Chapter 6- Lunch Time and Inquiries
Sarah pulled her sweaty hair off the back of her neck. It was hot when she left the house. Now it was just plain stifling Sarah thought of how Kristy Thomas had felt in her old "Baby-sitters Club" books and how she had yelled "Hurray!" If it wasn't bad manners like it was in the book Sarah would have yelled it too. It was worse that the air conditioning was broken and school was no where near over for the day.
Lunchtime couldn't come soon enough. Sarah picked up her books and went to her locker. She took her World History and her copy of "Jane Eyre" out of her locker as World History and Reading were next after lunch. Sarah had always loved books. The bald man from her memory liked books too, but she never could remember which book he was reading to her or even what he sounded like. Sarah only remembered him and the book and how she liked to sit on his lap in the crook of his arm and turn the pages.
"Hey, Sass, you gonna meet us at the pizza place tonight?" Sarah's best friend Avery Tiddle asked. Avery was from Georgia and sounded just like all those Southern belles in every Civil War movie that Sarah had ever seen. Sarah was willing to bet that with Avery's clear complexion, that was the envy of all the girls and her petite frame, Avery would have made a perfect Southern belle. One half expected her to say "Great balls of fire!" like Scarlett O'Hara.
"No, afraid not Avey. Ima has a PTA meeting and me and Abba are having pizza tonight and watching "Air Force One" that Abba bought last month," Sarah said, tucking her books in her arms as the two of them made their way to the cafeteria.
"Oh, sorry. So what did your father say about the girl's basketball team?" Avery asked.
"He still says no. I even told him I probably wouldn't play," Sarah said as they picked up there trays.
"Didn't your dad play basketball?" Avery asked.
"Yeah, more or less, but Abba thinks that since the games are on Fridays that I shouldn't as Shabbat starts at sundown," Sarah said, deciding to tell only half the truth. So far, no one at school knew that Sarah was a mutant and Jackson had said that it was best if everyone still thought that for reasons that he wouldn't tell her.
"Oh, I see. Couldn't you ask your rabbi if you can play on Fridays?" Avery asked as she grabbed an orange juice.
"I tried that once. He said that he didn't want to interfere with a decision that Abba and Ima made regarding Friday night and going to the synagogue on Saturday," Sarah said as she picked up a plate of baked chicken and French fries. Today it was the only meal that looked kosher since Sarah followed the diet even away from the house. She also picked up a bottle of tea since milk wasn't kosher with the chicken.
"Interesting spiritual leader," Avery said.
"I know. He's also the bar and bat mitzvah instructor when a Jewish girl or boy turns thirteen. He never seemed to mind that I would ask 40,000 questions. He said that all Jews ask questions and that I wouldn't be a good Jew if I didn't have them. So, what is your reading class reading?" Sarah asked, changing the subject as they payed for their food and sat down.
"Agatha Christie. We've all started "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." What about you?" Avery asked.
"The Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. We're reading "Jane Eyre" right now," Sarah said, indicating the thick and pocket-sized volume her teacher had given her of the British gothic novel.
"Yeah, you gotta love British authors," Avery said.
"Funny. That's what Aunt Shoshanna said last week at Shabbat dinner when she and Uncle Jonathan came and she asked what we read in reading class," Sarah said, taking a bite of chicken.
"Have your parents said anything to you about some man called Stryker?" Some boy who sat across from Avery and Sarah asked, completely out of the blue.
"No. Who's that, Ward?" Sarah asked.
"He came to my parents' house yesterday asking about some mutant named Amanda Xavier who went missing and he was wondering if we had seen her," Ward asked, eating a roast beef on rye bread.
"How old was she when she went missing?" Avery asked.
"He said about three or four and that was 10 or 11 years ago that she went missing," Ward said.
"How can anyone recognize anyone who was three 10 or 11 years ago? I'm sure I don't look the same now as when I was three. You grow, your face and hair changes," Sarah said.
"That's what Dad said, but Stryker said that she's not even a viable human being and is a freak of nature," Ward said.
"Give me a break. Stryker sounds as if he has a few screws loose. I'm sure there are good people among the mutants. Ima and Abba told me about some woman named Mystique. She's a mutant with blue skin, but she's not a bad person. She saved President Nixon in the 70's," Sarah said.
"Yeah, we've all heard of that one. Dad said she wanted to kill some guy named Bolivar Trask and Erik Lensherr in the 70's," Ward said.
"Yeah, to hear Abba describe it, Trask was a nutcase who thought all mutants were evil because they were different," Sarah said, taking a sip of her tea.
" Dad got angry at Stryker and kicked him out, saying he wasn't about to hurt children, mutant or human. Dad's family has always been like that. My grandfather saved Jews during the Holocaust of the 40's. He would save anyone who needed help. Dad is no exception," Ward said.
"Score one for your dad," Avery said, clearly impressed.
"Yeah, Stryker wasn't as impressed as you, Sass," Ward said as he unwrapped an ice cream sandwich.
"I just hope he doesn't come to my house. Abba has a worst temper than your dad. He would never agree to hurt a mutant kid," Sarah said as she ate her last French fry and swallowed the last of her tea.
"Good point, Sass. I saw your dad freak on Super Bowl Sunday when the team he was rooting for fumbled the football," Avery said, rolling her eyes.
"No kidding. There are reasons why I hate football. Abba acting like that over a game is the biggest reason. Now if you excuse me, I need to head for the library. My teacher wants us to do a paper on somebody famous or a world event surrounding the Holocaust. I saw a book by Saul Friedlander called "Nazi Germany and the Jews." I wanna write a paper on the Holocaust instead of Oskar Schindler or Anne Frank," Sarah said, picking up her backpack and making her way to the library,