Playground
Cezille07
Self-esteem problems begin early in life.
Chapter 2. A Voice in My Head.
The moment he was seated comfortably in a nice empty desk in his classroom, a large yellow bus with a large placard bearing the word 'Tourist', came. He watched a string of children, perhaps as old and big as he was—or rather, young and small, and adults who seemed to be their parents, fall in line and proceed to the school yard just beyond his view, headed by a nice-looking teacher. As the last of the children disappeared behind the walls, someone had tapped his shoulder.
"Hello, you. I'm Mattie, this is my best friend Patty," the girl with glasses and dark, shoulder-length hair said. "Your name is Zick, right? We want to make friends with everyone, and you're next on our list."
Zick smiled. His first friends? "Alright. But how did you know my name?"
"Oh we know everything," remarked Patty. "We know where you live, for example. And we would know what you had for breakfast this morning too if we had better sources. But we'll get there."
He chuckled. "Cool! What else do you know?"
"We'll know more after you let us interview you," Mattie answered.
The door opened. A woman wearing a dress similar to the one he just saw entered. "Good morning, children!" she greeted.
Mattie looked at him darkly and winked before slipping away to her seat.
The teacher spoke again. "My name is Petula Swift, but you can call me Teacher Petty or Ms. Swift. I'm your teacher, and together we will all learn about many things," she said cheerily. "Now I want to know each of you first. When I call your name, please stand up and say something about yourself."
She proceeded to opening the folder she was carrying, and trying to look for the class list.
This is going to take very long, thought Zick. Bored, he turned his attention to the window again.
There was a little girl, red-haired, lost but looking well on her own. She was wandering around the bus. He assumed she was one of the tourist people who went to the school yard for some artefact of sorts but got left behind. She didn't notice him staring. He, on the other hand, could figure out what she was mouthing.
"Where are the other kids? Oh no, I'm lost! But ooh, I like this place, it's nice and warm and...."
"David?" called Teacher Petty.
The blond boy he first met stood up.
"Go on, tell us something about you," Teacher Petty encouraged. "Anything we would like to know?"
David gulped.
I don't know, okay? That's very hard!
"I don't know, okay? That's very hard!" the boy admitted.
Zick paused for a moment and wondered if the voice he heard in his head predicted what David answered, or if he just imagined it.
"Anything?" urged the teacher.
David sighed. "Well, my name is David McMackamack. I like reading. I also like playing with other people."
Teacher Petty clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Who wants to go next?" A few hands shot up into the air. "Mattie?"
Patty and me are best friends, and we like to know everything!
"Patty and me are best friends, and we like to know everything!" she declared.
Zick looked at Mattie. There was that voice again. What was happening? Now that can't be a guess, can it? But what if it was? Maybe someone was whispering it behind him. He turned to the desk one row behind.
It was empty.
He went by generally unnoticed for the rest of the morning, except for when Teacher Petty finally called him.
"Zick?"
He didn't have to be called. He heard this 'voice' again, calling his name before Teacher Petty thought of it.