IN THE FUTURE

Everyone around him sat down in the middle of the hard, wooden gymnasium floor, so Will followed suit and looked intently at the man standing in front of him. The man was very thin, had a small mustache, and looked very bouncy and fun. He was holding a clipboard and was shouting names out.

"Aaron!" the coach shouted, peering at his clipboard. A small boy squeaked, "Here!" and the coach proceeded to the next name. The coach shouted at least twenty-four names and received at least twenty-four "here's" when he finally put his clipboard down and clapped his hands.

"All right, today we're going to have a go at archery! Can anyone explain what that is?" the coach asked briskly.

Will's sprits lifted. Archery was the only thing he was good at; maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all...

Will's hand shot up into the air. The coach looked in Will's direction and smiled. "Yes, Cubby?" he asked. "I haven't heard from you in a long time." Will genuinely smiled back. "It's basically what we call shooting arrows with bows," he said simply.

The coach looked surprised. "Very good, Cubby! That's the best answer I've gotten from you this year!"

Will beamed. He was starting to like the coach. Then the coach gestured for the students to follow him and everyone followed him outside.

There were six peculiar targets set up on the mossy grass, three plastic bows were lying at each target, and six quivers full of arrows on the ground. The coach shouted, "Line up at one of the targets, three people at each target, now! The first person in line, take a bow!"

Will was the last in his line; he watched eagerly as the first person, who was a brown-haired girl with glasses, pick up a plastic bow as though it were a poisonous snake. The coach picked up his own longbow and showed the rest of the class how to hold it properly. The first people in line all tried to copy the position. The coach checked everyone's hand position to make sure they were correct, then proceeded to the next step.

"Now, pick one arrow from the quiver...CAREFUL, ADAM! Don't point it at Jack, you could've hurt him...now nock the arrow like this...and now put your bow upright, pull with your three fingers...and release!"

Three arrows were shot, one of them hit the target but the others hit the floor. The one that had hit the target was nowhere near the bull's-eye, and all the rest of the people hadn't shot at all. They either hadn't been able to, or were confused on how to.

The coach didn't look disappointed at all. He looked very gleeful. "Very good, everyone! Archery isn't very easy, is it? Now, everyone, bows down, go get your arrows!"

The people who had shot arrows put their bows down and went to retrieve their arrows. Will was very eager for his chance. Then the second people in line picked up their bows and attempted to shoot their arrows...and then it was Will's turn. Will keenly picked up the plastic bow. He didn't even listen to the coach's instructions on how to nock the arrow and whatnot; Will was already pulling back and preparing to release...

Will fired. The arrow hit with a THUD on the target, right in the center of the bull's-eye. The coach looked up, apparently surprised. His gaze went to the arrow fired by Will, and he yelped happily. "Yes, yes, Cubby! Very good job! Do it again!"

So Will picked up another arrow, nocked it, and fired. The arrow hit the bull's-eye again. Everyone cheered. The coach looked very happy. "Wonderful, Cubby! You're the very first student who's done two bull's-eyes in a row!"

Will beamed. This gym class was fun.

Everyone had some more turns at shooting arrows (all the arrows Will shot hit the target, all of them on or near the bull's-eye). Then, the bell rang again. Will looked at the quiver of arrows in front of him, and he got an idea. What if he took the arrows? Then he could use his bow that was hidden inside the Janitor's closet and he could sneak outside and practice shooting anytime he wanted. Will glanced at the coach. He was talking to the boy Adam, so Will picked up the quiver of arrows and quickly headed for the exit. Before he had taken two paces, though, a dark-haired boy behind him spoke. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the boy advised. "There are security cameras."

"Se-cure-it-ee ca-mer-ahs?" Will said blankly.

The boy nodded and pointed to a security camera that happened to be nearby. Will looked curiously at the black camera, and stared into the lens. He made a funny face at the camera, made weird noises, and jumped up and down. The camera was recording every movement. Will finally stopped. "What does a seturitah-whatever-it-is do?" asked Will.

"It prevents people from stealing stuff from the school," the boy said. "Like a few moments ago, when you were making those faces at the camera, it was recording it."

Will frowned. "Do people watch the camera things?" he asked, looking at the security camera with interest.

The boy nodded. "Oh, yes. I bet someone just watched you make those silly faces, you know. Probably the principal. So I advise you to put those arrows back, and move on with your next class." The boy hurried off, but Will caught up to him. "Er...what's my next class?"

The boy turned. "Reading class is next. We have a spelling test, remember?" The boy gestured for Will to follow him.

Will nodded. "Right, hold on, let me put the arrows back." Will raced back into the gym, put the arrows back into the quiver, and then raced back outside. He followed the boy, thinking hard. Spelling test? They had a spelling test? He hoped he didn't have to spell hard words. Will nervously entered a new room, which was covered with posters saying Dare to read and Spelling is telling. Will sighed a breath of relief. There were name cards placed on the desks. Will found the desk that said "Cubby". He sat down, and stared at the items on his desk. There was a strange orange writing tool with a pink rubber thing at the top, and also a blank sheet of parchment.

Will help the writing tool up to his eyes, studied it, and decided that he was supposed to write with the pink rubbery end. He put that end to the parchment, paused, and wrote an "A". There was no mark left by the writing tool. Frustrated, Will flipped the pencil to the other end, the sharp pointy end, and wrote an "A" again. This time, a dark grey "A" was marked and Will smiled. This was an interesting writing tool.

He got an idea. Will took the pink rubbery end and traced over the "A" that he'd just written. Magically, the rubbery end had made the mark disappear! Will eagerly wrote his name at the top of the paper, and gazed at the teacher. She was short, stout, and looked very strict.

The teacher spoke in a loud, clear voice. "As you all know, there is a spelling test today. Write your name at the top of your paper." She waited a few seconds, and then continued. "The spelling test will now begin."