A Land Without Magic

by Model Builder

Two years after the abrupt defeat of You-Know-Who in the UK, the American Wizarding Community's sense of complacency was shattered by an event known as the 10/22/83 Maine Incursion. Who are the Invaders from the Enchanted Realms and what do they want? And will a ten-year-old muggle boy who claims to have been inside the Incursion be able to answer these and other questions?

13. The New Girl in Class

Chapter 13: The New Girl in Class

At Stonewall Elementary school, Jenny Jordan looked around and decided that Miss Sherman's Fifth Grade classroom was not too different from Miss Peasgood's Fifth Grade classroom back at Collinsport Elementary. Except for minor details, (such as a map of Missouri on the wall, instead of a map of Maine, and a poster featuring Mark Twain instead of Stephen King,) the layout of the room, the artwork on the walls, the Science Fair projects on tables off to the side, the cubbyholes for lunchboxes and closet for coats in the back of the room, the class pet turtle and the textbooks had a familiar feel to them that any American schoolchild could immediately recognize.

Miss Sherman asked Jenny to put her coat in the closet and her hat and gloves in the cubbyhole that Miss Sherman had just labeled for her, then to take an empty desk near the middle of the room. She said that she would introduce Jenny to the rest of the students after the morning announcements. Miss Sherman then took her seat at the desk up front moments before the first students began to file into the room. They came in, about thirty of them in all, stopping to put their things in their assigned cubbyholes and the closet, taking a quick look at the New Girl as they did before sitting at their desks.

For the most part, the students here even resembled the ones at Jenny's former school. The kids in Ms. Sherman's class were a cross-section of ethnicities and about equally divided between boys and girls. Oh, the names were different, but she could easily recognize the types.

Here was the Athletic Boy, who could run faster and jump higher and throw a ball further than anyone else in the entire school. Jenny could see him and Cory becoming best friends (or at least friendly competitors,) easily. There was the Most Popular Girl, surrounded by her entourage of friends who were trying their best to dress and act like Seventh Graders. She also saw the Class Clown, the Quiet, Bookish Girl, and the Class Know-it-all.

There were other types as well. The AV kid. The Tomboy. The kid using a wheelchair. The kid who got math easily. The kid who won every Spelling Bee. The Cub Scout in his crisp, blue uniform with a newly earned Webelo Badge, and his Brownie counterpart with her beret and sash. The Class Loud Mouth. And, of course, the Teacher's Pet whose hand would shoot up like a rocket at the first sign of a spitball.

There was also the "bit players;" the majority of the kids who obligingly laughed when the Class Clown cracked-wise and just as obligingly "oooooooohhh'd" when the teacher admonished the kid to behave or he would be paying a visit to the Principal's office.

But unlike Collinsport Elementary, Jenny knew that she was the only kid (only person, for that matter,) in her entire school who could do magic, and as such, she had a very big responsibility to keep the secret of The Wizarding World from her muggle classmates.

Jenny's thoughts were interrupted when the intercom came to life with the chimes of a xylophone. The buzz in the classroom stopped as the students stood, hands on hearts, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the music of a well-worn record. Jenny knew the routine, and followed along. When the students all sat down, and the announcements over the intercom were done, Miss Sherman motioned for Jenny to come to the front of the room.

"Good morning, students," said Miss Sherman. After the class replied in unison, she continued, "We have a new girl who will be joining our class today. Her name is Jennifer Jordan, and she comes to us all the way from Maine, from a town called Collinsport."

"Why do we always get the new kids?" This came from the boy that Jenny had identified as the Loud Mouth. Several of the Bit-Players voiced just enough agreement to not get themselves in trouble. Then every kid turned to look at a boy sitting in the back. His eyes were downcast at his desk, looking at an open textbook that he was pretending to read. More disturbing to Jenny were the vast majority of the kids who remained silent.

But Miss Sherman was not silent. "Eyes front, class; I'm not finished speaking." The kids turned their attention from the boy in back to the front of the room. Miss Sherman asked the kids in her classroom to introduce themselves to Jenny, which they all did, starting with the kids in the first row, working their way back.

When it was the boy in back's turn to introduce himself, he had to say his name twice because the first time he spoke too quietly to be heard. "Owen. Owen Flynn." For a moment, his eyes met with Jenny's. He was a slightly chubby, brown-haired boy who looked a little disheveled, and Jenny wondered why his mom and dad let him go out of the house looking like that. Jenny offered him a friendly smile, but the boy looked away, and before Jenny could think anything more of it, the introductions were done and Miss Sherman instructed the class to open their math books.

"Please work the first five problems on page 78," said Miss Sherman. "And remember to show your work, class."

Jenny began work on the first problem. Fortunately, Miss Peasgood used the same math book in her class, and they had finished with page 78 a week ago, just before the Incursion from the Enchanted Realms came through. Jenny remembered the answers, and began to slowly write out her answers to the problems on a sheet of notebook paper. As she did so, she discreetly looked around the room. To her right, the Most Popular Girl smiled and slipped her a note that read, "Meet me and my friends at recess." Without anything to lose, Jenny smiled back and nodded.

When recess finally came, Jenny put on her coat and joined the Most Popular Girl, whose name was Lori, and her two friends, M'Kayla and Ashli . Lori was taller than Jenny by almost half a foot. Both girls had black hair, but while Jenny wore hers in a simple-to-maintain pixie cut, Lori's hair was almost down to her waist. Jenny noticed that Lori looked a little like Brooke Shields, and she seemed to be doing everything possible to play up the similarities. M'Kayla was African-American and wore her hair in an elaborate cornrow style decorated with beads. The last one was Ashli, who wore her blonde hair as long as Lori wore hers. Jenny noted that Ashli seemed to be the lowest in this clique's pecking-order, and was being extra friendly to Jenny; probably hoping to move up a notch if Jenny was accepted by Queen Bee Lori. As the four girls went out to the playground, Ashli complimented M'Kayla on her hairstyle and asked if she could help fix her hair like hers so she could look like Bo Derek.

Jenny sighed. It was going to be a long recess . . . .

Lori led the three other girls to one corner of the playground and once they got there, they had a million questions for Jenny but oddly, no time to allow her to answer. This was almost a relief for Jenny since she could barely understand Lori, who asked most of the questions, but spoke rapid-fire with an exaggerated Valley-Girl accent, barely coming up for air.

"So, like, Jenny, what dress size are you? Do you own any, like, designer jeans? Were you like, popular where you went to school before you came here? So, like, do you think that Scott Baio is, like, a total hunk? I was like totally into Scott Baio last year but now I'm like, grody to the max, okay? I'm so sure! I like, you know, boys like Christopher Atkins, now. Did you, like, see him in "The Blue Lagoon . . . ?" But then to Jenny's horror, Lori asked her last question and then stopped talking as she and her two friends focused on Jenny, awaiting her answer: "So, like, Jenny, do you, like, have a boyfriend . . . ?"

Then Jenny noticed a group of kids near the middle of the playground standing in a circle. They seemed to be tossing something back and forth between them as a boy scrambled in the center of the circle to try and catch whatever it was that they were tossing. And then Jenny realized that the boy was Owen Flynn. Keep-away, thought Jenny. Those kids are playing keep-away with Owen. Then Jenny corrected herself. They were playing keep-away at Owen's expense.

Jenny said, "Why are they doing that to Owen?"

"Owen?" said Lori. "You mean, like, the derelict from New Jersey? Barf me out and gag me with a spoon!" The other girls voiced agreement with Lori, and M'Kayla even suggested that maybe Jenny liked Owen as a boyfriend. Otherwise, why would she care . . . ?

Jenny went over to where the kids were teasing Owen, leaving the other girls behind. The closer she got, the more kids from her class she could recognize. The Athletic Boy, who introduced himself in class as Chris, was leading the other kids, and had just caught what they were throwing between them. Chris towered over Owen by almost a full foot, and had no trouble keeping Owen's property just out of the shorter boy's reach. Jenny could see that Owen had been crying and the other kids were laughing.

Jenny wished that Corey's family had come to St. Louis with her family. Chris was a bit taller and more muscular than Corey was. But Corey did not like bullies any more than Jenny did, and Corey was wiry and quick. Jenny had never seen Corey in a real fight; he could make friends with anyone. But Jenny was certain that if Chris started anything, then Corey would finish it.

But the Martindales had moved to a Chicago suburb called Schaumburg, where the Potomac Shore Wizard's Hospital was setting up an emergency, "Fall-Back" station in case whatever was behind the Incursion made its move against our world.

"Give it back!" screamed Owen in a hoarse voice. "My dad gave it to me! It's MINE! Give it back!"

Jenny wanted to go up to Chris and punch him in his stomach, (or even a little lower,) to help Owen. But Jenny knew that boys – especially muggle boys - were funny about things like that. They did not like it when girls came to their rescue. This was not so much a problem in the Wizarding World, where the ability to wield magic made the sexes more-or-less equal. But she could see the muggle boys in her class shift uncomfortably whenever the teacher read stories like "Hansel and Gretel," or "The Snow Queen;" where it was the girl who rescued the boy . . . .

Chris threw the item they took from Owen to another boy, and Jenny clenched her fists in frustrated rage. When she did, she realized that she was holding something, and immediately realized that it was the item that the other kids were keeping from Owen. The other kids looked around to see where it went, and quickly lost interest when nobody said they had it. They drifted away, leaving Owen, near tears, standing alone. Jenny looked at the object that she had magically pulled out of the air from the group of bullies. It was a handmade, brown keychain lanyard. Jenny and Karen had made similar ones themselves on a couple of rainy, Saturday afternoons a year ago.

Jenny worried about what had happened, not only for Owen, but for her family as well. She had violated both the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Magic. But the arrival of the Incursion forced the FBS to spread themselves thin. Maybe her violation had not been detected. But if this was detected, she could get into a lot of trouble. Her dad could get into a lot of trouble.

But thinking about this had to wait until later. Jenny suddenly realized that Owen was staring at her. Jenny took a deep breath, and approached the boy slowly, holding out her hand with the lanyard that she got away from the bullies by involuntary magic. Jenny handed the lanyard to Owen, and said, "Here, I –" But before she could say any more, Owen snatched the lanyard back and ran off. Moments later, the bell announcing the end of morning recess sounded and the kids all went back inside the school.

Throughout the day, Jenny watched as her classmates teased Owen Flynn at every opportunity. Even the Teacher's Pet said nothing, unless it was to report Owen whenever he attempted to retaliate. At lunch time, Owen sat as far away from the others as he could, barely avoiding an attempt by Chris to trip him as he carried his tray to the collection area after wolfing down his lunch so he could go outside, away from the others. Jenny did not see Owen on the playground after lunch, nor was she able to locate him during afternoon recess.

When school finally let out for the day, Jenny hung back to ask her new teacher about Owen and why the other kids were being so mean to him. But Miss Sherman said that she was unable to discuss private matters about other students.

Reluctantly, Jenny nodded and turned to go. But before she could leave the classroom, Miss Sherman said, "Jenny, if you will come back in for a moment, I might be able to tell you a story that might answer some of your questions." Jenny came back in, took the desk closest to Miss Sherman's desk, (the one belonging to the Teacher's Pet,) and sat down, assuming the hands folded posture.

Miss Sherman cleared her throat, and began. "Once upon a time, there lived a young prince in a far off kingdom. Now, this prince was a very happy prince. He had a nice room to call his own in the castle that he lived in with his parents, the king and queen. He had plenty of toys to play with. He had plenty to eat and nice clothes to wear. But most of all, he had two, loving parents. And he also had plenty of friends where he went to school. The prince's life was very, very good and he was very, very happy.

"But then one day, tragedy struck the young prince and his family. His mother, the queen, died unexpectedly, leaving the prince and his father the king alone. But they were strong, and they had each other. Six months after the death of the queen, the king and the young prince decided that they would go on a camping trip together. But tragedy continued to follow them. No one in the kingdom knew what had happened, but a few days later, the young prince was found wandering the road, alone, without the king.

"The prince told everyone who would listen to him that the king had been taken captive by an evil witch who lived in a magical kingdom that could not be seen. The police searched for the king and the mysterious kingdom, but could find neither. They could not even be certain whether or not the king was alive or dead. Eventually, the sad, young prince had to leave the land that he loved to live with his uncle, who was king of a far off land. And while the prince's uncle cared deeply for the young prince, the prince was still not happy, and found it difficult to make new friends in his uncle's land. Sadly, the other children teased the prince relentlessly, making him more and more unhappy and desperate."

Jenny nodded. "What happened next, Miss Sherman?"

"Well, then one day, a pretty young princess who was also from a far off land came to the land of the prince's uncle. And while the other children saw the prince as someone to make fun of, the princess would have nothing of it, and sought to befriend the prince. And she had two most wonderful gifts for the prince; the gifts of friendship and hope."

"Hope?" said Jenny. "What kind of hope?"

"The hope that is the basis of all fairytales, Jenny," said Miss Sherman smiling. "The hope that no matter how bad things may seem at the time, that life can always get better. But for the prince's life to get better, he has to hold onto the hope that a better life is possible. This is the real lesson of the stories that we call "Fairytales," Jenny. That to believe in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing. The young prince forgot this. But maybe the princess can remind him that he needs to hold onto hope for life to get better, and if nothing else, knowing that he has at least one friend at school will help him do this."

Jenny thought about this for a moment, and said, "How does the story end, Miss Sherman?"

"Well, Jenny, I cannot say how it ends," said Miss Sherman. "That chapter of the story has yet to be written." Jenny nodded, and Miss Sherman continued. "Now, on a slightly different matter, our class has its Swimming Lessons at the high school for Gym Class, tomorrow. Do you have a swimsuit that you may wear?"

"No, Miss Sherman," said Jenny. "My mom will be bringing my swimsuit from Maine when she comes back Monday night. But I do have a pair of cutoffs and a dark tee-shirt. May I wear that instead, tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid not, Jenny. School rules require a simple, one-piece swimsuit for girls, and cutoffs are not allowed for either girls or boys. Tomorrow, you will have to watch the class from the pool's bleachers. You may bring a book to read, if you like."

Jenny nodded, and started to go outside, then turned and said, "Oh, Miss Sherman? One more thing . . . ."

Miss Sherman smiled, and said, "And what would that be, Columbo?"

Jenny grinned, and said, "Can you tell me where the young prince and his father in the story went camping?

Miss Sherman nodded and said, "They went camping in your old neck of the woods, Jenny. They went camping in Maine, about two weeks ago." Miss Sherman then noticed that Jenny's eyes went wide and her mouth opened in surprise. "Jenny? What is it? Are you alright . . . ?"

"Uh, sure, Miss Sherman; I'm fine . . . ," said Jenny. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." Jenny ran out and her mind raced as she began to connect the dots. When she got outside, her father and little brother were waiting for her. Then Jenny remembered that her father promised her a surprise when she got home, and Jenny set her forming theory of what may have happened to Owen aside for the moment.

When Jenny got back home, the first thing that she noticed was a wonderful smell of something cooking. Jenny followed her nose to the kitchen where Mrs. Lovegood stirred a pot on the stove while Mr. Lovegood held baby Luna as he sat at the kitchen table. The water was running in the sink as dishes washed themselves. Though her dad never used such a spell when it was his turn to do the dishes, Jenny had seen Karen's mom and dad and Corey's mom wash dishes like that. It was definitely a spell that she wanted to learn one day.

Mr. Lovegood noticed Jenny, and said, "Hello, Jenny. How was your first day at your new school?"

"It was okay," said Jenny. Except for the bullies picking on Owen and the Valley Girls, that is, thought Jenny to herself. Fortunately for her, she had the opportunity to smoothly change the subject. "That smells good, Mrs. Lovegood! What is it?"

"Just a little something that I whipped-up for dinner, Jenny," said Mrs. Lovegood. "Your father tells me that you have never had lemongrass chicken before, so I thought that it would be a nice treat. I've also made a salad and some fresh, baked bread. We'll be eating, soon, so you will want to wash up, and then you may help me set the table."

Jenny nodded. "I can't wait to try it, Mrs. Lovegood." She then turned to her father, and said, "Is this the surprise you told me about?"

"Actually, Jenny, the surprise is upstairs," said Ren. He picked up Ricky, and said, "Just follow me." Jenny followed her father to her parents' bedroom. In addition to the queen-sized bed the Morrises had brought for Jenny's mom and dad, there was a dresser with a large mirror. "It will still be a couple of days before the telephone company can hook up our phone. But we're not quite out of touch with everyone else; anymore . . . ." Jenny smiled as her father took out his wand and tapped the mirror frame. She could guess what the surprise was and was not disappointed when her reflection vanished and was replaced by a very familiar face.

"Hi, Healer Martindale!" said Jenny as her smile turned into a broad grin.

"Hello, yourself, Jenny," said Rachel Martindale. Then to Jenny's dad, she said, "So, how do you like St. Louis? Did your move go smoothly?" Rachel then made funny faces at Ricky, who laughed in delight as she listened to Ren's answer.

"We survived the move, Rach," said Ren. "And the neighborhood we moved into is a very beautiful one. But it's going to take us some time to adjust. How's Ken and Corey taking this?"

"Ken's fine, Ren," said Rachel. "We're in Schaumberg now, helping to set up the fallback position in case Potomac Shore is . . . overrun. Corey's in his new school and is already making new friends, but is disappointed that there is no surfing in the Midwest. He's thinking of using his surfboard fund to buy a BMX bike, now. Oh, and that reminds me, there is someone here who wants to say hello, Jenny . . . ."

Rachel said goodbye to Jenny and her father and little brother, and then stepped aside and her son appeared in the mirror. Wearing a brand-new Chicago Cubs cap and grinning broadly, Corey said, "Hey, Jenny! How goes it?"

Ren said, "You've got about a half an hour before you need to help Mrs. Lovegood set the table. I'll be up to get you, then." After saying goodbye to Corey, Ren and Ricky Jordan went back downstairs to give Jenny some privacy.

Corey said, "So, how do you like your new school? Mine isn't too bad. But I miss Collinsport Elementary."

"Me, too," said Jenny. "I like my new teacher, Miss Sherman. But most of my classmates are a bunch of dweebs." Jenny told Corey about her first day and about how the kids in her class were either merciless to Owen Flynn or indifferent to his suffering.

Corey nodded. Bullying was not unheard of at Collinsport Elementary. But given the presence of magic users at their old school, every effort was made to deal with it as swiftly as possible before things could get out of hand. Even then, most of what passed for bullying at Collinsport Elementary was relatively minor compared to the way that Jenny described how her class was treating Owen. "Got any idea why they are singling Owen out for The Treatment?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," said Jenny. "And you won't believe it . . . ." Jenny told Corey about the story that Miss Sherman told her, and could see the look on Corey's face as he was undoubtedly coming to the same conclusion as Jenny when she first heard her teacher's story.

"Are you going to tell your dad, Jenny?" said Corey seriously. "You've really got to; especially after what you did with Owen's lanyard. If nothing else, it may get you out of trouble if you report yourself to the FBS before they find out, themselves."

"But I'm still not sure, Corey," said Jenny. "I mean, if Owen and his dad were trapped inside the Incursion when it came through, then how did Owen escape? No, Corey, I need to find out more before I say something to Owen that might risk exposing us to the rest of the world."

"How are you planning to do that? I mean, it's not like you can just go and ask him if he and his dad were taken captive by some evil witch from the Enchanted Realms who lives in an invisible town somewhere in Maine."

"I know," said Jenny. "I'll try talking with Owen again, tomorrow. That is, if he'll even talk with me. And the way he is being treated by the other kids, I can't say as I blame him if he does not want to . . . ."

Jenny and Corey spoke a little longer before Corey's mom came into the mirror and said that Corey had to come to dinner. Jenny said goodbye, and told Corey that she would call him again by mirror after school tomorrow. Then Jenny went downstairs to help Mrs. Lovegood set the table and finish getting dinner ready.