Rat Captain Ch. 1

Boa Constrictors don’t bite, they squeeze. They wrap up their prey, holding it firmly, getting tighter and tighter. Pressure builds in the prey. They hardly realize what’s happening. Before they know it, they are looking Death in its sharp green eyes. The boa watches the life drain from its prey's body, its mouth waters. Just as the prey takes its last breath, as the screen fades to darkness, the snake strikes. Black. 

Green light cut through the darkness: 7:00am. Late.

Angus Major jumped out of bed, heart pounding, he had a very long day ahead. He immediately longed for the warmth of his bed, his wife, and his cat. He was cold. But he had been colder. 

One thousand yards behind him, a young Angus stared towards him. It didn't bother Angus, he was always there. It was part of him. Angus wanted to meet more people like him. He wanted to help them. You see, Angus wasn’t always this well kept man, with a soft warm bed. 

Angus was a punk at heart. Or at least that’s what he used to call it. Some would call him a burnout. A stain. His life fell apart and dragged itself back together more times than he could count. At first that feeling devastated him. He learned to love it. Hell. He had cheated death…

But that’s a story for another day, today was a new day, a new era. Today, Angus would start a new teaching job, he would teach English class to a group of young adults. Not the most glamorous vocation, but it was his. He felt a passion to inspire. He knew how vital that inspiration could be. 

After a long September drive through the hazy Pennsylvania suburbs, Angus flicked on the lights to his stone bound battleground. Here, all sorts of kids would tune him out. Watching the clock. Waiting for their next hour of watching the clock. 

Period one went by, then period two. Bell after bell, face after face. So many to remember. Names lost to the oblivion of Angus’ overworked, and frankly underpaid, mind. One name stuck on Angus’ brain especially though…  

It was a seemingly helpless curiosity that drew Angus in. It was apparent that she actually wanted to be there. Lynda Luatner entered Angus’ class with her head held high. A white cardigan covered a dark green tee-shirt, bound by jeans that stopped just before her ankle high Doc Martens. She carried a black leather bag with seemingly nothing in it, but it looked tough. She walked around the classroom with a confidence that intrigued Angus. She acted like she owned the place. It was that sort of carefully calculated mix of curiosity and confidence that caught Angus for a surprise, and stuck on his conscience. In a school where everyone fought for the back of Angus’ class, Lynda took the front row seat. 

During the whole lecture, Angus could have swore Lynda was about to say something. She was dialed in so intently, it made Angus sweat. He felt watched. Could this be the student I’ve been waiting for? Is she the one who will actually give a crap? Angus thought. 

Class concluded. Lynda didn’t say a word the whole time, she just kept eye contact. Studying. As the class exited the room, Angus stood by the door. Lynda walked up to Angus with such intent that Angus opened his mouth to speak. He had nothing to say, it just felt appropriate. Then she walked past. Without a word. 

What a waste. 

With one class left in the day, Angus was beginning to lose hope that his dream student would ever come. With every passing period, he became less and less energetic. It was exhausting to hold out hope. But with that one class left, Angus decided to give it all he had. Class started at 1:00. At 12:55, Angus ran to the restroom. 

By 1:04 the class was 100% present, wondering 2 things: 

Where is my teacher? 

And why on gods green earth is there a rat wearing a suit sitting at one of the desks? 

This was understandable, Reed Rhodes was nothing short of a normal student here at Bridgemont Hills Highschool. Alas, after 3 years and a remarkable transcript, Rhodes was on track to graduate with honors this June. Which is what made the following so shocking. 

1 minute. That’s all it took for Reed Rhodes to break from his sanity. Reed got up on his desk, loaded a snot grenade from deep within him, and dumped it right on his own desk. He then proceeded to sit back down and pout off into empty space. 

At 1:04 and 55 seconds, the class now had 3 questions: 

Where is my teacher? 

Why on gods green earth is there a rat wearing a suit sitting at one of the desks? 

And why did the rat just do that? 

Angus marched in at 1:05, he had just one question: Could this be the student I’ve been waiting for?