Chapter 2
First Day at School

"Good morning Mr. Grau", shaking hands effusively, the principal guided me through the halls crowded with students. It was more a polite gesture, perhaps an accustomed welcoming gesture for each new teacher's first day.  "As if dealing with thousand students wasn't enough, right?" The man shrugged as he played with his tie, half a way smiling with a mix of sympathy and resignation while we meandered amid the group of teenagers staring at the director with respect and at me with curiosity. "Is it different from here in Puerto Rico?" He asked.

"Well, not much. School infrastructure is a bit different, architecturally speaking. Curriculum, of course is pertinent to our own culture and history, yet based on the same standards and expectations and federal laws, as were ruled the same way." I explained.

"History isn't one of the student's favorite subject anymore, but I know you will work around it with enthusiasm. Teenagers get well along with younger teachers and having you running the Spanish extra course and the swimming team would serve both as an incentive and as a role model."

"I hope so, Dr. Shubber. I'll work my best. You won't be disappointed and we will be state swimming champions this year, I'll assure you."

"Go Jaguars!" He raised his fist up cheerfully.

"Go Jaguars!" I mimicked his move while thinking Jaguars wasn't a very aquatics sports-like team name.

Padding me on the shoulder, Mr. Shubber wished me luck as if was Doom's Day for me. His mouth twitched, half a smile while beaming at me with a clashing mixture of pity and fatherly pride. The man rubbed the crown of his head, then squared his shoulders and walked away telling the alumni the bell was about to ring.

As I stepped into the classroom, I placed my suitcase on the desk and proceeded to open the windows. A few seconds before the bell rang I took a deep breath staring with complacency what would be by new classroom.

When the doorbell rang at 8:00 a.m. the students packed the classroom, females seating on the first rows, something I've been used to since I first started teaching high school five years ago. Of course, it wasn't  because history actually fascinates them, still a normal reaction on having a twenty-six years old teacher speaking of past times in a crooked latino accent. Good looks often blanketed brains, and yes, it only made harder to deal with teenagers, yet they soon would find out who's charge.

"Good morning students. I am Professor Grau. From now on I'll be your American History teacher, in succession to Mr. Garcés, who's granted a well-deserved retirement. I will also run a Spanish section, so for those who are interested in learning a second language, you can separate your space at the director's office today. Last but not least, I will be the swimming team's coach, so if you are interested, the first meeting is tomorrow at the natatorium at 4:00 p.m."

Boys seemed to be interested in the swimming team while for the girls I wasn't sure anymore as they only nodded to everything I said, their eyes fanning fixated at me. Class control, that's what I meant!

After finishing the initial routine of greeting each other, I continued with the class. Redundant is to add the girls' wooing gestures when they introduced themselves.... Oh, God, those females! I shall never go over it.

"Now I want you to think of historical places that represent or resemble the true essence of this city, important events, and illustrious people. You name them and we will make a focalized list on the board."

The whole group looked at each other as if sending some sort of telepathic message. There was so much complicity in their demeanor, I knew I had to be prepared for a cognitive disaster mixed up with a teenager's proper creepy attitude.

After a minute, a girl in the front row broke in a coquettish tone, "Well, you like history and old and dingy things professor, so I suggest the historical place that you need to know about is the Mansion Higgins Von Heir."

"And why should I be interested in that house in particular?" I asked, interested on the matter.

"Because it is old, professor", a male student with a weird hairdo interrupted in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, old is not precisely a synonym of historical... Is there anything relevant about this place?" I took a few steps closer -but not too close- to the first rows.

"Yes, It is haunted... boo!" another student went in a funny tone.

"Haunted? Um... Okey, so you have your own haunted house in town. For Halloween it has to be such a phenomenal thing, I guess", My tone was sardonic and they knew it.

"Professor, the Great Manor is a very old mansion built two centuries ago. It belonged to a wealthy German family... and yes, it is haunted. A witch named Martha lives there" A girl added.

"So you believe in urban legends and tales of witches", I rolled my eyes to realize it was time to put a halt to the brainstorming exercise that was taking us to nowhere. It seemed that Martha was a common denominator in the mind of the students, for some strange reason, causing a fuss in the class as every student wanted to share a different story about the woman. Therefore, I decided it was time to grab the bull by the horns and give the class the right direction.

"Okey, it is interesting to know that people in this town are so fond of urban legends because, all kind of legends, fantasy, fable or historical fiction has its basis in events that occurred in an uncertain past and are rooted in the imagination of our ancestors which gives them the credit of being part realistic too. That is the foundation of the oral narrations that form part of popular folklore, hence evolving later in the narrative written format of the classic books we read now. This made possible the beginning of civilization and what we know now as history."

I had captured the group's attention once again... well, at least most of them were listening. There was always a boy peeking his nose or a girl crisscrossing legs like Sharon Stone in Basic Instincts. "Oral narrations evolved into stories that nowadays form part of our traditional literature such as Jack O' Lantern, Candy Man, Bloody Mary and Bigfoot to mention a few from North America. I know you've heard of The Chupacabras, La Llorona or La Tsegua from Latin America or the worldwide known legends of werewolves, vampires, and dragons that come to us from European immigrants. Class, as you see, this is what nurtures history, back from the ancient civilizations and passing on from generation to generation. The first stories were either sang or recited by minstrels or troubadours. Literary gems such as the Thousand and One Nights in Arabia or The Story of Mio Cid in the medieval Spain are masterpieces based on real events seasoned with fantasy, mythology or religion. We all know the Celtic, Gaelic, Norse or Britton medieval fairy tales and fables such as Robin Hood or King Arthur or even the same Bram Stroker 's novel Dracula, born to popular imagination and a historical base that relies on the very essence of human beings."

"But Professor, this is not an urban legend. Martha is a real person that lives in the Great Mansion", a girl added.

"I haven't said that Martha is unreal, or the house she lives at... It is that humans, as creative beings, tend to embellish the original facts adding a little of imagination to an account of what happened in an existing place, at a particular time."

As the students worked in pairs to make a list of the elements of history, I decided that it was the time to ask where Martha's house was located, for I was intrigued already.

"The house is located at Wood Spell Street on Birch corner", a pretty girl answered promptly.

"Oh, really?" I was shocked to find out that I was, in fact, Martha's neighbor. It turned out to a so funny coincidence that I decided to tell my students to see their reaction. "Wow, it seems to be that I have three days being your beloved Martha's neighbor and..."

"Ohhhhh" alumni broke in unison.

One of them ventured to inquire amazed, "And you have not seen the witch?"

"Haven't you seen or heard anything... like strange cries or creepy noises?" Another female student asked from the back of the room.

"No, not really... well... I can see that Martha has such a special place in this town's folklore, but I think, seriously guys, it is time to drop tghe subject. So, having ended the witch hunt, please open your notebooks to write down the instructions for the special work to be handed in on Friday. It is the first formal grade. You will research for information about the town's history. Facts, dates, people and places relevant to history... Ah, and please, nothing that has to do with Martha... You will compose a five-paragraph essay and will read it to the group."

After the choir of protesting "Aaaaah", not sure if it was because they had homework or for not letting them include Martha on it, the class was dismissed.

The rest of the day flowed without major events yet Martha and the haunted house was a recurrent topic in the subsequent courses. It was strange, as it was the variety of stories I heard from my witch-neighbor, this unreal fascination they had on Martha. She was such an icon in town, and that made curiosity about this woman grow with each group that passed through my classroom.

At the end of a long and awkward day in school, I was finally home. I stopped by the front of my bungalow to contemplate the Great Casona building, Martha's House. I saw it with different eyes than the day before. It was a magnificent French Colonial house, somehow neglected, yet it stood like in a not too distant past was quite a beauty. Curiosity overpowered me for a moment, wishing to knock the door to see if Martha opened the big red door... I rambled a second only to notice the silence that enveloped the Mansion. I heard nothing... Was really an old woman living there? It didn't look like to me. After studying the building and thinking shrews, I shook my head as if to make disappear nonsense. "It is better to go inside my cozy home get to do more productive things," I told myself as I strutted towards my house. "Some of this days I'll pay her a visit, only to prove witches aren't real."

***What do you think of Antonio Grau? Of the student's reactions? What can you say about the things people say about Martha?