"A Professor's Leave in June" by: Kevin C. Bissessar Release Date: Sept 05, 1995 Revised Date: July 12, 1997 June 21, 2039 A cool afternoon breeze blew into the English classroom. Kevin felt the wind currents tug lightly at his suit. He sighed for a moment and looked at a small group of students who were playing football outside on the main campus field. Hovercars flew by, packed with boxes and materials as students left their residences and returned to whatever city they came from. The school year was over, and everyone was having a fun time. It sort of reminded the professor about his summer fun, and wondered how the years gone by. The English classroom was empty of its usual furniture. Most of the desks and chairs had been removed from the classroom, and a lot of the favourite character posters had be taken off the walls. Maintenance finally did respond to Kevin's request, and they were going to perform repair work inside the classroom for the summer. Kevin took a step away from the window and looked at the back of the room. Kisasian, Hazel, and the Lion King picture still remained, but he knew he would have to take them down sometime soon. Today was his last day at the University of Toronto. He wouldn't have to teach another English class until September, once school resumes. A knocking at the door was heard. "Come," said Kevin, as he looked at the door swing inwards. There stood Professor Richard Malinson. He was drinking a cup of coffee, and wore his casual clothing. "Rich, what can I do for you?" Richard stepped inside and whistled in amazement. "I've never been in a classroom so empty as this." All the posters from the side walls were gone, and some electrical equipment were placed along the side, as well as dozens of tools, and workmen's boxes. The only thing of interest to see was the back wall, where the three remaining pictures of the room stood still. "I know," said Kevin. "Even I can't still believe it. I mean ... I've been in empty classrooms before. But nothing like this." Kevin flashed a hand out and circled it around the room. "Most of the pictures are gone and packed away. Almost every desk and chair have left this room for summer storage. And part of the ceiling is gone due to the worker's attempt to get at the malfunctioning air conditioner." Kevin made the indication with his hand for Richard. Richard nodded his head. "It still feels ... unnatural." Kevin returned back to his own desk. The workers hadn't removed that yet. "So, Rich, what can I do for you?" Kevin repeated his question again as he stared at the information on his foldable computer screen. Richard placed his hands in his pockets. "Oh --nothing much, Kevin. I just popped in here to see what was going on. Today's my last day, you know." "I know," said Kevin. "It's most of our last days here." Richard walked over to Kevin's desk and peeked over his shoulder. "What are you doing?" Kevin titled his head back to see Richard, and then he returned his gaze upon the computer screen. "I just ran a continental search for a Lisani portrait. I know Brian Tiemann had painted the lioness many times, but I was unable to acquire a picture at the time. I'm hoping to make a purchase today." "Lisani?" questioned Richard. Kevin opened a bottom drawer and took out Templin's _The Tales of Tanabi_ for Richard. "Kisasian's mate, Richard. I think I want to buy a picture of Lisani and stick it up beside Kisasian." Richard looked up at Kisasian. "Mean face," he said, more like a name instead of an observation. Kevin allowed that comment to slip by without any argument. "Anyways, I began exploring the relationship of Kisasian and Lisani, and I soon discovered that the love only went one way," said Kevin. "What was even more startling was that I discovered Kisasian lied to his mate, and began using her as a tool to accomplish his goals in life." Kevin paused for a moment. He briefly looked at Kisasian, as if to check whether or not it was all right to tell Richard about the lion's personal life. Kisasian only glared back, but Kevin didn't mind. He was accustomed to seeing that facial expression. "I don't think Kisasian saw beyond his paradigm..." Richard moaned for a bit. "Don't you start falling into an economic jargon-generator machine. I'm already having enough trouble as it is trying to decipher the business section in the _North American Star_." Kevin grinned slightly. He pulled up a sample picture of what Lisani might have looked like, painted by Brian Tiemann a decade or two ago. "I found this painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It's going close to four thousand credits." Richard whistled. "Wooooow. That's a LOT of credits there for a lion painting. You might as well get some expert photographer and ask him to take a picture of a lion at the Metro Toronto Zoo, and then enhance it by twenty-fold." "Yeah ... but this is *Lisani*. She's special to Kisasian,..." Kevin paused in thought. "At least, ... I think she's special..." Richard looked up at Kisasian again. "How much did mean face cost?" Kevin decided not to let that insult pass by. "Richard, I wouldn't be insulting Kisasian like that, if I were you." Kevin's voice took on a serious, angry tone. Richard was taken aback by the sudden change in the English professor. "Especially in his and my presence." Kevin returned his sight back upon the computer screen. He touched the sensitive screen pad to bring up more information on the painting of Lisani. Richard placed a warm hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I didn't mean to offend you, Kevin. I seldom see you like this." Kevin just nodded his head slightly. "I haven't been feeling, how should I say, `nice', lately. To answer your question, Kisasian costed me $207 U.S. dollars. That was before the global credit system came into effect." Kevin touched the voice input button on his screen. "I'd like yto purchase `Lisani, Queen of the Valley of the Damned', by Brian Tiemann." A computerized image of a salesperson appeared on the screen. "Please insert your debit card now." Kevin withdrew his Microsoft-Visa Debit Smart Card from his coat pocket and slid it through the purchasing slot of his machine. It took less than a second for the transaction to be recorded, and a receipt flashed on the screen. Kevin cleared the bill from the screen and brought the Lisani picture to the foreground. "Thank you for shopping at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. You have acquired `Lisani, Queen of the Valley of the Damned' at four thousand credits. Your purchase will be shipped to you and arrive at seven o'clock this evening. Have a nice day!" said the computerized salesperson. Kevin disconnected from the Global Shopping Net and closed the collapsible screen. "Now Kisasian has a mate," Kevin said, grinning at Richard, but not showing his happiness to Kisasian. He had pushed the dark lion in thought (or, ... at least he hoped he did), but he did not want to go overboard. With the door open to the classroom, Jane decided to step inside. "Hey Kevin! Did you see what the student newspaper _Varsity_ had to say about you?" Richard was blocking Kevin's view of Jane, so he slid his chair back to see her. "Hi Jane. No, I haven't. I seldom read the _Varsity_." Jane approached the two men and dropped a copy of the student newspaper on Kevin's desk. She opened up the _Varsity_ and began flipping pages. "Someone on the writing staff has done the annual `rate the U of T professors'. You're in it." "No way!" exclaimed Kevin, unable to believe what Jane had said. "It's true! Look." Jane pointed to the article. ---------------------------------------------------------- ``Rate the U of T Professors'' by: anonymous _Varsity_. June 21, 2039. p13. ---------------------------------------------------------- Well, with examinations finally over, it's that time of year again when we rate our U of T professors. And boy, what a crazy, incomprehensible, wacky bunch of profs we had this year! Here are some of our thoughts about the people who TRY to teach us, BORE us to death, and think homework is the #1 thing we students like to do. Hah! ---------------------------------------------------------- Kevin looked up at Jane. "Nice introduction," he said sarcastically. "Read on. It gets better!" Jane said, smiling. ---------------------------------------------------------- Strangest Professor at U of T: Kevin Bissessar English Dept. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ever thought your physics professor, or your calculus professor was wierd? Then you haven't met Kevin Bissessar yet. On the outside, he appears normal, like your average everyday boring U of T professor. But once you get inside his classroom -- the wierdness begins. You want to talk about wierd? For starters, Bissessar's room is one of the COLDEST rooms in all of the St. George campus. And he likes it that way! --At least, ... we think he does. Heck, I've seen students bring blankets, thermal cups of coffee, and winter clothing to keep warm ... in the SPRING! It's very strange. Why doesn't he get his room fixed, or something?!? Ever noticed those awful pictures he has in his room? (Especially the one depicting some ugly-looking lion at the back?) Well, some students believe that Bissessar actually talks to these things! Talk about strangeness! Some profs here forget what they're teaching after twenty minutes into the lecture. Bissessar here is WIERD! Suggestion for improvement for next year: Take down all those pictures and replace them with something more worthwhile to see, like babes in swimsuits, beer ads, or something of our liking. Oh, and lastly, afford HEATING for your room! We students didn't fork over three million some-odd credits to be taught in a freezer. We demand HEAT! ------------------------------------------------------------ The first words that Kevin spoke were, "I don't like this!", and Richard burst out into laughter. Jane smiled a bit. "Who wrote this!" demanded Kevin. He looked up at Richard. "Did you?!" Richard backed away slightly, putting his hands forward. "Not me, Kevin. I swear I didn't write this!" From the tone of Richard's voice, Kevin knew that he was sincere in his answer. He looked over at Jane. "Did you?" he asked her, but suspected the answer would be "no". Jane wasn't the sort of person to do something like this. "No, Kevin," she said. "You know how much I hate the student media." Kevin turned around and grumbled at the _Varsity_. "I'm sending a complaint to their senior-editor. I can't have my integrity be diminished like this." Jane placed a comforting hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Oh Kevin, the students were just doing it out of fun. Let them have their petty victory. When they come back in September, we'll CRUSH them!" Jane patted Kevin's shoulder, and Kevin smiled at the thought. "We'll make their lives MISERABLE," Jane said with a smile. Kevin looked up at the clock over Kisasian. "The workers will be back soon. I told them I would take down those pictures before they arrive. I guess I should do that now." "Want me to give you a hand?" asked Jane. "Sure," said Kevin, as he walked to the back of the room. "You take down the Lion King movie poster. I'll grab Hazel." The two began removing the pictures from their hinges and carried them over to a cart. They carefully placed their items inside, standing them up on their sides. Kevin looked around his empty room. Only Kisasian was left. Time to take the king off his promontory, thought Kevin. He returned to the back wall and allowed himself to look at Kisasian, ... one last time. Jane knew Kevin was hesistating in his actions. "You don't want to do it, right Kevin? You don't want to take down Kisasian." Kevin didn't want to answer Jane. His throat became lumpy, and his voice would've revealed the truth. Kevin did his best to keep back sad tears. He didn't want Jane, Richard, or Kisasian to see the professor break down like this. "He's going to have to come off the wall, Kevin," said Jane. "It's for his own good. You wouldn't want construction dust to land on him." Kevin exhaled slowly and Jane approached him. "It's ok," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll help." Kevin nodded. He couldn't speak. The two professors grabbed one side of the Kisasian portrait and lifted it off the wall. They carried the painting to the cart, and set Kisasian down in front. Now that all the pictures were together, Kevin pulled out a plastic covering from the side and encased the trolly. He double-checked to make sure that all the pictures were safe. Including Kisasian. Kevin looked around the room one last time. It was bare and empty of the English literary characters he had grown to love and enjoy. It was sad to part his English classroom, but he knew he had to do it. It was a tradition, going back generations, as students left their schools for the summer. Richard was no longer among them, and only Jane remained. The cries of university students celebrating their first taste of freedom attracted Kevin's attention. He walked briskly over to the window to see the excitement. Several young people were cheering and running on the main campus field. It seemed like one football team had scored a touchdown. "Look at them, Jane," said Kevin. "Look at these young students, wasting their minds on these recreational activities when they could be learning something worthwhile..." "They already have, Kevin." Jane found herself at the window side and held onto Kevin's arm. "And they will, ... as long as you continue to teach them." Kevin looked at Jane, and weakly-smiled. Jane continued. "But we should make our leave here. We no longer serve a purpose." Jane pulled Kevin away from the window and to the cart of English character pictures. They grabbed the handle bar and began pushing the cart towards the door. "Besides, there's only seventy-odd more days left before the fall term begins," said Jane. "They'll come back, and you can lecture them all about Kisasian, Hazel, Big Brother, Willy Loman, David Copperfield, Julius Ceasar, and many, many more. English literature doesn't stop at the classroom." (Jane timed her speech perfectly as they moved through the door). "It continues forever. We, as human beings, will eventually leave this earth. But characters like Kisasian will continue to live on. And that's the beauty of literature itself." Kevin wanted to say his traditional good-bye, but stopped himself when he realized that there was nobody in the classroom to say good-bye to. It was truly lifeless now, now that everything that ever lived and breathed, from the realistic portrayal of George and Martha in _Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ to the frightening angry Kisasian from _The Tales of Tanabi_, were gone. "The students will come back," said Jane. "I guarantee it." The two professors left the room, and the door shut tightly, closing a world that had once given life to the greatest fictions, novels, and plays ever written by man....but will now remain silent for the summer months to come. ------------------------------------------------- Copyright (C) 1995, 1997