Chapter 4

The next day was Tuesday, and I awoke bright and early at seven.  I took a quick shower and put on the clothes Elsa had left for me, the uniform I would be wearing for the next four years.  I brushed my longish brown hair back and I brushed my teeth before meeting Cara at 7:30 for breakfast.  We ate with our floor again, and took off for class when the bell rang at 8:00.  In room twenty-nine, I met the freshman Science teacher, who gave me my class schedule.

According to the little yellow slip of paper, I had Algebra 2 first, then Spanish 1, World History, English 1A (advanced), and Arts and Crafts.  After lunch at 11:45, I had Biology, Choir, and Gym, the last class of the day.  Eight classes a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year, except of course at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and summer.  The set up seemed okay, although I loathed the idea of a long school day, except one minor detail at the bottom of the schedule: Saturday – Arts and Crafts, Choir, and Gym.

"Saturday School?" I asked Cara.

"Yep.  Ms. Harper says those classes take more time and effort, so we spend 1 hour doing each.  Instead of starting at eight though, Saturday school starts at ten, so we get to sleep in some.  The rest of the day, from two on, is devoted to chores and then whatever we want to do.  I think she does it so we'll have something to do." Cara replied.

"Well, at least we get a forty minute lunch hour, my old school only gave us twenty, and we get out of class at 2:45, that's got to be before some other schools, right?" I asked.  Cara shrugged and I said, " That leaves four hours of free time and until 9 to finish homework."  I walked down the hall to Algebra and slid into the room just as the bell rang.


"Class we have a new student today.  This is Elizabeth Parker, and she'll be sitting next to Jamie from now on." The teacher said, pointing to a stocky redhead in the third row.  "And by the way, Elizabeth, my name is Ms. Darnel.  Alright class, open your books to lesson twenty-three.  Elizabeth, you can share with Jamie until tomorrow, when we'll get you a book of your own."  I scooted my desk next to Jamie and did my best to follow along, taking notes as fast as I could.  They'd only been in class two weeks before I came, but already they had covered everything from fractions, to square roots, to polar coordinates.

Jamie let me take her book with me so I could finish my homework.  She was already done.  I hurried down the hall and turned right into the History and Language hall.  "Room number six, Spanish 1," I read the sign above the door, and so began second hour.  The teacher followed me in, closing the door behind her.

"Hola clase.  Como estas? Esta es senorita Parker." She said.

"Muy bien, profesora.  Encantada senorita Parker." Mumbled the class.

"Now, senorita Parker, repeat after me, repeaten por favor.  Me llamo Elizabeth." The teacher said.

"Me llamo Elizabeth." I repeated.

"Soy de, "She continued, checking my transcript, "California."  I echoed her again.

"Good, Elizabeth.  Muy bien.  You just said 'my name is Elizabeth' and 'I'm from California'.  Alright, you can sit next to Franscisca.  Later on, you can pick out a Spanish name.  From now on, I am Profesora Tocina." The teacher said.

"Gracias Profesora Tocina.  Que tal? Asi asi.  Excelente, Excelente! De donde eres, Franscisca? Soy de los Estados Unidos, not just California." I laughed.

 Ms. Tocina looked genuinely surprised, but how could she think that I had lived in California without learning a little bit of Spanish?  I mean, you couldn't even go to the grocery store and ask for a bag of ice without knowing some of the language!  I sat down next to Franscisca with a smirk and she smiled at me.  "Do you know what Tocino means?" She whispered.  The word sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on the definition. 

"No, what?"

"Bacon." She laughed.  "Tocino means bacon.  We call her Miss Piggy!" She laughed again, poking me gently in the ribs.  I smiled, smothering a giggle with my hand, enjoying being included in a secret joke so soon.  Miss Piggy tapped the chalkboard with a ruler and the lesson started.  In the short forty minutes, I learned the alphabet, numbers up to a hundred, how to tell time, and the colors, while everyone else reviewed.


At 9:25, the bell rang, and, after calling "Adios" to Ms. Tocina, I filed out of the room with twenty other girls.  I walked three doors down and bumped into a skinny little woman on the other side of the door.  I dropped my notebooks, Jamie's Algebra book, and my new Spanish book, plus the book of Japanese cultures.  The woman dropped a book about Egypt, plus a few maps on projector paper.  The crowd just flowed around us, as if we weren't there.

I desperately tried to scoop up my things, and looked up at the woman I had bumped into.  She seemed much too tall to be a student, with dark blue eyes, and dark red hair pulled tightly back in a bun.  She was as skinny as me, maybe skinnier, but she most certainly had the curves every woman should, curves I didn't quite have yet.  With her being taller, with an air of age about her, she most certainly had to be a teacher.  I had run head first into a teacher, who very well could decide I needed to be punished for it.

 "I'm so sorry. Really, really sorry.  I didn't see you there and I was just looking for World History, and, oh, I'm such a klutz!" I rambled, grappling with my books.

"It's alright, really.  Look, nothings damaged, see." She assured me, patting my shoulder and waving the unblemished maps in front of me.  "It happens, I do it myself all the time, but hey, at least you found what you were looking for."  She pointed to a sign above the door indicating I had indeed found World History.  

"Hey, what do you know?" I laughed.

"So," She sighed, eyeing me, "you must be Elizabeth Parker, the new student."  She guided me into the classroom and flipped on the light.

"How could you tell?" I laughed sarcastically.

"Just a hunch I suppose.  I'm Evelyn Clay, but you may call me Ms. Evy.  I like to keep an informal classroom, so everyone is on a first name basis, I just keep the Miss so people will be able to tell I'm a teacher." She laughed.

"I could tell!" I whined.  "After I ran into you, but I could."

"Really?" 

"Yeah, you're taller than everyone else, you have maps on projector paper, and¼" I replied, suddenly feeling foolish.

"Go on." She urged.

"Well, there's just something about you that makes me think you're older than us, that's all." I finished stupidly.

Some unknown emotion flickered in her eyes a moment, but she turned her back to me and glanced down at my things sitting on the corner of her desk.  "Do you like to learn about other cultures, Elizabeth?" She asked, picking up the book of Japanese cultures and thumbing through it.

"Oh, yes, I love to.  Life in this day and age is so boring, compared to that of the ancient people." I replied adamantly.  She smiled down at me, and I added, "I would love to live in any country and any year other than this one as long as it's sometime BC."

"So would I, Elizabeth, so would I." Ms. Evy agreed, something like grief in her eyes.  "I'll bet you especially like Japan and China, right?"


"Well, no, but I've read all the Egyptian books in this library except the one that deciphers the language and lists all the Gods, I couldn't find that one." I replied.  Ms. Evy walked around her desk, opened the bottom right hand drawer, and pulled out a thick red book.  She slid it across the desk to me and I picked it up.  It was the very same book I'd been looking for.

"You mean that book?  It's one of my favorites.  You may borrow it, if you like.  I got it last Friday and photocopied some things for class.  It's due back next week, but you can always renew it.  If you're the kind of girl I think you are, you're going to love this class." Ms. Evy said smiling down at me.

"Really, you mean it?  I can't seem to get enough of anything about Egypt, Atlantis, The Middle East, South America, or anything about dinosaurs." I gushed.

"Your interested in Atlantis?"  I blushed; everyone always laughs at me for believing in something even scientists say never happened.  I nodded my head.  "And you don't believe it when people say it's not true?"  She continued, studying me carefully.  I shook my head.

 "I believe not only did it exist, but there's more to the story than what Socrates said, but I can't teach it unless it's proven.  Pity." She agreed wholeheartedly.  "Elizabeth, you'll make a great archaeologist someday.  Class is about to begin, so take your things to your seat.  Oh, that's right, um, sit right here in front and I'll move Larissa over there." Ms. Evy said, pointing to the first seat, third row for me, and then the fourth seat, sixth row for Larissa.  "She doesn't pay attention anyway." She giggled.

The class shuffled in around us and the bell rang.  Cara sat one seat behind me and caught me up on where we were.  Ms. Evy handed me a book with King Tut on the front and smiled.  We took notes over the religions of the ancient world. 

"Egyptians had a belief in many Gods, which is called what?" Ms. Evy asked.  I jerked my hand into the air and a few girls snickered.  "I'm sorry Elizabeth, I forgot to tell you.  I believe strongly in freedom of speech, therefore, if you know an answer, just shout it out, okay?"  I dropped my hand back to my desk and smiled weakly.

"Polytheism." I answered.

"Yes!  Now then, what is monotheism?" She continued.

"The belief in one God and that all other Gods are pagan." I answered.

"Good!  Now someone give me three different examples of monotheism."

"Hindu." I said.

"Buddhism." Cara said.  Someone else said Christianity.  We moved on to talk about the culture of ancient Egypt.  I think people got the wrong impression of me, that I was a genius, or stuck-up, because I knew everything Ms. Evy asked, plus some.  Egypt is my major interest, so I've absorbed anything and everything there is to know about it. 


At 10:10, the bell rang and I hurried on to English, room ten.  The teacher, who introduced herself as Ms. LaMont, seated me next to Sidney (Auzzie) and gave me a book.  We read a piece of poetry by Robert Frost, then Robert Service.  I don't remember the Frost poem, something about a wall, but the Service poem was just my style.  It was called "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and I loved it.

Ms. LaMont gave us an assignment just as the bell rang; write a poem that can be summed up in one word.  I had written one the night before, lying in bed thinking.  I'll save myself some work and use that.  Then I followed the crowd to Arts and Crafts, room sixteen, and I had a heck of a time putting glitter back in the jar.  The teacher's name was Ms. Virtuoso.  But, while everyone struggled with beads small enough to fit under your fingernails, I finished a necklace, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings.  Beadwork is one of my favorite hobbies, so it's understandable that I'm pretty good at it.

At 11:45, I made my way to the dining hall and sat down next to Cara and Sidney (Auzzie) when I got my tray.  Ms. Harper walked in and rapped sharply on a table, commanding attention.  "Ladies, let's remember our manners.  Now, we're going to bow our heads and pray."  We said a prayer or two, and then Ms. Harper disappeared again.

"As far as I can tell, this is spaghetti." Cara whispered.

"Nope, it's lasagna." Said Megan (Ice).  Melanie (Shadow) and Mandy (Fire) nodded their heads in agreement.  The girls started digging pennies out of their blazer pockets and setting them on the table.  I looked at Cara for explanation.

"We bet on what lunch is, then we ask the help to find out for sure." She said.

I poked the food in front of me with a fork, dug a penny out of my pocket, set it on the table and said, "Muskacholi, for sure."  Everyone looked at me funny for a moment, and then went back to placing their bets.  Auzzie stopped the nearest woman to find out.

"What, can't you tell that's muskacholi?  You girls should be able to tell by now." The woman said.  All the girls looked directly at me and I shrugged.

"How'd you know that, Liz?" Monica (T) asked.

"My mother attempted to make it all the time, and the result always came out looking like this." I replied.  Cara collected up all the pennies and handed them to me.  I took them silently, dropped them in my pocket, and lunch continued.  I smiled to myself, happy that I'd already started fitting in to Harpy traditions.


"You girls should really stop betting, before Ms. Harper catches you." The woman whispered at us when she passed again.  When lunch was over at 12:25, I went to the Math and Science hall and found room number twenty-nine, Biology.  The teacher was Ms. Davis, and today we were taking notes over genetics.  I got into the zone, I was writing my notes without even looking and thinking of something else.  Someone nudged me and I started out of my thoughts.  Apparently the bell had rung and the teacher was staring at me funny. 

I went to close my notebook and nearly jumped out of my skin.  I slammed it shut and hurried out of the room.  I quickly made my way to the Choir room.  The teacher, Mrs. Samson, was a strict, overbearing teacher, but she was a funny, good-humored soul.  She made us sing scales, one by one; to see what part we would be in.  Then she gave us assigned seats and folders for our music, and we sang the same two songs over and over until we got them right. 

After Choir, it was a relief to be heading to gym, the class I usually loathe the most.  I'd take Coach Jones over Mrs. Samson, or "mean red" as we called her, any day.  Coach Jones was the only male teacher at the school.  The first thing we did after stretching was to see how many sit ups, push-ups, chin ups, and anything else he could think of, we could do.  Then we changed into our swimsuits and swam laps in the pool.  At 2:35, he blew the whistle for us to change back into our uniforms and get our things together.

Coach Jones was by no means a young man, in his late fifties with salt-n-pepper hair.  He stood near six feet tall and was in better shape than most guys his age, and most of us too.  He was nice, though, and I never saw him come down hard on anyone.  A girl had sprained her ankle kicking off the wall in the pool, and, instead of yelling at her, like some coaches would, he just reached down to where she was sitting at the side of the pool, picked her up, and carried her to the nurse as if a feather had more weight to it.  I watched in amazement as he walked across the gym, kicked the door open, and disappeared outside like it was nothing, when really he'd been carrying the heaviest girl in school; Martha Munch, weighing in at a remarkable three hundred pounds!

When the bell rang at 2:45, I practically ran back to my room in the main house.  I put down my books and quickly closed the door.  I sat down at the table and opened my Biology notebook to my notes.  The page that was supposed to be notes wasn't.  It wasn't even English!

I tore the page out and went to Cara's room.  I knocked twice and let myself in.  Cara swung around and stared at me blankly as I walked across the room towards her.  I handed her the piece of paper and said, "Are you good with languages?  Can you tell me what this is?"   

Cara studied the page a moment, the sat down at her table.  She started scribbling furiously in her own notebook and turned to me excited.  "Did you write this?  Where did you get it?" She asked.  I nodded and then shrugged.  "It's pictographs, it looks Incan, maybe Zapotec." She continued.

"Okay, great, but what does it say?" I asked.


"I'm not sure yet, but I can identify a few words.  It says something about 'The One' and prophesied by 'The Mother'." Cara answered.  "I'll keep working on it.  Will you tell me where you saw this?"       

"I didn't.  I was writing my Biology notes, then class was over and that was all over my paper instead of the notes.  Which, by the way, I don't have now.  Can I borrow yours?" I explained.  Cara gave me her notes to copy and went back to deciphering my scribbles.

I finished my homework around four and headed outside for my free time.  I met up with the gang and joined in the game hide and seek.  I felt a bit childish, but the other girls seemed to enjoy it.  I'll admit, it felt good just to run around and be a kid, even for just a little while, and I felt freer than I had in a very long time.  I spent the rest of the afternoon blowing bubbles, hula hoping, jumping rope, and learning different tumbles and flips from the other girls.

I spent the rest of the evening doing chores, eating dinner, and hanging out in my room with the girls.  Around 10:30, Monica (T) slipped out of room eleven and across the hall to my room.  She knocked lightly on my door, slipped inside, and turned on the light.  I groaned and rolled over away from the blinding light.  She tapped my on the shoulder, pressed a letter and a rose into my hand, and disappeared as quickly as she had come.

I bolted upright in bed and ripped the letter open.  It was from Dane and it read:

Dear Elizabeth,

    If you got this, it means you already made some friends.  I sent it down the dumbwaiter and I hope room eleven's occupant gives it to you, whomever that may be.  Do you like the rose?  I thought it might be too old fashioned.  Oh well, I hope it wasn't.

So, how are you?  I'm great.  School is okay, although I don't know what to say when people want to come over.  The guys would freak if they knew I lived in a girl's school.  Well, I guess I'll let you go back to bed now.  Write back soon.

Dane

The penmanship was beautifully scrawled across the small piece of paper.  The mention of people wanting to go to Dane's house reminded me that he wasn't mine, he didn't belong to me, and certainly wasn't going to stay single long.  The good ones never do. I thought bitterly.  I hugged the letter to me, rummaged through my dresser drawers for the stationary Mother gave me a scribbled a reply.  I expressed my love of the rose, along with a few other thoughts.

I sealed the note and tiptoed across the hall to room eleven.  I slipped inside, put the note in the dumbwaiter, and pressed the button to sent it up.  I said a silent prayer that Dane would get it as I tiptoed back to bed.  I slipped into blissful dreams of Dane and me in a thousand romantic stories.