The poem came to a close and Ms. Henderson - that was the lady's name - stopped reading."Love is the most popular topic to write about," Ms. Henderson said, flitting across the front of the room with hazy eyes. Jocelyn watched her, unimpressed. "Love is a very hard topic to describe. Anyone who is in love will find it very difficult to express exactly what love is. Furthermore, people often have very different opions."
Jocelyn rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. "LOVE!" Ms. Henderson proclaimed loudly, "is the root of the family. It is the root of the world…"
Annoyed, Jocelyn raised her hand.
"Yes?" Ms. Henderson asked, her doe eyes curious.
"I believe that love is really just a scam dreamed up by candy factories, florists, and Hal-mark to ensure that Valentine's day is another big day for sales," Jocelyn said, her voice flat. "And furthermore, what do you know about love? You're 40-something and not married yet? Maybe you expect a little too much from the l-word."
Ms. Henderson looked crushed. She stared blankly at Jocelyn, her eyes welling with tears and slack-jawed. "I...I..."
The bell rang and every kid in the class ran out except for Jocelyn. She just sat smirking. "Goodbye, Ms. Henderson," she said, then following everyone else out.
Jocelyn sat in the principal's office, her eyes stormy and arms folded over her chest. "Ms. Andrews, do you realize that you ran off one of our best substitutes today?"
"Best?!" Jocelyn scoffed. "The woman was daft! She isn't fit to be in a room full of kids!"
The principal sat back in his chair, looking exasperated. "You're being extremely difficult."
"Well, she isn't!" Jocelyn snorted. "The woman was dancing and practically singing. We all thought she was bonkers. All I did was say that I thought "love" was a theory dredged up for strictly commercial reasons."
Mr. Principal sighed loudly. "That isn't what Ms. Henderson said."
"What did she say I said?" Jocelyn challenged.
"She said that you said something inexcusably rude and demeaning," he told her.
"I said, and I quote, 'What do you know about love? You're 40-something and not married yet? Maybe you expect a little too much from the l-word.' That isn't so bad, is it?" Jocelyn asked.
Mr. Principal just shook his head. "Ms. Andrews, I'm sure that to you that doesn't sound so horrible. But Ms. Henderson is very sensitive about her love life."
"Or lack thereof," Jocelyn snapped.
Mr. Principal stifled a laugh. "Right. I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you detention."
"WHAT?!" Jocelyn shrieked.
"It's just one day," he assured.
"B...but," she stammered.
"I'll make sure your brother is notified that you won't be out of school until 4 o'clock this afternoon," he said. "You're dismissed."
Jocelyn left the office, shocked and unhappy.
(I don't know what any of this has to do with anything, but I had to write it somewhere, and this tends to be where all of my "somewheres" end up...)
