Welcome Back Kotter

Welcome Back Kotter

Gabe Kotter's head turned slightly to observe his students as he entered the room. One teen's face was hidden in his arms as he rested down on the desk. Kotter assumed he was asleep. Several other students gazed, transfixed, in one direction or another. Kotter himself had attended this very high school many years ago. He knew what it was like to have a class at eight o'clock on a Monday morning.

Kotter picked up a piece of yellow chalk and began to write across the green chalkboard, taking a moment to reflect on what he wrote. This one was a topic about bar drinks! I'm glad we're still in the 1970s. In a few years teachers probably won't be able to write topics for discussion like this.

The teacher spun around quickly with the attempt of looking as animated as he could. "If your family were a drink, what would they be?"

After surveying the class for their reaction, his face looked glum. He realized that no one moved out of their original positions. I knew I should have brought a bottle of ice water to spray at them. Hmmm, time to seek out a victim. "Vinnie?"

Vinnie Barbarino stared in confusion at hearing the mention of his name. "What?"

Kotter was used to putting lots of effort into snapping his students out of their hypnotized trances. He waved an arm in the direction of the large yellow words and elaborated more on the topic. "If you're the head of your family someday, what drink would they be called? What would the family aura be like which could be compared to a drink name? Does your family travel a lot? Do they work hard? What would inspire you to create this drink? How would you make it? "

"Where?"

"In your home, or where your family happens to be."

"When?"

Kotter was about to say something else about the topic, but they were suddenly interrupted by a slender, enthusiastic student.

"Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh!" Arnold Horshack was all but jumping out of his seat as his hand outstretched toward the ceiling.

"Arnold?"

"Ahem." Horshack cleared his throat as he stood up next to his desk. "When they made me, they broke the mold." He quickly sat back down after his proud expression.

Kotter blinked a few times. "That's good, Arnold, but I'm looking for something more specific."

He looked around for his next victim. "Freddy?"

Freddy Washington didn't hesitate with his answer. "Mr. Ka Tor, when I'm the man of my family we're going to be Sex on the Beach. You know what I'm saying? We're going to be a Hurricane, my Bahama Mama and I. You know what I'm saying?"

Gabe Kotter broke in. "That's fine, Freddy, but could someone here think of a fictitious drink which the head of their family would name for themselves. Crazy Bananas, Fluttering Butterflies..."

The compassionate teacher knew the students weren't getting this. All around, desperate students were averting eye contact. It was going to be a long week. The corner of his mouth formed into a small grin as he offered one more. "Sleepy Zombies?"

(word count 530)

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