The Pirate Substitute

The Pirate Substitute

Everyone was out of their desks and playing except for Jack, who sat in the back of the room alone. It was 8: 05, and Mrs. Martinez still wasn't there, which could only mean one thing: a substitute teacher. The door burst open and there stood- a pirate.

" Ahoy, mateys! " he said. “ When I call ye name, say, 'Aye, aye. " " Rachel Anders?" the pirate called. " Aye, aye, " Rachel said. " Juan Aguilar?" the pirate called. " Aye, aye, " Juan said. " Jack Bornwall?" the pirate called. " Here, " Jack whispered. " Ye be needin' to say, 'Aye, aye! '" the pirate said. Jack sank down in his seat.

" He's shy, " Juan said. " He doesn't talk much. " " Shiver me timbers! " the pirate said. " No one's shy on Talk like a Pirate Day. " His peg leg thumped on the floor as he walked to the board. “ Me name is Pirate Chalk Beard. " He pulled back his sleeve, revealing a piece of chalk in place of a hand. The students gasped. Pirate Chalk Beard wrote his name on the board.

" I've traveled the seven school districts teaching all sorts of landlubbers, " he said. “ What does landlubbers mean?" Rachel asked. " Can't ye speak like a pirate?" Pirate Chalk Beard asked. “ A landlubber is a land lover. Someone who lives on land and not the sea. Everyone say landlubbers. " " Landlubbers, " the students repeated. Everyone, that is, except for Jack, who was busy drawing in his notebook. " If ye be ready to learn, say, ‘Yo ho ho! '" yelled Pirate Chalk Beard. “ Yo ho ho! " the students yelled. Jack mumbled “ yo ho ho" under his breath and kept his head down.

Pirate Chalk Beard taught at a furious pace. In Science, he taught them how to use a compass to steer a ship. In Literature, he read to them from Treasure Island. In PE, they pretended the jungle gym was a pirate ship. In Geography, he unrolled a giant map and pointed out the oceans. Occasionally, he would stop and point at the map. “ There be pirates! " he would yell.