The Letter H
Story Title: The Letter H
Story Summary: Pre-Show. Due to her publisher's wishes, Brennan is now hosting, and judging, a spelling bee, where at she meets a little boy by the name of Parker.
Genre: General
Chapter Focus: #269 of 1000 Theme Challenge, "First Encounters"
Chapter Rating: K
Word Count: 1485+
POV/Person: Third.
Spoilers: None at all.
Author's Starting Notes: The Letter H is just a cute little piece that was my first real taste of writing for BONES. I had written something before, but this theme was definitely when I really did something with the show. I hope you'll enjoy it, and review.
And, check out my other themed work.
Time Stamp: Posted February 23rd, 2009 (pushed back to the 24th due to login issues)
(#269)
There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. And, simply twenty-six. Yet, between all those letters, there are millions of combinations, millions of different words that can be created and spelled. As a child, Temperance Brennan had always found it intriguing to see just how many words she could create with any given group of letters. She would spell words instead of saying them sometimes, just to show people what she knew. And, she was all fine and dandy with most words, but there were a few that always gave her trouble. Not because they were hard, but simply because she always added an extra letter - one completely unnecessary and frustrating letter. To this day, the letter H is on her list of dreaded factors, right along side her abandonment issues, fear of commitment, and dislike of children. Now, two of those irrational problems of hers are on the spotlight as she judges a spelling bee for the students of a private elementary school in Washington.
She sits in one of the three spots designated for judges, and makes a note to add her publisher to the list. If it were not for that horrible woman, she would be in the lab, looking over the latest set of remains that were brought to her. But, no, instead, she is hosting and sponsoring a tournament for the sons and daughters of the privileged. She now gets the honor to ring the bell every time one of these little tikes can manage to spell a remedial word correctly. Words like shoebox, and diploma, and bookcase.
"B-O-O-K-C-A-S-E. Bookcase," spells one of the children on stage.
Brennan reaches over and rings the bell, signifying that the girl would go on to the next level. Although, technically, the word could also be two words, and they should have specified that when they gave off the word. Just as they should specify that the spelling bee is for kids who actually know how to spell. If that had been the case, so much less time would be spent here. To her misfortune, that wasn't the case. So, bunches of kids, ranging from kindergarten to grade four, rushed through the door, ready to try their luck at spelling, only to be sent back out with crushed spirits a little while later.
It's the letter H that does it, Brennan thinks to herself as a girl is forced to leave the stage due to a misspell. She tries to get herself to feel something, or show something, to the saddened girl who walks pass the table and collects the medal for trying. She simply cannot muster up a look, though. She doesn't, honestly, care enough about the situation. Maybe she would care a bit more if she weren't around these kids. She never really liked them once she got older. She just finds them to be a burden, and to be, well--
"Aggravating. A-G-G-R-A-V-A-T-I-N-G. Aggravating."
The cocky third grade boy steps down when he hears the bell, and another child approaches. The look on this girl's face is pure terror, yet when Brennan looks in the audience, all she sees are parents cooing and smiling. She sighs. This is all just so--
"Confusing. C-O-N-F-U-S-I-N-G. Confusing," the girl rattles off.
Again, the bell is rung.
A new person, smaller than the two before him, walks to the microphone. He brushes his hands on the sides of his jeans, and Brennan can tell he must be nervous. His hair is long and curly, almost masking his face from her when he turns towards them to signal that he's ready. The woman right next to Brennan looks up to the boy and says,
"Maternal."
The boy onstage nods his head slowly, and repeats, "Maternal. M-A-T-H-E-R-N-A-L. Maternal?"
He glances straight at her when he is finished. Eyes round and pleading, lips brought together tight in anticipation, he has taken on the same look as all of the spellers. But, unlike all the others, he had fallen victim to the trap of the 'H'. Knowing the pain the boy will soon feel, Brennan is almost tempted to ring the bell, despite his mistake. But, she doesn't.
She watches, curiously, as his face falls comically at the sound of the buzzer. His arms droop further down, and he stalks towards the table. He rips off his little nametag and slaps it down, in the same second as he swipes his medal. She peers at it for a moment, and looks back to the boy who she now knows to be named Parker. She cannot look long, though, for another person begins to spell.
She sighs, once more, wishing this thing would just be--
"Finished. F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D. Finished."
When the spelling bee does finally end, Brennan steps down from the table, and congratulates the winner. She hands over the trophy, and says a few words about her book. Then, she quickly exits the room.
She goes out the building, and across the street to where her car is parked. She is about to step into it when she hears the sound of rushed footsteps. She turns towards them and sees the Parker boy rounding a corner inside the building. He seems to spot her and throws her a big smile. She glances over her shoulder, unsure of why this boy is smiling. Seeing no one, she puts her attention back to the building, only to find Parker now outside and coming towards her.
"Uh, stop," she orders when he gets to the street. Parker looks both ways and then takes a step off the sidewalk. She sees a car headed their way.
"Stop," she repeats her command. He too spots the car and runs to the other side, stopping right in front of her with that same smile in place.
"Aren't kids supposed to listen to adults?" she asks, as her eyes follow the car that continues down the road.
Parker shrugs, replying, "Simon didn't say."
"Who's Simon?" she questions. Parker giggles in the way little boys do, and Brennan gets the feeling that she is missing something.
"You're funny," Parker says, swaying his arms a little.
"I wasn't making a joke," she mentions confused, "Um, shouldn't you be inside? With your parents?"
"No," Parker denies, "I told my mommy I was going to the bathroom."
"Then you should be in the bathroom," Brennan responds.
"But, I had a question for you, and I just remembered it," Parker whines.
"What's your question?" she asks, uncomfortably peering at the building. She wonders when his mom will realize he's not in the bathroom.
"It's your book. What's it about?" he asks.
She thought for a moment, wondering how exactly she was supposed to explain to a small child what her book was about.
"It's about a forensic anthropologist who studies human skeletal remains too badly decomposed for normal methods," she explains.
"Oh."
Sensing his sudden lack of interest, she changes the subject, "You were close. With that word in there. There's no H in maternal."
Parker sighs, nodding.
"My mommy told me that when I sat back down. I hate H. It's stupid," he complains.
"When I was younger, I didn't like it much either," she shares.
"Really?" he says, all bright eyes and charming smile. She finds herself smiling back at him.
"Really," she affirms.
His smile grows even wider.
Once again, she hears the sound of rushed footsteps. Her gaze drifts away from Parker and lands on a woman, who Brennan can only guess would be his mother. The woman visibly relaxes when she catches sight of her son, and rushes across the street to where they are.
Parker looks over his shoulder and sees her.
"Mommy!" he excitedly calls.
"Oh, Parker, there you are," the woman says, wrapping her arms around him. He wiggles in her hold, until she just rests a hand on his shoulder.
Brennan awkwardly stands, watching the display of familial affection.
"I'm so sorry about him, Dr. Brennan. You must have plenty of things to do," the woman apologizes.
"Yes, I do have a particularly singed corpse waiting in the lab," Brennan agrees. The mother's face drops a bit, and a slight frown comes to it. Brennan also notices the way her hand tightens just a bit on her son's shoulder.
"Well, thank you for stopping him from running off," thanks the mother with a short nod. Before Brennan can say anything in response, the pair is crossing the street. At one point, right before re-entering the building, Parker turns back around and lifts his hand in the air with his index and middle finger together, slanted towards his shoulder. He gives her that charming smile one last time and disappears behind the doors.
There were twenty-six children in the spelling bee. She managed to find one that she liked. And that in and of itself is a miracle.
M-I-R-A-C-L-E.
© Everything written above belongs to me (FF user, Paint Me a Symphony). If somebody is out there pushing this as their own, they are lying. I may not own BONES, or its characters, but I do own this.