The story of a teacher who has been alive for prolonged amount of time. Vincent Lamor has also appeared in The Author’s War (2014) novel as well.
chris ticehurst
Piles of papers had hidden the deputy principal from sight. A figure rose from the papers. A middle aged man rubbed his forehead and pushed the papers around on his desk. A tap on the door was heard and the principal called for the visitor to come in. In came a green jacketed man with a silver cane. He took off his jacket and placed it on the hanger. The principal greeted him by showing the chair.
“Come sit down here. I’ll try to put these papers out of the way. The start of the middle of the year is so busy,” he said.
The visitor just nodded and leaned his cane against the desk while sitting down. The principal smiled and cleared the desk.
“I see you’re the new replacement for Mr. Rogers. Have you seen the school before?” he asked him.
“No I haven’t had a good look around yet. I will soon won’t I,” smiled the new teacher.
“Yes you will. You’re Vincent Lamour aren’t you?”
“Yes that’s right. Are there many new replacements?”
“Yes. Many teachers have retired or moved on to other jobs,”
“What classes will be I teaching then?” Vincent asked.
“English, Music and Media related classes,” the deputy principal answered.
Vincent smiled to himself and liked his classes for the reminder of the year.
“I think I will like this school,” he commented.
“At Milton High School I am sure that you will like the students,” the deputy assured him.
The teacher stood up and reached out his hand to him, “Well I must be heading off as I am to start early in the morning,” Vincent said.
“Oh if you must so then I wish you luck on your first day tomorrow,” smiled the deputy and they shook hands.
Vincent smiled back and grabbed his jacket and cane and quietly left the office. The teacher walked outside the school and saw a car pull up next to him. The door opened up and he climbed inside.
“How did things go?” the driver asked.
“It went well William. The deputy principal’s a nice guy. I start tomorrow,” Vincent answered.
The car drove along the highway pushing back busy cars. Vincent watched the tall buildings and turned back to William.
:”Different this world isn’t it. It’s always changing you know,” he commented on the buildings.
“Yeah I understand. Everywhere we go things are changing. But that’s life Vincent isn’t it?” William asked.
“Especially this last century,”
They outside a tall unit block and Vincent and William came inside and arrived at the lift. William had black hair, about Vincent’s height and wore more modern clothing such as his black jeans and white shirt.
The pair arrived at the foot of the unit and Vincent unlocked the door and opened it up.
“This is my new home like it?” Vincent asked his friend.
“A typical Lamour home. Small and not too many things to dust,” William answered him.
Vincent walked past the rooms and entered his bedroom where his desk was filled of folders. Mult-coloured folders and tags helped Vincent sort out what papers were what. He scratched his head and played with his folders quickly. William started to make coffee and yelled out to Vincent.
“What subjects are you teaching?”
“All the good ones,” Vincent answered back.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been teaching.”
“I know but I don’t think I haven’t lost my touch,”
“No not after all those…” Vincent walked back in and looked at him.
“After all those years,” William ended his sentence.
“Yes years. Not many many years,” Vincent smiled at him.
William served the coffee at the table and Vincent came over with his work piles. William asked the teacher a question, “So how long are you staying at this high school.”
“A year and a half at this high school I will do. The normal amount of time I spent,” Vincent answered.
The teacher saw his coffee and pick up his mug and smiled at it. He slipped some of it and put it back down, “Coffee, teacher’s best friend,” he said smiling at William.
“Well how long you do expect to be at this school for?” William asked Vincent.
“Not for too long. There’s thing to explore and travel to. I need the work to save up some money in order to continue my adventures. That last trip of mine was too much for me and I had to return to teaching,” Vincent answered explaining his problem.
“You could just a normal holiday for once and not travel a number of countries trying to solve mysteries and obtain knowledge in dangerous places,” William replied.
“How many times have we had this discussion? Knowledge is everywhere and I will seek it no matter what the problem is,” Vincent answered.
“Good luck with the new school than. I hope you still get your excitement from there.”
“I promise that I will,” Vincent smiled.
The boy and girl glared at a student rocking who was stopped by a passing visitor in the classroom by a man with silver cane. His clothes looked dated from hundreds of years ago. His cane pushed the chair back on all its fours and the student looked up at the visitor.
“I don’t want blood spilled on my first day teaching,” the visitor said.
This was their new teacher and he came to the front of the room and landed his gloves on the desk and leaned on the side of it to introduce himself.
“Welcome to the new year in imaginative writing. My name is Vincent Lamour and I’ve been teaching for a number of years. I tend to teach things differently from the others. One example of this is that there are no text books to deal with. While we may look at other people’s works, you are the stars of the show. You are here to entertain me and I will try pull out your talent from your idol minds and onto paper for all to see,”
The students looked at each other in wonder as Vincent popped out a pen and notebook.
“Each of you will require these. I don’t believe in mental notebooks and psychic powers to read minds.”
They all dived into her bags and one by one, pens and notebooks graced the desks of the classroom.
Vincent Lamour watched the class with his eyes and opened his notebook. He was about to begin his work.
“Poetry. It can be used as a instrument for our hearts, to express feelings. It can be used to teach us something or to tell a story of something or someone. I want everyone to head off for the autumn gardens. Come on,” he gave a cry towards the end.
The students were soon outside in the gardens. Vincent had made them sit down on the dry leaves. He called one student from the group and spoke to the class again.
“Let us forget the sentence manners and let it flow into our minds,”
He withdrew a blindfold from his inside pocket and blindfolded the young girl. Then he pushed her away towards the old trees.
“I can’t do poetry,” she cried walking in the dark.
“Open your mind and explore. Now class write down what she says. Touch the dry leaves and cold dead trees. Describe to us what it feels like. How would you describe the noise when you step on something. You can spin off lines of free verse for now,” he explained to everyone.
The girl touched the old trees and felt the crackle of the leaves. Vincent removed his own pen and paper from his pocket.
“It smells fresh, the leaves feel old, it’s time is spent,” she cried out.
“What does it feel like? Describe to us,” Vincent asked.
“It’s like sandpaper. Hard and tough but you can crush it with your hands.”
“Take off the blindfold and return here,” the teacher called and the girl was reunited with her friends.
Vincent placed his gloves so they were half hanging out of his coast pocket and he pointed to the trees with the silver cane.
“When it comes to teaching, think outside the classroom you teach in. Go outside and explore. Find your imagination with the many fruits of words that you find. The more life experiences and freedom of mind you have, the better you will become,” he said.
“Your notebook is your best friend. Tell the book in stories, poetry and entires about your day. Now I bid farewell until the next lesson. Go out and explore” Vincent cried out and many inspired students smiled and walked out of the garden.
Vincent turned to himself and smiled.
“What a wonderful world,” he said and spun around in the floating leaves and trees with his cane in one hand and his gloves in the other.
He turned around to see the principal and deputy with him. Vincent stopped and saw the principal. He was taller than his deputy and was a dark and cold figure. He didn’t seem to like Vincent or his teaching techniques.
“I see you get on with your students,” the deputy commented.
“Yes it all went very well,” Vincent answered.
“Why were the students outside in the garden?’ the principal snapped.
“We were out to explore the many wonders of words and imagination,” the teacher answered.
‘You can find that out in a text book,” the headmaster answered.
He turned away from Vincent and walked out of the garden. The deputy was unease by his senior.
“I’m sorry about him but he sticks to the rules. He doesn’t like teachers being liked. Respect is all you need,” he said to Vincent.
“Well he might be in for a lesson by me one day,” he mused.
* * * * *
The classroom was filled with students as their new teacher paced the floor of the room and eyed off each person. His silver cane stamped the ground as he dusted off his green jacket.
“First off for today we are going out to do some story spotting. Find something outside that takes your interest and start a draft of something,” the teacher said.
“Ah sir, I mean Vincent, what if we don’t find anything good?” asked a student.
“Well you will find one if I force everyone here,” Vincent answered.
Vincent raised his cane and everyone forwarded out of the room. Outside was the student car park and a nearby shopping mall. Students walked around the car park and one pointed at the shopping mall.
“Can we go there for ideas?” smiled the student.
“Sure Susie. I feel a bit hungry myself,” the teacher answered.
The students were very surprised by his answer. No teacher would dare take his class to the mall for ideas on a story or for fun. They didn’t want to pass up on the chance and quickly found themselves at the shopping mall in the food court.
The students lined up at different food outlets when Vincent was there to tell them what to do.
“Watch what things happen between people. This is day-to-day interaction of people. Banking, shopping, working is all part of the mall. This is real life that should give you a real feel of your characters,” Vincent said.
They all popped out a small notepad and pen and noted on things they saw in the mall. The class was at tables and chairs eating and chatting.
“Is this the normal classes you do sir?” asked Susie to Vincent at a table.
“I like to keep things original. We’re going back to the classroom to make something of this,” he answered her.
There was a sudden noise from a store where someone ran out and was chased by the sop keeper. The store person was shouting, “Thief, he’s taken something.”
The class jumped up to watch the thief run past them. Vincent quickly rose and held on to his cane.
“This is good for story writing when something like this happens.. But I’ll show you something in being a good citizen,” Vincent said.
He leaned out his cane in the thief’s way. The thief tripped over and crashed into a wall near another store. The class looked at Vincent in amazement looked at the thief being apprehended by the shop keeper and shopping mall guards.
“Notice that when I leaned out the cane caught his foot. Causing him to fall without much damage to himself. Don’t use this for your stories. The head of English would kill me,” Vincent said casually.
The class just smiled and sat down to continue eating. Susie looked up to Vincent and tossed her head.
“I wonder what you’re going to get us doing next,” she thought out loud.
“Just you wait and find out,” he smiled sitting down to his own meal of chicken pieces and some salty chips.
* * *
The college doors opened up and the class led into the canteen area where they halted at once. Vincent pushed his way past the students to see the head master displeased towards the teacher.
“Mr. Lamour! You have been taking the students on wild goose trips again. Have you?” he boomed.
“All in the name of education sir, the students are buzzing with ideas for their assignments,” Vincent answered cheerily.
“I don’t care if the students are happy or not. As long as the unit is completed in time,” the head master snapped back.
He leaned towards the teacher and kicked the cane out of his hand and the class watched it fall to the ground. Vincent’s face turned blank and leaned down to reach for his cane. A pain showed on Lamour’s face as he rubbed his hip. Susie made her way to the front of the class and shouted at the head master.
“Why did you have to pick on him? Is it that he’s better liked than you?”
“I can fight my own battles,” Vincent said standing up and covering Susie with his arm.
Vincent took off his brown gloves and placed them in the green jacket. Other students were coming into the canteen where the two figures were making a scene.
“Just let me do the work and you will see that the students will do well in their assignments,” he said.
“Running around in parks and shops won’t get you anywhere Lamour. You’ll never make it as a teacher,” the head master answered back.
Vincent lifted up his cane and smiled to himself, “I’ve been teaching than most people on the planet.”
Suddenly in a flash of lightening the cane‘s top was drawn up as a fencing sword and slashed the pants of the head master. None of the other students saw it expect for Susie was in front of the class. The students turned to see the head master with his pants on the floor and his underwear showing. The canteen roared in laughter and Vincent turned to the class pointed out something.
“Another important thing about your assignment is do please write your name on it. I won’t know who it is. So don’t get caught with your pants down,” Vincent said trying to keep a straight face.
The class left laughing to themselves and Vincent carried on by himself. Susie ran up next to him and asked him something.
“What was the real lesson there sir?”
“Oh with him you mean. Let me think, don’t let people put you down and don’t let lies breathe,” the teacher answered her.
“There’s always a lesson in everything right sir?” she asked him.
“Of course there is. We are all students of the world because we never stop learning.”
Susie watched the teacher put back on his gloves and he disappeared into his staff room. She cried out one last question to him.
“When did you learn fencing?”
He popped out his head and answered, “Sixteen fifty-seven.”
Susie nodded and turned around and then her eyes lit up in shock and amazement. She quickly faced Vincent. He smiled and tapped his nose in secret. He disappeared again and Susie smiled to herself and returned to the canteen.
