Super Special Students
(10 years old)
Mr Simmons set down his red marking pen and peered intently at the big 'A+' he had just marked on one of his students very special poetry assignments. Arnold Shortman may have been a very attentive and reliable student, however, his teacher had never really been able to grant him any such outstanding grade for his poetry. Arnold was far too logical and straight-forward, more suited to Science and Maths, and his poetry had always been particularly bland to say the least.
Nonetheless, Robert Simmons was not one for prying, so he resolved that the inspiration for Arnold's markedly better poetic assignment would possibly forever remain a mystery. Although admittedly, it would have been nice to know, especially as he doubted Arnold could have managed such a feat without skilled guidance.
Considering he had been staring at the long, and very touching, poem for quite some time now, Mr Simmons simply placed it into his 'marked' stack and moved on to the next. The next being Harold Berman's latest submission, yet another poem dedicated to the wonders of eating and tasty food. After six or so lines that began with 'food is yummy, in my tummy' and continued on much to the same effect, he drew out his red pen again and marked a large 'C+'.
Once Harold's special poem was safely transferred onto the pile of marked papers, the teacher reached over again to the 'to-do' pile and realised he was now at the very last poetry assignment. Mr Simmons always marked Helga Pataki's poetry assignments last, it was no secret that he thoroughly enjoyed the works of the class 'anonymous' poet and he found picking up her latest masterpiece to be refreshing after a long hard day of marking work.
Helga had a distinctive style, a very passionately imaginative approach to imagery and sometimes the slightest hints of regret. However, despite her characteristically outlandish methods, no two poems ever seemed quite the same. Unlike Rhonda's fashion poems, which were practically the same from week to week, and Harold's food poems which literally were the same, just with the lines switched around.
The fifth grade teacher had only read the very first two lines of Helga's poem before he stopped completely, shook his head, and forced himself to read again from the start. Still, even on second inspection, the lines held their meaning. So, painfully slowly, he read and re-read every single line of Miss Pataki's latest work with a thoroughly confused expression.
Never, that he had known of, had the so-called 'horror of the fifth grade' written such an inspiring piece. The poem he held in his hand was uplifting and celebratory, in fact, it made him want to sit in a bed of daises or hug a fluffy teddy bear. It displayed a sensitive joyfulness that even Mr Simmons himself found it hard to picture Helga possessing.
Quickly reaching for his stack of papers, Mr Simmons gathered Arnold's poem and placed it side by side with Helga's, and that was when he figured it out. He knew exactly what was going on.