephyr ran his fingers over his lips, made a twisting motion and then threw an imaginary key. 

"Thank you", Alex muttered. 

A few minutes passed and the class remained silent, a fact that shocked Zephyr. Incapable of holding back, Zephyr stood up, "I can't stand it. Since I'm bored, you shall all have the great opportunity of being my students". Strutting to the whiteboard, he took up a pen and was about to write something when he halted. Turning to look at the class, he asked, "What's this lesson meant to be about anyway?"

Alex sighed and shook her head. As she did so, an Asian boy with overgrown hair spoke up, "Our syllabus says we're meant to be covering Native Americans on the Eve of colonisation". 

"Okay", Zephyr nodded his head and then turned to look at the Asian boy, "You. What's your name? Actually, it doesn't matter Get up, you're going to be my assistant". 

"I'm Gideon sir", the Asian boy introduced. 

"Did you not hear me?", Zephyr questioned, "Hurry up. All I need you to do is to write everything I say in a way these idiots, bar Alex, can understand". 

"Sir yes sir", Gideon saluted and marched to the whiteboard and took up a marker. 

"Good", Zephyr muttered and then turned to pay attention to the whole class, "In Renaissance times, Europeans were not the only ones accomplishing great things. No one can deny the beauty of Michelangelo's brushwork or the brilliance of Shakespeare's verse. But societies elsewhere also flourished. As the modern world turned 1600, it seemed as though each corner of the globe had its own 'renaissance'. The Native American societies of North America were no different. They had diverse cultures and languages, much like Europe".

Despite many of the students (Alex and Sanjay Patel) having low expectations for Zephyr's lesson, they found themselves inevitably attracted by his lesson. 

"When the British staked their claim to the east coast of the modern United States, they could not have dreamed of the complexity of the peoples they were soon to encounter. There are between 140 and 160 different American Indian Tribes. There is no single Native American language. In fact, it would be as difficult for the Mohawk Indians of the East to converse with the Zuni Indians of the West as it would be for Germans to converse with Turks".

Taking a moment to take a deep breath, "Despite popular myths present at the time, the Native Americans were not savages or beasts as the Europeans made them out to be. The Native Americans turned wild plants such as corn, potatoes, pumpkin, yams, and lima beans into farm crops for human consumption. Despite this, the Natives were by all means capable of violent bloodshed, often shifting alliances all the time to align with the interests of the tribe. Due to this popular misconception, when the English settlers first arrived, they found themselves extremely reliant on handouts from the Natives". 

Pausing for a second, Zephyr glanced beside him and nodded as he observed Gideon writing down notes on the board. "The Native Americans and the English settlers had completely different opinions and ideas of land ownership. Eventually, these differences festered and would eventually lead to war, which you shall cover in more detail in the next lesson". Noticing that all the students were still dazed, Zephyr snapped at them, "What are you all staring at?! Hurry up and write down what's on the board. I'm not paying Gideon for you lot to do nothing". 

"Excuse me sir", Gideon meekly interrupted, "I don't think I'm getting paid". 

"Pft", Zephyr waved him off, "Tomato, potato". 

"I don't think that's how the saying goes", Gideon tried but under the scalding glare of Zephyr, his confidence shrank and he quickly halted his complaints. 

[Time Skip]

"And that is all for today!", Zephyr exclaimed as the bell suddenly rang, "Now. All you must remember to spend an hour or two going over your notes and doing active revision to consolidate the knowledge you have gained from this lesson. Now. Hurry up and leave!". 

As soon as he finished, all the students began packing up and, in less than a minute, vacated the class. Strolling over to Alex who was putting some books in her bag, he arrogantly asked, "Well?". 

Alex rolled her eyes at his antics and said, "Fine. You're a good teacher". 

"That's all I wanted to hear", Zephyr replied. 

"Have you considered teaching when you have a free session?", Alex questioned, "You taught us better than Mrs Hurley". 

"If I have a free session then I don't mind", Zephyr remarked, "I just have to get Principal Brown to agree. I don't think it'll be too hard though". 

Before Alex could reply, a high-pitched voice interrupted them, "Oh My God! I'm so sorry I'm late!". 

"Cam?", Alex muttered in confusion seeing him dressed up. 

"I'm so sorry for being late", Cam apologised, "It won't happen again". 

"It won't happen again because there won't be a next time", Alex muttered, dragging Zephyr away as soon as she finished.