The F Factor Read Online Free PDF Page A

geometry teacher whose husband coached the soccer team. Every guy who passed them acted like a rubbernecker gawking at a highway accident. Any woman caused the guys to stop and stare. It was just the nature of the beast since girls weren’t the norm at St. Peter’s. But this new teacher looked younger than the other women, so the traffic jam was thicker than usual.
    Javier saw Mr. Quintanilla moving against the current of students like a big ocean liner. He growled at students to tuck in their shirts, keep moving, stop talking in halls, and kept repeating, “Get to class! NOW!”
    A sudden itch on the bottoms of his feet caught Javier’s attention about the same time he realized the new lady teacher was walking toward the same roomwhere he intended to go. She had to be Maloney; she would be his English teacher.
    Javier saw Mr. Q within eyeshot. He knew the Dean was a stickler for old-fashioned rules, so Javier stopped right at the door to let the lady teacher enter first.
    Immediately, he felt half a dozen hits in the back from the guys behind him who weren’t ready to stop so suddenly. He dug his heels into floor, using his body to push back against the tide. Like a punching bag, he was slugged with elbows, shoulders, and books.
    The Maloney woman moved right past without even a “thank you” or nod in his direction. She stood just inside the door and gestured at the boys. “Take a seat, gentlemen. We have a lot to cover this morning.”
    As usual, no seats were left but the front desks, so Javier didn’t have much choice but to take one. He sat down to stare at the whiteboard in front of the room,
Ms. Maloney
was printed in swirling letters with a black marker.
    The second-period bell rang. Ms. Maloney walked over and closed the door firmly. As she came to the center of the room to speak, Javier saw Ignacio’s sweaty face peeking through the diamond-shaped window on the door. The brass knob turned, and the wooden door opened.
    Ms. Maloney half-turned toward the sound. “You are late to my class, Sir. Get a tardy slip from the front office.”
    â€œBut, Miss—” Ignacio took a couple of steps inside the room. “The band hall—”
    â€œDon’t challenge me. I told you—” She didn’t have to say anymore.
    A large tanned hand had come through the door, grabbed Ignacio by the back collar of his uniform shirt,and yanked him back into the hall. It had to be Mr. Q. The door closed with a firm
thud
, and the new English teacher turned back as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
    Her brown eyes scanned the room. Her lips straightened into a serious line. “If you are sitting in this class, you are preparing for the advanced placement courses as juniors and seniors. I take that preparation very seriously.”
    Javier studied her face, wondering how old she was. The teacher’s thick hair was like a black triangle framing her head. She wore a silver cross on a woven necklace. The blue dress she wore had no sleeves, and her arms were thin but not skinny. The dress stopped just above her knees, and he thought her legs were shaped well for a woman.
    â€œI was born here in San Antonio and grew up not far from this school. I attended college in Nevada and received my advanced degrees in Austin. I’ve taught many levels of English, gentlemen, but I prefer the pre-AP classes. To me, the foundation is the key element in creating a solid structure.” She moved back to the desk and picked up a paper on her desk. “I’m going to take attendance now.”
    She had gotten to the “P” names when Ignacio, Andy, and two other band members came in with tardy slips. After they handed them to her, she said, “See me after class, gentlemen.”
    She spent the next forty-five minutes going over lists of rules for classroom conduct, handing out a class syllabus and reading through it word for word. She also gave her