That's Not Allowed

Thank God for Lit

My heart was racing.  I ran to my next class just praying that I wouldn't have any issues with that teacher!  

I reached the classroom just before the bell rang, and to my surprise it was Mr. Kinley inside.  Mr. Kinley was my favorite teacher ever.  Last year he taught Language Composition, so seeing him teaching my new Literature class made my day take a turn for the better.  

"Good morning Mr. Kinley" I said with a smile on my face taking a seat right up front.  I knew Mr. Kinley always appreciated me paying attention in his class.  

But for some reason I just couldn't get Mr. Knight off my mind. Was he actually implying certain things last class?  

No. He wasn't. Snap out of it. 

Mr. Kinley began into the lesson, telling us that we needed to get the book "A Streetcar Named Desire".  He told us a little background on the book; how it was about "a novel based on the play by Tennessee Williams, this renowned drama follows troubled former schoolteacher Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) as she leaves small-town Mississippi and moves in with her sister, Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter), and her husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando), in New Orleans. Blanche's flirtatious Southern-belle presence causes problems for Stella and Stanley, who already have a volatile relationship, leading to even greater conflict in the Kowalski household."

This class saved my day.  Mr. Kinley was always very cheery.  He was someone that I looked up to as well: smart, cared about his students and friends, funny, and so much more.  

Don't worry I don't have a thing for Mr. Kinley too.  He just was there for me when my parents went through their divorce last year.  He wanted to make sure that my grades didn't slip so he helped me stay up with my studies.  

*** BACKSTORY***

My parents were great with each other for as long as I could remember.  We were a cute little family.  

My mom was Hawaiian, hence why I was given the name Nani.  She worked as nurse at the hospital downtown, and was pretty much ALWAYS there 24/7.  My dad was a regular white American male.  He worked as a stock broker, so my family was pretty well off.

Then there was my 20-year-old older brother, Cameron or Cam as well call him.  He was the most overprotective brother you could ever know.  I could barely have friends that were guys over without him interrogating them on whether they were trying to get in my pants!  It was super embarrassing but I knew he loved me.

As for myself, I was pretty normal.  I made good grades in school, volunteered every once and a while, went to church on Sundays, had a good core group of friends, and didn't really ever date.  

My family was great. No problems.

That is until September 21, 2016.  The day everything went downhill.

One night my mom got off work early, and was so excited about it that she picked up dinner for all of us.  I was out at Lila's house studying, and Cam was at work.  She had called both Cam and I to let us know that she was headed home and she brought dinner.

My mom entered to find a very quiet house.  Cam and I were just pulling into the driveway when we heard screaming and a big crash.  Both of us raced in the side door and found my mom crying on the floor surrounded by the glass vase that was on our center kitchen table.  Then a young girl, who couldn't have been much older than Cam maybe 22 or 23, raced out the side door, with my Dad sulking down the stairs.

My mom screamed at him to get out.  

Since that day we have not seen him.  He sends both Cam and I a birthday card on our birthdays with a check enclosed inside, and one Christmas present at the end of the year.  

I don't think Mom wanted him around any more than that after he betrayed us all.  

He was a great father, emphasis on was.  

We all dealt with this differently.  

Cam leaned towards drug addictions and sex.  He brought home a new girl every other night, and his room smelled like weed all the time.  Before this he was a good kid.  

My mom started working more and more hours, if that was even possible.  It was like she never came home because the one time she did come home the worst thing in her life happened.  

As for me, I had Mr. Kinley to help.  He encouraged me to escape from things by reading books.  I began to love books and writing.  I journaled and it really helped me with school because I ended up scoring a perfect 100% on my Language Comp final.  

It was hard for all of us not having Dad around, but things were getting better.  It was almost a year since the incident now.

***

Mr. Kinley knew the whole story of what had happened, and after class he checked up on me with how my summer went.  

I told him that everything went well, and we talked for a few minutes about the books I had read over the summer.  I also told him that I had found a new reading spot.  It was secluded in a little park I had found back behind the creek by my house.  

He seemed happy for me.  I was really thankful for him.

I told him thank you and walked out of the classroom.

The rest of the day flew by.  I don't even remember what happened in my other classes.

The final bell rang and I walked to my locker and rushed to get my stuff, hoping that I wouldn't run into Lila because then I knew I would have to explain things about Mr. Knight.  

But before I knew it Lila was right by my side with a grin on her face.  

I knew what she wanted.