8th May 2005: Due to this website's recent outright ban of songfics, I have had to edit all my songfics and remove the song lyrics so as not to have them deleted. I am also reposting all of my other fics (without making changes to them) so that they appear in the right order on my profile. I apologise if this annoys anyone. ((Please note that I am not planning on ever making any further updates to this particular fanfic.))
A/N: Artemis Senior, Angeline, Artemis Junior, Butler and "Butler's Uncle" are all property of Eoin Colfer. Artemis's classmates and teacher(s) are my own characters, please do not use without permission.
This chapter is quite a bit longer than the prologue. Hopefully, this is roughly the length that all of the chapters will be from now on. Yay, more for you to read.
Butler walked with Artemis, holding his hand, leading him along the pavement. They had parked the car a little way from the school, so as to try and present a face of normality. Not that a five-year-old having a bodyguard was normal.
"Butler," whispered a voice at about his knee, "is it alright to be scared?" When he looked down, Artemis's young face was peering earnestly back up at him.
Remembering how terrified he'd been on the first day at the academy, Butler nodded. "Of course it is, Artemis. School is new - you'll be meeting lots of people you don't know, all at once. Almost everyone is just a little bit scared on their first day."
Artemis smiled softly, and turned his head to look forwards again. They were nearly at the school gates now. Lots of other children were being dropped off by their parents; the older ones waved goodbye before rushing in to meet their friends, whilst the ones Artemis's age mostly sidled in slowly, although two or three were clinging to their mothers' hands and bawling their eyes out.
Half a metre before they reached the gates - and Butler came into view of every child in the playground - the two companions stopped. Artemis slipped his hand out of Butler's, took two steps forward, then looked back and said, "goodbye, Butler. I'll see you later?" Butler nodded, and Artemis went on.
As he turned left through the school gates, Artemis took a moment to survey the scene before him. There was a short concrete drive, which widened out considerably after a few metres to become the playground. Beyond that was a long, low building, made out of red brick with a dark red roof. In the space between him and the school, a hundred or so children were rushing around, shouting, chasing each other, playing skip-rope and doing countless other activities. Artemis felt a little dumbstruck. So many people! And there was nobody to protect him from them. He suddenly felt quite alone.
Wandering across to brick wall running along side the playground, Artemis found himself a quiet place to sit. Watching the other children having fun but himself sitting on the sidelines, Artemis' had already chosen his the way his school life was to be without even realising it.
ooooo
Artemis scrambled to his feet. The bell had just rung. All of the older children were lining up, ready to be taken inside. They'd done this many times before. But the younger ones, Artemis' class, were dithering about, not knowing what to do. He sprinted over to join them. After a few seconds, a large door three-quarters of the way down the school to the right opened, and a group of teachers streamed out.
Six of the seven went to the properly formed lines, and one, a young woman with messy black hair that was attempting to escape from her bun, walked towards the mass of children trying to form a line but not quite knowing who should go where.
"Hello, Class R," she called. "I am Miss Hawkins. before we can go inside, we need to get you all sorted out." And she smiled at them. The other lines were being led inside, one by one. "As I read out your names," she took out a register from under her arm, "please get into line." And she began to call the children.
She called ten or so names before she arrived at "Nicole Farrington." A girl with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail skipped over to the end of the line. "Artemis Fowl," came the next call. Artemis walked slowly over to stand behind Nicole, and the roll-call went on.
When she reached the end of the register, Miss Hawkins tucked it back under her arm. "Everybody, please remember who is in front and behind you. Whenever you line up like this, these are the people you need to be next to." She nodded slightly and smiled again. "And now we'll go in, shall we?" And she began to lead the way.
ooooo
Miss Hawkins pushed open the heavy classroom door, and ushered all of the children inside. "Please sit down at your desks, starting from the front and going from this side," she pointed, "to that." Evidently she wasn't going to count upon the fact that each child knew their left from right.
Everyone found their place reasonably easily. Nobody was absent so there were no spaces. And Artemis, already having learned how to read, noticed that there were laminated name cards on the front of each desk.
Settled into his seat, Artemis took stock of the room. It was light and large, or seemed so to the young boy. The walls were a pale off-white, the carpet a soft green. The desks were all feux wood, with painted metal legs a few shades darker than the carpet, and two plastic chairs set out at each - Artemis was sharing his table with Nicole. Up at the front, there was the teacher's desk, which was a little cluttered already. Behind that there was a blackboard fixed to the wall, which had the first ten letters of the alphabet written on it. To the left of that was the door, and to the right, a door without windows - perhaps leading to a supply cupboard? - and a filing cabinet.
Placing the register on her desk, but not sitting down, Miss Hawkins took a pen from a pot on the corner of her desk. "Everybody's here, aren't they?" she said, looking up, more as a statement than as a question. She quickly noted that there were no spare seats, and proceeded to tick off an entire column of boxes. "Good, good." She straightened up, and looked about the room, a half-smile on her lips. It seemed like she was appraising them. Then she turned to the board behind her.
"Now," said Miss Hawkins, "can anyone tell me what this is?" She point to a letter chalked on the blackboard. Artemis put up his hand. "Yes, Edie?" Artemis swivelled in his seat to see who Edie was, dropping his hand at the same time.
Sitting nearly at the back of the class, she had short black hair, blue eyes and a freckled nose. Her hand was still raised uncertainly in the air. "A?" she offered.
"Yes, Edie, very good. Did your parents teach you the alphabet already?" Edie nodded briskly. Artemis turned back to face his teacher just in time to see her flash a quick smile, and then move on to the next letter. "Can somebody different tell me what this letter is?" Artemis confidantly raised his hand again. "Artemis?"
"B," he said, without hesitation.
"Ah, did your parents teach you too?" she smiled at him in a cheeky, comradely way.
"No. I taught myself." He knew immediately that she didn't believe him. Her smile faded a little, and she reached up to play with a little strand of hair beside her ear.
"Oh, are you sure, darling?" her expression was a partonising, tell-me-the-truth-or-I'll-be-sad one.
Artemis frowned and pouted a little. Anyone who knew him - and his home life - would have instantly known that it meant my father is a billionnaire and I have my own bodyguard who'll come and "take care of you" if you mess with me, so don't. "Yes," he answered tightly. "Quite sure."
Her face softened, and she faltered a little. "Oh... er... very good." Evidently she was not used to dealing with child geniuses. "Well, err..." She shook herself, and regained a little of her composure. "Is there anyone else who already knows the alphabet?" Nobody raised a hand. "Edie, Artemis, can you both read?" They nodded. "Go over to the reading corner, then, and pick out something to look at, whilst the rest of us go through the alphabet."
Artemis got up out of his chair, and began to make his way across the room. On his way, he caught the eye of a boy sitting in the row behind him... what had his name been? Michael, that was it. He was half-glaring at Artemis. Perhaps he was annoyed that he was sentenced to learning his letters, whilst Artemis was allowed to read. Whether or not that was so, he didn't look like a particularly nice boy - large and menacing, with a face that seemed made to scowl. Artemis decided to keep out of his way.
Edie was closer to the reading corner than Artemis, so she was already choosing her book by the time he got there. "Did you really teach yourself?" she whispered, as he began to look through the selection. He nodded. "Wow!" She smiled, wide-eyed. "That's great." He shrugged and busied himself with searching for a book, bashful at the praise. Had he known that she would be almost the only person to be impressed, perhaps he would have thanked her.
ooooo
Out in the playground again, Artemis stood alone in a corner. He was shivering; there was a cold wind blowing. He was trying to identify his classmates in the mass of children milling around. So far, he had spotted Edie and Michael talking together. Artemis couldn't think what it might be about, but the two seemed to have parted on good terms a few minutes later. Nicole was nowhere to be seen. The boy after him in the register, Thomas Higgins, a tall brown-haired boy, appeared to be getting on well with a red-headed boy and girl. Twins?
Michael suddenly loomed in front of Artemis. "Hello," he said. Artemis had expected his voice to be low and gruff, but although it was the former, it wasn't the latter.
"Hello," replied Artemis, evenly meeting his gaze.
"So you can read, can you?" asked the boy, a sneer trying to slip onto his face. Artemis wished he could say no, but he didn't want to lie.
"Yes."
"Huh." Michael made a snorting sound. He turned, as if he was about to go, but then looked back. "Boff," he hissed, before marching off.
Slightly stunned, Artemis stood there, not quite knowing what had happened. Michael was evidently jealous. What he could do about it, though, Artemis had no idea. He just hoped that Michael's behaviour would get better in time, or at least remain at an acceptable level.
Artemis had no way of knowing that Michael's, and much of the class's, behaviour towards him would soon take a turn for the worse.