The only thing good about this class is seeing Sam.
And when I say 'seeing' I mean the sixty seconds of kissing I get to steal when this class is over, before I have to head down to English class. Sam lets me do that now. In the hall. Which sounds a little scandalous, but everyone knows that we're going out. I like it a lot, especially because after this I don't see him until the end of the day. I know that's not a long period of time to go without seeing someone, and I'm not about to become one of those girls who only cares about her boyfriend and doesn't give a damn about anything else, but its nice to have a minute with him.
So in a few minutes, I'll have my minute, and it'll be good. Just as soon as Carmichael finishes handing out his latest assignment.
I took my copy from Joe and passed the rest of them back, and started reading over the paper. "Marriage by the Decade".
That sounds stupid.
"For this assignment, you're going to be paired up with a member of the opposite sex. The two of you will be given a decade which you are both expected to research in order to complete the assignment. You'll assume that you and your partner are a young couple who married during your time period, and attempt to work through seven scenarios which I have prepared, and respond to them the way you believe a couple from your time would. The written responses will be due next week, and I expect each team to have a presentation prepared within ten days. In your presentations you'll talk about your struggles as a couple and how you faced them. At the end of this assignment you'll be given two grades, one for your written responses, and one for your presentation, which will be determined by your peers."
...Okay. Now it sounds even more stupid. We're sixteen years old and he's telling us to go play house with someone else in the class. That doesn't work. A bunch of girls are probably going to end up pregnant over this, and he's going to get fired for starting it. And even if they didn't, this project is just dumb. It isn't going to teach us anything about what we'll have to face someday, and it doesn't matter what it was like back then, so we're not getting anything out of it. Plus, if you pick the wrong partner, this would suck.
I looked over at Sam and made eye contact, hoping he was thinking the same thing I was. If we have to do this stupid thing, we might as well do it together and try to make it fun. I can fake being married to him for a week. It wouldn't be too hard.
"And here is the list of partners..."
What?! No, that doesn't work. We should get to pick our own partners. There's no way in hell he expects us to work with random people over something like this, that's crazy. Mental hospital person crazy. We can't do that.
Wait. Wait wait wait. Maybe I'll still luck out. If he does this in alphabetical order--the way he does everything else--I'll get Sam. And Madsen will get Daphne, and it'll be perfect.
Crap, he just put Jenny with Matt, didn't he?
"Daphne, Sam, you're going to be married in the sixties..."
...Why would Mr. Carmichael do that? Sam is my boyfriend. Why would he put my boyfriend with Daphne? My boyfriend doesn't like Daphne. My boyfriend likes me. That's why he's my boyfriend. He can't work with Daphne, he'd kill her.
That's really shitty of him. Poor Sam. I don't think it could get much worse than that.
"Carly, Madsen, you're going to be married in the seventies..."
"What?!" I jumped up, heard the bell ring, and started over to his desk while a lot of the other students were walking out. "Mr. Carmichael, I...I don't think I can work with Madsen, the two of us don't get along...."
Now tell me its okay, you're going to cut into my Sam time.
"Neither did a lot of couples in the seventies. I'm sure you'll do just fine, Carly. I look forward to seeing your presentation."
I stood there for a minute, staring at him until he walked out the door, and looked over to see that Sam and Madsen were still there, getting ready to go.
And Sam looks a little green.
I went over to him and sighed, putting my arms around him to try and get him to look less disgusted.
"This sucks." I leaned in for a kiss, trying not to think about how hellish doing a project with Madsen was going to be. But Sam's in worse shape than I am. Daphne's actually going to want to participate. Madsen will just make me do it myself, but that's a lot better than having to partner with him on anything.
This is so screwed up.
So in a few minutes, I'll have my minute, and it'll be good. Just as soon as Carmichael finishes handing out his latest assignment.
I took my copy from Joe and passed the rest of them back, and started reading over the paper. "Marriage by the Decade".
That sounds stupid.
"For this assignment, you're going to be paired up with a member of the opposite sex. The two of you will be given a decade which you are both expected to research in order to complete the assignment. You'll assume that you and your partner are a young couple who married during your time period, and attempt to work through seven scenarios which I have prepared, and respond to them the way you believe a couple from your time would. The written responses will be due next week, and I expect each team to have a presentation prepared within ten days. In your presentations you'll talk about your struggles as a couple and how you faced them. At the end of this assignment you'll be given two grades, one for your written responses, and one for your presentation, which will be determined by your peers."
...Okay. Now it sounds even more stupid. We're sixteen years old and he's telling us to go play house with someone else in the class. That doesn't work. A bunch of girls are probably going to end up pregnant over this, and he's going to get fired for starting it. And even if they didn't, this project is just dumb. It isn't going to teach us anything about what we'll have to face someday, and it doesn't matter what it was like back then, so we're not getting anything out of it. Plus, if you pick the wrong partner, this would suck.
I looked over at Sam and made eye contact, hoping he was thinking the same thing I was. If we have to do this stupid thing, we might as well do it together and try to make it fun. I can fake being married to him for a week. It wouldn't be too hard.
"And here is the list of partners..."
What?! No, that doesn't work. We should get to pick our own partners. There's no way in hell he expects us to work with random people over something like this, that's crazy. Mental hospital person crazy. We can't do that.
Wait. Wait wait wait. Maybe I'll still luck out. If he does this in alphabetical order--the way he does everything else--I'll get Sam. And Madsen will get Daphne, and it'll be perfect.
Crap, he just put Jenny with Matt, didn't he?
"Daphne, Sam, you're going to be married in the sixties..."
...Why would Mr. Carmichael do that? Sam is my boyfriend. Why would he put my boyfriend with Daphne? My boyfriend doesn't like Daphne. My boyfriend likes me. That's why he's my boyfriend. He can't work with Daphne, he'd kill her.
That's really shitty of him. Poor Sam. I don't think it could get much worse than that.
"Carly, Madsen, you're going to be married in the seventies..."
"What?!" I jumped up, heard the bell ring, and started over to his desk while a lot of the other students were walking out. "Mr. Carmichael, I...I don't think I can work with Madsen, the two of us don't get along...."
Now tell me its okay, you're going to cut into my Sam time.
"Neither did a lot of couples in the seventies. I'm sure you'll do just fine, Carly. I look forward to seeing your presentation."
I stood there for a minute, staring at him until he walked out the door, and looked over to see that Sam and Madsen were still there, getting ready to go.
And Sam looks a little green.
I went over to him and sighed, putting my arms around him to try and get him to look less disgusted.
"This sucks." I leaned in for a kiss, trying not to think about how hellish doing a project with Madsen was going to be. But Sam's in worse shape than I am. Daphne's actually going to want to participate. Madsen will just make me do it myself, but that's a lot better than having to partner with him on anything.
This is so screwed up.