{"chapter_no":"11","chapter_title":"English Class","book_id":"2","book_name":"The Story of James","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"250","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":5,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 11<\/p>

English Class<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

Jessica Landrieu is teacher of William’s <\/i>seco<\/i>nd per<\/i>i<\/i>o<\/i>d English class—A great teacher, she is
b<\/i>eloved by <\/i>all of <\/i>her s<\/i>tudents—H<\/i>er early years in college and lat<\/i>er as a newspaper columnist in Utah are<\/i>
marked by strong feelings<\/i> against <\/i>the Church<\/i>—Over time, she learns <\/i>how <\/i>to <\/i>appreciate<\/i> the <\/i>Latter-day
Saint<\/i> culture that is all around her in the community<\/i>—<\/i>Cheri Michaels, a young <\/i>student in Jessica's class<\/i>,
struggles to be accepted among her clas<\/i>smates—She<\/i> is <\/i>mocked because of her appearance—Through the
power of the Spirit, <\/i>William finds courage to come to her aid<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Slowly, William began to find his way in life. The family prayers with his mother each
morning had brought peace to him, building in him a reserve strength to deal with the
confrontations and teasing from the other kids. Overall, he felt happier and worried less. This
change in his circumstances also allowed him to concentrate better on his school work, thereby
improving his grades and making his mother all the happier. He still found it difficult to fit in
with the other kids at school, but his mother reassured him that if he was patient and bided his
time, the Lord would help him to find friends and become more a part of things. So, that’s what
he decided to do. He followed his mother’s counsel to wait things out and put his trust in God.<\/p>

 <\/p>

There was still, however, one worrisome part of school––second period English. Along
with the snowball barrage, this class had always been one of the more traumatic experiences at
school for him, and his biggest worry each morning. There was a group of boys in class who
were constantly looking for ways to harass him in front of the other students. Second period,
therefore, always made him nervous. It brought feelings of dread, making even his first period
class miserable knowing what came next. These boys had also figured out his system of timing
his entrance into class just right to avoid the teasing. They seized upon it with great vigor and
now joked and laughed about it every time William arrived. What had been his protection was
now being used to embarrass him further. The teasing had become somewhat institutionalized
within his school schedule. He couldn’t simply attend school to learn interesting new things
every day as a regular student might do.<\/p>

 <\/p>

The teacher of the class was a thirty-eight-year-old woman by the name of Jessica
Landrieu. Married, but with no children thus far of her own, she had a brilliant mind and was a
great teacher of the English language. She delighted in literature, poetry, and books of all kind,
having significant passion for each. English was an art to her, and a great treasure, not just a
series of words jotted down on paper. She was an advocate for learning, for literacy, and for the
hope that comes to a person in life through education. She was the kind of teacher the kids were
very fond of, someone who was personable and kind to every student. She loved her students, <\/p>

and this love could be felt in the classroom. Even those kids who misbehaved in other classes,
seemed to be more respectful and on their best behavior in Mrs. Landrieu's class. <\/p>

 <\/p>

In the case of William, she was aware of the teasing and had tried to put a stop to it at
times, but she was not really aware of the deep emotional impact it was having on him, nor of the
true extent of all the teasing he had to endure every day. This was probably because she needed
to give attention to so many students across all the classes she taught. And because she had so
much wonderful material to present every day for the benefit of her students, she often found
herself watching the clock––worrying mostly about time and trying to squeeze everything she
could into each class period. She loved the material, and she loved to teach!<\/p>

 <\/p>

In her personal life, Jessica was quite happy. She had moved to Ogden at the age of
nineteen to attend college and pursue a degree in journalism. Nevertheless, given the fact that she
was not a member of the Church––a Latter-day Saint––it had taken many years before she had
really felt comfortable living in Utah. A key reason for this was that she had formed strong
opinions about the Church and the Utah culture early on when she had first arrived. The culture
had seemed unique and somewhat foreign to her. In her fourth year at college, she became editor
of the university’s newspaper. In that role, she wrote a series of editorial pieces that were highly
critical of the Church and its stance on certain issues. This gave her the reputation of a
nonconformist and made her feel awkward at times in social settings. But she was unabashed in
her writings, continuing to voice her strong opinions about the Church as a freelance writer for a
local Ogden newspaper after her graduation. She had a high profile in the community, a hero to
some, but someone who was quite unfriendly to the Church. <\/p>

 <\/p>

All of this, however, was in the past. Since that time, the last twelve years of her life to be
exact, she had entered the teaching profession at an Ogden junior high school. There, year after
year, she had come to know many Latter-day Saint young adults in her classes and through them,
had learned a lot more about the Church and the type of people who comprised it. She had also
accumulated a good number of close, older Latter-day Saint friends and, through them, had come
to better understand and appreciate the culture of Utah. She had even gone to church on one
occasion to see what it was like, and with that, her harsh stance against the Church softened
further. As the years passed, little by little, she came to the conclusion that it was possible for her
and the Church to coexist in life and even to prosper together. Given her great abilities and love
for the students she taught at school, it was not long before she became one of the most highly
regarded teachers in the entire school district, beloved by all parents, Latter-day Saint and non-
Latter-day Saint alike<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

One very special member of Jessica’s second period class was a girl named Cheri
Michaels. Cheri, like William, was quiet and shy. She avoided drawing attention to herself in
class as much as possible, particularly from that same group of boys that often picked on
William. At this time in her life, she was skinny, wore glasses, and was still developing
physically. Later on, once she grew older, she would blossom into a very lovely woman. But
now, at the tender age of fourteen, she was not considered attractive. At school dances, she
generally sat alone off to the side, never being asked to dance by any of the boys except when it
was considered as a joke to them. She had also been given a very cruel nickname that was known
throughout the school. As she walked down the hallways, she sometimes heard it yelled out by <\/p>

someone behind her, bringing her to tears, and even making her physically ill at times. It was the
same sick feeling that William had experienced when snowballs pounded loudly upon the side
doors of his family's car after being picked up from school. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Cheri, nevertheless, was a very intelligent girl. Already at her young age, she had
developed into a talented writer. An avid reader, she idolized Jessica and wanted to be like her.
And Jessica, for her part, also thought highly of Cheri. She saw much of herself in Jessica, in her
writing style, in her personality, and even in her being a little shy and withdrawn from others.
She usually took extra time to read, mark up, and most of all, delight in Cheri’s writing—the
fruits of her hard work as a teacher. Pupils like Cheri who understood and appreciated the class
material brought great joy to her. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Both Jessica and Cheri, as well as all the students in the second period English class,
would never forget one particular day of that school year: February 14th, Valentine’s Day. The
school had scheduled a Valentine’s Day dance in the afternoon for all grades. Many girls arrived
to school wearing beautiful dresses for the event, and Cheri was no different. She came to school
wearing an attractive pink dress that she and her mother had purchased a week in advance. She
felt very proud of the dress itself, but was unsure of the reception she might get wearing it at
school. After her first period class, she made her way into the bathroom to check herself one last
time in the mirror––her hair, her makeup, and how she looked in the new dress. Fortunately, no
other girls were present, so she could take time to check herself in the mirror without others
watching. Thinking of the troublesome group of boys awaiting her in the next class, she closed
her eyes and prayed silently. Moments passed as she tried to build up confidence inside herself.
Suddenly, the bell rang. She was late! Running out from the bathroom, she quickly made her
way down the hall, holding her books tightly to her chest. Reaching the door of the classroom,
she looked inside. Everyone was already seated and the room was mostly quiet. Pausing for a
moment, she took a deep breath and entered, going directly to her usual front row seat on the
right side. Everyone watched her with some surprise as she came in. There were a few whispers,
but nothing spoken loud enough for her to hear. Jessica, at her desk in front, had sprung up
immediately after the bell and was already talking about the areas of the lesson she was going to
cover. Turning away from the students and towards the blackboard, chalk in hand, she started
writing a few quotations. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The quiet chattering in the classroom continued as Jessica’s attention was diverted from
the class, with many of the girls talking about the dance and enjoying the excitement of the day.
They also took the opportunity to comment one to another about the formal dresses each of them
were wearing.<\/p>

 <\/p>

One girl smiling, pointed with her eyes at Cheri up in front and whispered to her friend,
“That pink dress, where did she get that?” It was a sincere, innocent question at first, but then the
other girl countered with a grin saying, “Yes, where in the world did she get that dress?“ causing
both of them to burst out laughing. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Realizing their mistake, and worried that Cheri might have heard them, they quickly
caught themselves and looked to the front of the class, masking their grins. Cheri carefully
monitored the chatter going on behind her. She hadn’t heard exactly what was said, but she was <\/p>

pretty sure it had something to do with her. The sudden laughing caused her heart to jump,
making her fearful and sick inside. For the next several moments the whispers in class continued,
but soon it was time for everyone to open their books and prepare to take notes. Her blackboard
preparations completed, Jessica turned around to face the class. It was time to begin.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Unaware that the class lesson was set to begin, three boys in the back row continued
talking and laughing to themselves. Motioning up front to where Cheri was seated, one of them
leaned over and whispered sarcastically to his friend, “Wow! What a foxy girl!” The words were
whispered, but as the classroom had turned suddenly quiet moments before, everyone heard what
was said, Cheri included. Looking back behind her, Cheri saw that the boy was looking right at
her. She immediately froze, knowing what was meant. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Turning around to the front again, Cheri worked hard to control her emotions. But it was
no use. Bringing her hands up close to her face, she covered her eyes and cried. Jessica, at her
desk, looked over at the girl with some surprise, and then back towards the boy. At first she
didn’t understand what had happened, but she soon realized. Jessica’s face flushed with redness,
somewhat in anger towards the boy, but more so in grief for Cheri.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Before Jessica could react, however, there was a sudden disturbance on the other side of
the classroom. A small boy had risen to his feet, boldly, in fact, to the surprise of all in the room,
including Jessica. It was William.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Normally shy and fearful, William had been watching the goings-on from his seat.
Always monitoring the chatter in the classroom himself for any mention of his name, he had
heard Cheri’s name instead. Looking at her sitting quietly in the front row, he had sensed that she
was nervous, afraid, or both. He certainly knew what she was going through. In the past few
years, he had been so consumed with fear himself, feeling alone and isolated, that he had rarely
taken notice of the suffering of others; and surely, he had never witnessed the suffering of
another person so clearly as he did now. The girl’s crying broke his heart. His mother’s love, her
teachings of God, their happy times together, the wonderful daily prayers in the morning, and the
occasional reading of scriptures––all of these things had helped to bring peace to him. But now,
the moment had come for these preparations to take him a step further, giving him the strength
and courage to stand up and help another in need. <\/p>

 <\/p>

He walked the short distance from his seat towards one of the boys sitting in the back
row. Surprisingly, he did not approach the boy that everyone had just overheard whispering out
loud, but the one next to him, a boy by the name of Kent Patterson. Kent was well known to
William as the chief instigator of much of the teasing he had endured, and the one he most
feared. Nevertheless, William now stood before him. It required great courage for him to stand
up like this. He had never done or even contemplated doing anything like this before. But here he
was, confronting the boy on the girl’s behalf. Somewhat afraid, his facial expression was one of
uncertainty. Soon, however, he felt a burning sensation in his chest, a new type of feeling for
him, but a pleasant one nonetheless. He didn’t understand exactly what it was, but he assumed it
was something from God, a reassurance that what he was doing was right.<\/p>

In his meek and humble way, William had acted on his own with courage and faith.
Although small in stature, he now stood tall above all the other students in the class. He was not
an imposing figure. He was not any kind of eloquent speaker. And his knowledge of gospel
principles was general and unsophisticated. Nevertheless, at this important moment, he arose and
came forth in great power. His countenance was radiant, like the prophet Abinadi standing before
King Noah, or like Stephen standing before the Sanhedrin. Filled with the Spirit, he faced his
tormenters and was no longer afraid<\/span>. This would be a key moment in William’s life. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Looking directly at the surprised boy seated before him, he reached down and seized a
piece of paper sitting upon his desk and then crumpled it up in his hand. Scribbled upon the
paper had been the terrible nickname, the one cruelly given to Cheri by her school classmates.
Written down by one of the boys in big letters, it had been quickly passed around between them
shortly after Cheri’s arrival to the classroom. The paper was now in William’s hand, to the
astonishment of everyone. The expression of the boy seated before him was now one of fear,
worried that the paper might be handed over by William to the teacher.<\/p>

 <\/p>

The paper, however, was not given to the teacher. Crumpled up fully by William, made
almost into a snowball of a sort, he set it back down on the desk for the boy to keep. This done,
he said loudly, “Leave her alone!” and returned to his seat. The errant boy, somewhat relieved,
quickly seized the crumpled paper and stashed it away in his pocket. He then looked around the
class and up again towards the teacher. He was safe for now; the teacher showed no immediate
interest in retrieving the paper from him. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The unusual incident gave Kent and his friends a greater appreciation and a new respect
for William. They never teased him or Cheri again. <\/p>"}