The Compliant Personality Type

This was going to be fun.

We had a new supply teacher [substitute teacher]. And we always totally destroyed the supplies. I mean… you have to do something in school. It’s so boring otherwise.

But as soon as the guy walked in, you sort of knew that there was something a bit different about this one. For starters, he had a jacket and tie on, which is pretty freaky… and he basically had this whole presence thing going on too.

Of course we totally ignored him and carried on chatting. I mean… you do, don’t you? But he didn’t say anything. He just walked to the back of the classroom and waited… and it felt like he was listening in on us talking, or something. It was totally freaky and, pretty soon, all the chat sort of dried up.

“Good morning,” he said as if nothing had happened. “My name is Dr Simmons and you will be learning mathematics with me. Please open your textbooks at page 42.”

There was the normal shuffling type stuff but loads less talking than usual, I guess. I mean… the guy was standing right behind us. It’s pretty tricky to relax when he’s doing that.

“Please answer questions numbers one to twelve,” he told us.

I made a start on the questions. I mean… it was dead easy stuff. But the guy was starting to get on my nerves by just wandering around the classroom, pouncing on people and asking them if they’re stuck and stuff. Why couldn’t he just stay up the front where he belongs?

But then he got busy with Andy. Andy’s just thick so I knew he was bound to keep the guy busy for ages.

I mean… we all have our phones set to silent in class - not even any buzz. We’re not stupid. But somehow you still sort of know when someone’s sent a message round.

I glanced up - he was still busy with Andy. So I quietly unlocked my phone and looked at the messages. Tracy had decided that the guy was ‘tots hot’.

I was in the middle of telling her that she was just weird when I realised the guy was standing right over me. I mean… I managed to get my phone locked but, before I could even think, he had the thing in his hands.

“I was only using it as a calculator,” I said, all in a hurry.

He gave a little smile. “In that case, you will not have any problem in unlocking the screen and demonstrating that the calculator application is in the foreground,” he said. He didn’t let go of my phone but held it out to me so I could type in the passcode

I didn’t know what to do. I mean… he’d totally got me.

He gave a little smile. I mean… it wasn’t a nice smile. “I will be in this room at the end of school,” he told me as he slipped my phone into his jacket pocket. “Come and find me. We will discuss the matter and then I will decide whether or not I wish to return your phone.”

“Yes, Dr Simmons.” My whole body sort of sagged.

The rest of the day was a total mare. I mean… what are you supposed to do in school without your phone?

After classes, I hung with the others for a bit before heading along to my appointment with death. I mean… I didn’t exactly keep him waiting on purpose but I wasn’t in any sort of desperate hurry to get there either. When I was ready, I pulled the hood up on my hoodie and sort of slouched on into the classroom.

He was sitting in the big desk at the front of the class, kind of hidden behind a wall of marking. I mean… he didn’t even look stressy about the fact I’d kept him waiting or anything.

And he didn’t bother saying anything. He just pointed at one of the chairs. I sort of collapsed into it and started to fiddle with my fingernails.

He just ignored me and kept on doing his marking.

At last I got fed up. “Look… how long are you planning on keeping me here for?” I asked.

“You are an intelligent girl, Kayleigh,” he said, without taking his eyes off the book he was on. “Why don’t you try to work out for yourself what I am waiting for.”

I sort of glared at him for a bit but he totally ignored that and carried on with his marking. So I gave a bit of a sigh then pulled my hood down and started doing my best ‘sitting like a good girl’ thing. He finished off the book he was working on and closed it. Then he looked up at me and gave me a little smile. I guess I’d got something right.

He shoved his marking to one side and then took my phone out of his pocket. He put it on the desk, sort of straightening it up so it was exactly in the middle.

“Did you lie to me?” he asked… just like that… no sort of warning or anything.

I mean… for some reason, I pretty much wanted to burst into tears. It just didn’t feel fair. I managed a slight nod.

“Words, please.”

“Yes, Dr Simmons. I’m sorry. I…”

But he just held up a single finger and I stopped talking.

“You will never lie to me again,” he told me.

Somehow, I knew it was true.

“Come here and type in your passcode,” he said. I jumped to my feet and did as I was told. Then he waited until I returned to the seat.

I pretty much died as he started to browse through the messages but at least it was Tracy who said he was hot, not me.

“So you find it weird that somebody should find me ’tots hot,” he said.

“Not tots, totes,” I told him, “like totally.” But his eyes did this stupid twinkly thing which told me he already totally knew and was totally taking the piss… it was as if he was finding the whole thing funny or something. “I mean… you’re a teacher… and you’re much too old!”

There was more of the twinkly eyes stuff which made me sort of realise what I’ve just said. “Oh I’m sorry…”

“I completely understand the sentiment… and I appreciate your honesty even if it could have been more diplomatically expressed!”

He put the phone back in the middle of the desk and then looked at me. “Kayleigh,” he said, “The government pays me vast amounts of money,” he gave me this totally lame smile thing, “to improve your prospects in life…”

He left this stupid gap thing and, somehow, managed to make my mouth fill it. “Yeah, obvs.”

He carried on with his stupid gap but added a bit of a frown.

“I mean, yes, Dr Simmons.” I gave a bit of a sigh - but only to myself - I really didn’t need any more grief.

“You do not behave as if it’s ‘obvs’. You give every impression that my sole purpose in life is to disrupt your social life.”

His eyes did his twinkly thing and, without wanting to, I found myself smiling back at him.

“What do you plan on doing when you leave school?” he asked

I mean… where did that one come from?

“I don’t really know.” I mean… who does. “Work in a supermarket or something, I guess.” I just sort of said the first thing that came into my head.

“In five years’ time, there will be almost no openings in supermarkets for employees with no qualifications,” he told me. “Already, most of the checkouts are self-service and soon, the shelf-stocking will be automated too. The same is true in most industrial sectors. Unskilled jobs are being eliminated by technology.”

I thought about that for a bit. I guess it sort of made sense.

“As I said, Kayleigh, you are an intelligent girl. I’ve already seen plenty of evidence of that. I do not think you deserve to end up on a scrap heap at the age of twenty.” He sort of paused and looked at me. “But that is where your life is heading unless you make a serious decision to do something about it.”

I went quiet for a bit as I thought about what he’d just said. I guess that it made a horrible amount of sense too.

“And what do you think is the most effective thing you can do about it?”

“Stop mucking about in class,” I sort of muttered at the desk.

He went all quiet and, when I looked up, he was smiling at me… and this one was a nice smile… and, for some reason, that stupid smile did funny things to my tummy.

“That’s all,” he said.

I tried to run away but he called me back. “Phone!” he reminded me.