Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Lazy Town. They belong to their respective company of the same name. I am just borrowing the characters for this fan fiction. I only own Readsmore and Lidenbrock, but the name of the latter is somewhat inspired by Jules Verne's character from Journey to the Center of the Earth. Just what this has to do with Sportacus you'll see if you read the story. Thanks to fanatic for pointing out a glaringly obvious boo boo:blush: They should be in fourth grade, not sixth!

Behind the Crystal

By Trynia Merin

Author's note: I'm trying my hand at a Sportacus fic. The fact he's from Iceland made me think of one of Jules Verne's books which is set partly in Iceland. Just where I'll go with this I'm not sure. But please comment if you like!

Inside the fourth grade science class, the small group of students watched their new science teacher as she carried in a large cardboard box. Setting it on the front desk, she then pulled out a geological hammer, magnifying glass and a microscope. She cleared her throat standing before the chalkboard then wrote the words, "earth science."

"All right, today we're going to learn a little about one of my favorite subjects, different types of rocks. I know you've had a bit of earth science last term, but have you ever…"

"Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary," Pixel shot his hand up.

"Excuse me, I think you're supposed to raise your hand first," Stephanie hissed at him.

"You're right. Those ARE the three basic forms of rock," Miss Lidenbrock nodded. "I didn't realize you were so interested in earth science as well as electronics!"

"I dunno, it was interesting," Pixel said.

"Well what else do you know about earth science?" asked Lidenbrock, sitting down on the desk and asking the rest of her class. Several hands shot up.

"Oh… oh… there's this way cool experiment you can do with making a volcano out of baking soda that…" Trixie blurted out.

"That was MY project idea last year!" the boy to her left interjected.

"I saw something on TV about it taking YEARS and YEARS for rain to wear down rocks!" the hyperactive kid, Ziggy bounced in his chair.

"Sounds like all of you have a good idea of what I'm taking about. That's great," the teacher laughed. " Geology is what they call the study of rock science. And speaking off…"

"I have LOTS of pretty rocks," Stingy sniffed with pride.

"I happen to have a few here to show you," said Miss Lidenbrock, opening the box to her left. She held out several different stones, some rough, and some smooth and shiny. "And like Ziggy said, some take thousands of years to go from this one here… to this one…."

She soon passed the individual rocks around the class. "Why's this one so light! I thought rocks were heavy!" Ziggy bounced in his chair in excitement.

"That's pumice. One of the lightest stones formed in a volcano," said Miss Lidenbrock.

"Oh yes and the other type of volcanic rock is this glass here, isn't it?" Stephanie asked, pointing to the piece of sharp shiny glass.

"No way! It looks like glass!" Trixie snorted, unimpressed.

"It IS glass. Fused silica," said Miss Lidenbrock.

"Wow," Trixie shook her head. Rocks made the circuit of the room.

"I'd like each of you to pick a rock you like, and do a bit of reading on it. Call it a bit of a book report, since each of you already knows a bit of earth science, we can each read them when we get back from the weekend," Miss Lidenbrock said.

"Oh man, homework," Trixie rolled her eyes.

"How many pages?" Stingy asked, palming through his notebook, and counting the loose-leaf paper left.

"Two to three. In addition, if you need some ideas, just ask! I'll be here so if you need any help, just call…"

"Or email?" Pixel asked.

"Email," the young science teacher nodded.

Just then the bell rang, and the students all hastened to push their books into their bags. First out of his seat Ziggy bounded out to the door. Trixie pushed him aside, and Miss Lidenbrock quickly stood up shouting for order.

"Miss Lidenbrock, could I do my paper about quartz?"

"Of course Stephanie," said the science teacher. "Unless you still need more time to catch up since you just entered the class two weeks ago."

Dark brown eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as Stephanie said, "Oh no I'll do the work just like everyone else! I've got all the books I need, and Mrs. Busybody did say the text was the same one we used back home…"

At the mention of those words, the teacher saw Stephanie's dark eyes cloud a bit. Quietly she said, "Is anything wrong?"

"Um well, it's just getting used to a new school and all. I mean I won't have any trouble with the work," she said, hiding the look behind a sweet smile.

"If you need to talk, I'm a listening ear," said Miss Lidenbrock sweetly. "You're not the only newcomer here…"

"I've been here BEFORE… I mean I spent last summer here…"

"I just moved to Lazytown. I worked here but I'm just buying a house," said Miss Lidenbrock. "So I know it's not easy to adjust to actually having your home in a new place. You may just have visited in the past, but it's entirely different to LIVE there."

"Because you can't go home," Stephanie nodded.

"But if you'd rather not talk about it, that's all right too," Miss Lidenbrock said. A hint of her German accent had come out, and Stephanie chuckled a bit.

"You're from Germany aren't you? I mean I've been there before, but it was when I was only a little girl traveling on vacation with my family…"

"It's been a while since I've been back. However, I rather like it here. Reminds me of where I grew up. Anyhow, do you have any more questions about the report, Stephanie?" asked Miss Lidenbrock.

"No I'm fine. But I'll call or stop by if I have any. Say where are you going to be living?"

"Restful Street," said Miss Lidenbrock.

"That's not far from where my uncle… I mean I live," she said brightly. "So if I do have a question I can always stop by and visit."

"Sounds good if that's all right with your uncle," said Miss Lidenbrock. "You'd better run along now. Your friends are probably waiting for you…"

"Yeah, I was supposed to meet them at the basketball court after class!" Stephanie checked her watch. She bounded off, pink hair fluttering around her as she left. Through the window, the science teacher could see her students excitedly talking about whatever nine-year-olds did. Folding her arms across her chest, she chuckled to remember her own childhood days.

This was why she was happy when the Mayor's niece had come to town. Stephanie, the star of her class who was as smart as she was talented at dancing. It was not easy to find many students who were well rounded like she. However, Stephanie was holding back, Gretchen thought. Something about the way she got a faraway look in her eye then snapped back the next moment.

"I know it's not my business, but she IS one of my students," Miss Lidenbrock thought. She gathered her books together and put on her sweater. Soon she began the short walk to the new home she was renting.

Ever since she had come from Intellectual City, she had been well received in the small country town. There were only a few children of elementary school age, and she had done her best to be a jack of all trades. While she was not the only teacher, she had the kids for a good amount of time in Lazytown elementary. A few kids from some of the other hamlets also were bussed in for a combined school.

At first the teacher commuted to a small house, she shared with her parents in Whisperville. She had done a good deal of teaching at the elementary school there, but she wanted a challenge. She would only come to Lazytown in the fall after an ad in the paper said that new teachers were needed. Therefore, after packing up what she had she had driven on windy country roads to the sleepy place. What she found was not quite what she expected. She was no athlete by any means, but she DID like to take a walk. It was one of the other teachers, Mrs. Colleen Readsmore, which convinced her to think about renting a home in the town itself.

"You commute every day. Lord knows how much gasoline you burn up," Mrs. Readsmore had said.

"Very true," Miss Lidenbrock mumbled. "And Whisperville's rent is rather stiff. But lazytown is so… small…"

"But that's what makes it a good place to live. At least recently," Mrs. Readsmore nodded.

"I had heard the kids going on and on about strange things happening this past summer. And it seems I see them out playing a whole lot more then when I first came on an interview here past semester," Gretchen nodded.

"Why don't you check out the ad for the bungalow near the park. It's a small one bedroom, and I know you should be able to afford it on a teacher's salary," Readsmore encouraged her.

"I think I'll check it out. Since it's within walking distance," she nodded. Both teachers got up from the picnic table they had eaten lunch at, and went back into the small school building to finish their day of classes.

On the way to her new home, Miss Lidenbrock walked past the basketball court. Stephanie was zipping all over the macadam, wearing a pair of sneakers, her short skirt flapping. Close behind her was the girl Trixie, struggling to steal the ball. It seemed all right the way she was rapidly playing with her friends, so the teacher waved and continued her stroll down the main road. Past a blue mailbox she stopped, and saw the strange pneumatic tube hooked into it. She then thought little of it, walking along with a chuckle. Overhead a shadow passed, and she raised her hand to block her eyes as the sun was obscured by what appeared to be a sort of blimp.

"There it is again," she commented, narrowing her eyes. It spent most of its time circling the town. Sometimes it was overhead while the school droned on. Other times it was hovering by the Mayor's home. Now it seemed to be dropping in altitude somewhere by the basketball court. Intrigued, the schoolteacher set down her bag and strode back to the court.

Miss Lidenbrock moved closer and sat on the park bench to watch the game. She waved to Stephanie, who stopped and smiled at her. Then the game continued uninterrupted. One minute the children played their game, and she saw a blur of blue suddenly flip into the midst of the rapidly dashing cluster. Shouts and laughs came as they stopped and crowded around the newcomer. The sunlight beamed brightly in her eyes and she soon realized it was none other then the town's protector Colleen had told her about.

She caught a glimpse of the sleek blue outfit and a pointed cap sticking over the heads of the kids as he suddenly spoke in a rapid accent. He seemed to be suggesting to the kids what positions they could play. Soon they had all resumed their impromptu game as they spread out like ripples from a stone tossed in the water. Unlike sinking like dead weight, Number 10 shot all over the court like quicksilver. She heard the clunk of the ball rapidly tapping on asphalt followed by the tap of Stephanie tossing it to him. He then shot up nearly ten feet in the air to slam the ball through the net with ease.

"Yay! One for Sporticus and Stephanie!" shouted Stephanie's clear cheerful voice.

As towns go, Lazytown was small, friendly, and intimate. Things that go wrong would go wrong, but it was never anything that could be handled by its inhabitants or by the hero sworn to protect it. Only a year or so ago had there been a need for someone to pen a letter and shoot it skywards to number 9, a mysterious figure that she had hardly seen but heard of all the way back in Intellectual city. In her own childhood, a hero had protected her village from any danger. Captain Nimrod was well known and liked. Everyone knew that they would be watched over from the 'eagle's nest' he had perched high on the nearby mountainside. Because the town was in a valley, the town Hero could easily see what was happening. With his flamboyant broad brimmed hat he would swoop down on any unsuspecting town bully and use his strength and his crossbow to deal with the threat. Some purse-snatchers had ended up plastered to the side of the town hall by a dozen little bolts pinning him neatly by his shoulders.

After another few minutes, Sportacus happened to swing around and land his eyes on the teacher sitting there. Sticking the ball under his muscular arm, he strode off the court towards her. "Hey, why don't you join us, Miss?" he asked politely.

"Who me?" the teacher blinked. "No I couldn't. You've already got a game going!"

"Hi Miss Lidenbrock, you saw me out there?" laughed Ziggy excitedly.

"Oh it's not a problem is it kids? What do you say, another player makes it more fun?" Number 10 asked turning to his 'team'.

"I'd make a fool out of myself. You go on and I'll just cheer!"

"C'mon, we won't laugh," Stephanie said, moving forwards with her hand held out.

"No I'd just embarrass myself," the teacher said nervously.

"No you wouldn't! C'mon it will be fun!" Sportacus urged.