A collection of character-centric drabbles, now COMPLETE! Drabble No. 100: Where there is an ending, there is a beginning. Where there is loss, there is gain. And where there is the dark, the dawn shall come to sweep the past away. Personal favorites: chapters 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 24, 27, 38, 39, 40, 41!, 45, 50, 53, 56, 58, 60!, 63!, 68, 69, 70, 75, 77, 84!, 95, 99!, 100
A.N. – Just to prove that I occasionally lurk at Xana's Lair, I'll do this week's drabble challenge. Except that this is 400 words, not 100. And I'm not a member of XL, but that's another story. Here's the drabble.
A rumble, slow and persistent, echoed through the quiet classroom. Heads swiveled around to spot the source of the disturbance, a point made moot when the culprit raised his voice.
"Can I go to the infirmary?"
Ms. Hertz did not pause in writing equations on the blackboard. She had heard it all before – both the line and the rumble. At least Della Robia had the decency to ask it as a question rather than tossing it over his shoulder as an excuse while walking out the door. She did not need to look back to know the boy would be squirming in his seat with a hangdog look on his face. Acknowledgment was the first step to acquiescence. Still, something had to be said, before a real disruption occurred.
"Della Robbia, please come up here and write the solution." She proffered the chalk and she swore his hair drooped as he trudged up. Ms. Hertz placed the chalk in one hand as the other shooed him toward the board. He looked balefully back – at her or the apple on her desk, she wasn't sure. She spoke low, so only he could hear, "Fractions, then food."
Odd's eyes lit up and he gripped the chalk with determination. He studied the scrawl in front of his and tried to block out the whispers and titters behind him. He read it through twice, but all he could think about was just how hungry he was. Whoever had scheduled mathematics right before lunch was going to pay.
But mentally fuming would not get him to lunch; solving the math problem would. Odd drew a zero and turned back to his teacher. "I'm running on empty, here."
"You are," Ms. Hertz said. Odd scowled, and the bell rung. The scrape of chairs and pounding of feet filled the halls. He started to go back to his desk to collect his things, when Ms. Hertz's last word reached his ear, "…correct."
And suddenly the hollow pit in his belly didn't feel quite so empty, the hunger pangs less pronounced. Ms. Hertz smiled at Odd. "You can do this, with the right motivation. Keep that in mind. Now go." Odd didn't need telling twice as he dashed to pick up his things. He had a foot over the threshold before Ms. Hertz's voice stopped him.
"Oh, and Della Robbia? Next time you use that excuse, it's detention."
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