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January, in summation:

-Started talking to an ex again. She's really time consuming, and I forgot about that. gonk Like, I enjoy spending time with her/talking to her, but we have epic, marathon-length conversations because neither of us KNOW HOW TO SHUT UP, so we end up prattling on for upwards of six hours at a time. On a frequent basis, this adds up.
-Had to help some other friends out. Everyone seems like they're having a rough month. I might as well replace my listing in the phone book as "Dial-a-Shrink Hotline" and then list my phone number.
-Had to deal with my OWN drama, which I'm going to elaborate on in a second.
-PROJECTS. History fair, this absolutely ridiculous rhetorical glossary thing (HEY DEFINE AD HOMINEM ARGUMENT, FIND AN EXAMPLE-- but only within the limited text we've read!-- AND EXPLAIN HOW IT WAS USED. Repeat x 72. ) among other things. Our paper's been on deadline, too, and we recently upgraded in size so I've been doing some hardcore editing afterschool.
-General homework/social stuff.

Now, my drama:

So there's this teacher. I have/had her for two classes, which was a lot of time to be dealing with somebody. Particularly with somebody who HATES YOUR EVERLOVING GUTS.
As you might imagine, this is generally a big problem.

Over the course of the school year, she's increasingly indicated her dislike of me by verbally harassing me and grading my work/participation lower than anybody in either class's, despite the fact that generally teachers love my writing and I participate a good deal.

So I went from the initial HIGH A grading at the beginning of the year, to low Bs, to finally Cs and Ds, in addition to being singled out as a constant example for "WHAT YOU ALL ARE DOING WRONG BUT SEYMOUR IS PARTICULARLY" or simply being put down for my opinions/general remarkings. In front of the entire class.

Now, she really isn't that nice of a teacher to begin with, but her basic hatred of me is quite pronounced. (And believe me, I am not exaggerating when I say "hatred". This woman LOATHES me. gonk We'll get the pinnacle of that in a minute.)

So, you know, after GENERALLY FEARING FOR MY FUTURE and dropping GPA as she's got a clenched fist on two of my classes, I talk with her one on one about a particular assignment which had nothing wrong with it and all of my friends who'd read it liked, but had yet deemed a 58% with a comment on the second page stating, "This is ridiculous. I'm not reading any more." and a list on the back of the paper with everything she hated about my writing.

So I approach her and explain to her that it's rude to write that, and as I put effort into writing the entire assignment, she ought to read all of it and grade it as a WHOLE versus two pages' worth.

So she skims it over quickly and tells me that it's still atrocious, and I "OBVIOUSLY HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK. The book explains how to write GOOD." (Yes. HOW TO WRITE GOOD, Y'ALL. *dies*)

It transpires.
"But Ms. B, I read the book."
"Well, maybe you should read it more carefully.

Apparently, her biggest problem was the fact that I'd used the GODFORSAKEN PAST TENSE. PAST TENSE. Apparently, if you've taught for over twenty years, you're entitled to grade by opinion alone, because "All GOOD short stories use the present tense. And why are you writing in first person?! You HATE first person,"
"...because I want to try something different, maybe?"
"Well, maybe it'd be different if you tried it in third."
(Cue mental "OH ******** YOU PLEASE SEW YOUR LIPS SHUT OR LOCK YOUR HEAD IN AN IRON MAIDEN OKAY SERIOUSLY D:<" MUTUAL HATRED, FOLKS.) But of course, I'm civil about it, and we talk about it more and she generally disses the s**t out of me in the most professional manner she can manage, so I finally ask her WHY SHE HATES ME.

"Oh, I don't hate you. You just contribute nothing to the class and refuse to learn, when you know nothing. >:}"

I pretty much cried the rest of the day. I mean, ********, WHAT THE HELL. And I know I'm griping to an online audience who don't know me in class, but I'm not very different and generally am a good student. gonk I'd had a 4.03 GPA up until this year, and then this woman comes along.

So she basically continues her daily harassment of my person until I get fed up with my dropping grades and morale, because how do you cope when a supposedly respected teacher starts making it a hobby to make your academic life hell?

Also, another thing that needs to be noted: this teacher is also a horrible, horrible yellow-bellied cocksucker when it comes to anybody ABOVE her in status. Anybody else is below her and must be treated like s**t therefore unless they stroke her ego in turn. Fellow teachers are below her, also, and I've only thus learned this as the battle turned into a war. This is somewhat of a boon, but not really because she frightens the piss out of the entire goddamn school. She owns it, she has the strings, and goddamn does she pull them.

I fell into a depressive rut, as the only people on my side were the majority of the class (note this,) and my parents. But what power do either of those parties have over a teacher of her sodding high-horsed status?

Finally we made a parent-teacher conference with her. This is a LAST RESORT for me as my mom is extremely pro-me ( xd ) and will doggedly pursue my justice, which I really prefer to do on my own.

The teacher was not told what this was -over-, but rather, simply knew an appointment had been made and she was going to it.

The solution to this, obviously, is to TELL THE PRINCIPAL beforehand that I "hate her [her as in the principal]," and that I believe she has a personal vendetta against me (WTFWTFWTF.) The teacher then rallies the assistant principal with her and -has- to have her attend, because having the guidance counselor oversee it was "NOT ENOUGH."

I'm not allowed to go in the room, as the vice principal forbids it. (Even though it's, you know, uhm. MY conference?)

The following is transposed from what I hear shouted at my parents, and from my parents recounting it to me:

They go in to the meeting and address the fact that I feel bullied by her, which the teacher says she has "no idea" about. What stems from this, of course, is the fact that "NOBODY LIKES HER!" (as to in why I could not hold a certain position) and that I am "Morbid, moody, and lachrymose." I bask in misery! My moods are so erratic, "Nobody can predict them! SHE'S INSANE AND OUT OF CONTROL."

Also learned from this meeting is the fact that I am apparently also BIPOLAR, MORBID, A RAGING MEGALOMANIAC, "OBSESSED WITH OVERTHROWING THE SYSTEM," and that, "She's always telling everyone that she's a genius! And she believes it." (Special stress on "believe", naturally. Then again, this stress might just be exaggerated because of my raging ego! I'M OUT OF CONTROL, GUYS. PARDON WHILE I CUT MYSELF AND BASK IN GLOOM AND POSSIBLY MASTURBATE TO THE THOUGHT OF MY OWN GREATNESS.)

The fact that everyone hates me is returned to. Apparently, I only have two friends. "Everybody else hates her!" (Which is why I have the majority of the class finding me in the hallway and asking where I went and then addressing their disdain for her.)

But everyone's obvious hatred for me aside, I also "constantly rile everybody out of control!" and "ruin the class" with my "dramatics" and "IMBALANCED OPINION."

My parents aren't allowed to say a word, and finally my mom starts crying, at which point the vice principal starts screaming at her that, "Okay, that's it! This is OVER WITH. IF YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOURSELF, YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN YOUR DAUGHTER." and my dad suggests my mother leave and compose herself while they talk with him. (My father is extremely cool-headed and rational.) However, this is out of the question because "You obviously will not accept the faults with your child."

The meeting is called off, and my teacher waddles by me and says, "Seymour, I had no idea you felt this way." to which I reply, "Ms B, we've talked about this before." to which she gives me this LOOK, like, "Oh, REALLLY??? >:}" and I give her my best "YOU ARE A HUMAN BAG OF SCUM BUT I AM NOT VERBALIZING THIS SENTIMENT" look, and she laughs. The b***h GODDAMN LAUGHS.

Okay, so you're going to be the ultimate low of lows, but do you have to ACT LIKE A STEREOTYPICAL VILLAIN, TOO?

The vice principal walks up to us and looks at the teacher, and goes, "What?" to which Ms B looks at, foiling her lips in this horrible, horrible smirk, and they BOTH LAUGH before the teacher turns around to pick up something. The vice touches my purse and says, "I like this a lot, because I'm artsy, like you." in the most superficial tone I have ever heard an adult use.

They leave together, and my parents approach me and express their absolute rage towards the pair and recount the above happenings to me.

So NOW, it's been two weeks, and I switched out of my one class with her but am still stuck with the other, for which I've stopped bothering talking in other than to chat with friends.

The entire ordeal has been extremely stressful, because in addition to it I've just been feeling extremely unloved and unappreciated other than by my cluster of friends. Our newspaper adviser dropped my running column, too, because I didn't have it completely written the other day. Even though I was going to have it done that day. And, you know, it's always fun when your only known ally against newfound enemies drops your column. He's the only teacher who'll believe me on the matter, but I still feel like nothing special because he'll randomly go off on tangents about how glad he is to have our managing editor and editor in chief, and our OLD columnist, but never me. At least he's honest?

I'm genuinely disgusted with the lack of honesty in the school system, and the politics which course through it. They don't belong; they shouldn't be, but there they are. I hate two-faced people. What's the point? What kind of survival tactic is it to suck on each other's egos when neither party is sincere, and obvious about it?

FOLKS: HONESTY IS PRETTY COOL, AND I SUGGEST EMPLOYING IT.

School's felt like a big "******** YOU," and I feel like I'm pushing my other teachers' buttons because I'm constantly late with schoolwork because it's extremely hard to push yourself into doing things when you're in a rut like that. Well, the ones that -like- me, of course. gonk Apparently, the evil teacher's taken it up to slander my name throughout the English department, as I'm getting death glares and absent looks from teachers who previously would greet me in the hallway and generally -liked- me.

So, yeah. Fun stuff. .____. Hopefully things'll get better. I'm not used to this much drama; usually I avoid it to the best of my ability, but this whole entire situation is just impossible.

On the plus side?

I don't think anybody will be taking her other elective class next year. One of the quietest kids in the class who I hardly know got on our bus the other day, sat now next to me, and just sort of looked ahead and said, "Ms B is a b***h. I'm not taking her class next year," very quietly.

I high-fived him. mrgreen

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