Author's Note: So this one gets a bit historical but you will obviously realize it is setting up for chapters to come. I had to split this into two chapters as I got really into it. This is where I pulled the poem from: . . It is not mine. I also wanted to say thank you so much for the couple of reviews and follows. They were very encouraging. Keep them coming and let me know your thought, feelings, and ideas :)

Chapter 2: The first puzzle piece

Maya

We enter Harper's classroom and each take our respective seats. I look up at the board to see what she has in store for us today. It reads: Sappho: Fragment 31. Oh no... I feel the color drain from my face. I have read this one before. I am surprised that she can teach this in a high school, but I mean this school has always been overly liberal.

I came acrossed it when I was reading poetry. Poetry has a way of creating an image in the same way that I create an image with paint or pencil. I find it beautiful. That is one of my secret hobbies, even Riley doesn't know about it. This one in particular led to more research. Research that lead to a lot more questions. Questions that I had chosen to ignore for a very long time.

Riley

Maya's attitude shifted completely when we got into the classroom. At first, she seemed relieved, but then she went chalk white like she had just seen a ghost. Normally, she is really excited for Harper's class. I think she identifies most closely with her out of all of our teachers, so I'm surprised by her reaction. I lean over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" She says way too quickly. I decide not to push it.

"Alright. I don't know. I was just making sure." I smile at her to further show my acquiescence.

I look up at the board. It says Sappho: Fragment 31. That sounds cool! Sappho is fun to say. It sounds bright and happy. Plus it is mysterious to have a work titled Fragment 31. It sounds like a piece of a puzzle yet to be finished.

"Good Morning students!" Harper begins. "How are we today?"

Everyone groans while I say "Lovely!"

"Well okay then. Tough crowd. Let us get started with our lesson for today. Sappho: Fragment 31. Sappho is an archaic Greek poet. There is not a lot known about Sappho herself. We have bits and pieces of her family life. It is believed that her mother's name was Cleis and the father's name is still under debate. She is believed to have had three brothers. She may or may not have had a husband and a child."

Just from this little bit of lecture I am already confused. Why don't we know anything about Sappho? Why is it questioned if she had a husband or child? So I raise my hand and ask just that.

Maya

Oh no oh no oh no. Harper was keeping it brief. She had not gotten into the possibility that Sappho was a lesbian. I am sure she was leading up to it, but my guess is she would have let us read the poem first so as to allow us to draw our own conclusions. However, Riley in confusion has begun asking questions already.

"Well Riley." Harper responds. "Much of Sappho's life is greatly contested. All we really have to go on is her own poems which have to be translated to English, some other ancient works, and what we have been able to put together by drawing our own conclusions. In the spirit of that, how about we read the poem and then we can continue this discussion based on everyone's questions, including your one about her husband and child Riley." Called it.

Alright she still has not tied it in yet. Why is this making me so nervous? It is probably because I am worried about Riley's reaction. She has not come in contact with homosexuality and this could possibly blow her naive mind. Right? That's definitely it. Nothing else.

Riley

So she didn't really answer my question fully, but it makes sense that not having written history and issues with translation could cause some issues in filling in the blanks of Sappho's life. I still think it is odd that she is so widely debated. Like why? She is just another female poet.

Harper begins handing out a sheet with the poem on it. She prefaces this with the fact that there are several different translations and this is just one of them. I begin to read it:

He seems an equal of the gods,

That man who sits across from you

And your sweet speaking, being near,

Can overhear

And that seductive laugh, which sets

the heart to flutter in my chest

For when I glance your way, my words

Dissolve unheard.

Silence breaks my tongue and subtle

fire streams beneath my skin,

I can't see with my eyes, or hear

through buzzing ears.

Sweat runs down, a shiver shakes

Me deep - I feel as pale as grass:

As close to death as that, and green,

Is how I seem.

I have to read it a few times. I am not totally sure what she is getting at at first. When I read through the second time, I realize she is speaking about the woman. The third time I realize how highly she speaks of this woman. Who is this woman? Is this her best friend? Her Maya?

Maya

So I read through it again. I look over to try to gauge what Riley is thinking. I can tell she is reading through it a few times, trying to pick each portion apart for understanding. She seems to have something to say as she starts writing things on the paper. This is when Harper starts speaking. "So class, give me your thoughts? Your questions?"

Riley's hand immediately shoots up. "Yes Riley"

"So other than the first line, Sappho is speaking about the woman right?"

"Yes she is."

"Okay… so who is this woman? And what is her relation to Sappho?"

Wow Riley really dived right in with that question. Harper opens it up to the class. I sit quietly to see what others say. Smackle goes first. "So there are a couple things that stuck out to me. In the second strophe, she mentions a seductive laugh and how that makes her heart flutter. Then in the third strophe, I think she is talking about being incapable to speak or function. Then the fourth strophe, I underlined green. I know green usually represents jealousy."

Farkle says "To add to that, I feel like the poem is unfinished. Like the one line at the end just hangs there."

Harper listens intently. I am internally freaking out. They have basically pointed out the things that have been hotly debated as to why Sappho is most likely a lesbian.

Harper then says "Those are definitely the important portions of the poem. In fact, those are the exact things that historians have been looking at for years. I will say, Farkle, you are correct. The poem is unfinished. That is known almost for certain. So we may not know how Sappho continues but we do have this portion to go on. Does anyone want to try to answer Riley's questions? The ones about who the woman is and her relation to Sappho." There is a long silence.

Lucas just throws out there "Are they friends?" He never really knows what is going on in the class but when people are silent he just puts something out there. Harper responds "well that is one way of looking at it. Maya what do you think?"