As I crossed the threshold and returned to the right room of the kindergarten building, I wondered what was in the now closed off left room that the Lucky Penny had decided I shouldn't go in. Oh well, it was too late to worry about that now, and my mama says that I shouldn't worry about things that's happened in the past. So the first thing I noticed when I got back into the classroom was that it was dark. Not all of the lights had been turned off, so there was still some light that we could navigate and maneuver by, but the room was still significantly darker than it had ever been before.
Being the line leader, Jordan was the first to react to this change. "What's going on?" he asked. "And what are all these blue things on the ground?" I glanced at the ground around me. Blue rectangles had been placed in various positions all over the floor. I tried to figure out what they meant. What were they? How did they get there? Which one was the best one?
The teacher's voice cut through my thoughts, like a beat saber. "Those are nap pads," they explained. "They're for students like you lot to sleep on!"
Jordan covered his mouth thoughtfully, obviously deep in thought. "How did they get there?"
"That's private information!" exclaimed the teacher, folding their hands in front of their body as if they were grasping an oversized baguette. "But either way, it's not important at the moment. The appearance of these nap pads means that it is now naptime!" Their voice was strangely biting when they said 'naptime', similarly to when they said 'lunchtime'. That was probably important, so I made a mental note to remember it.
"For those of you whomst would like to sleep, please select a mat and take a nap! Don't be worried, they won't bite. For everyone else, there is a table with a candle, some paper, and some crowns where you can participate in -" the teacher's voice turned biting again - "Quiet Coloring. I will play some soothing music in the background to help you rest after recess." There was a few minutes of awkward milling about as students decided on their nap mats. I was thankfully spared of many additional coin flips by the first flip of my Lucky Penny, which landed on tails, deciding that I should sit at the quiet coloring table. It seemed like everyone had decided to sleep except for Rachel and the tall boi who stood behind me in line. The teacher strode by our table, elegantly flicking the match and lighting the purple, lavender scented candle in the middle of the table.
"During silent coloring, you may talk, but you can't be louder than a whisper," the teacher whispered, before sauntering over to a computer-like system and clicking a few things on a screen. All of a sudden, soft Disney music began playing. Using my ears, I was able to identify the song as "Can you Feel the Love Tonight" from Disney's The Lion King. On the computer screen, an obtuse looking rainbow flare began moving rhythmically to the music. Relaxed and entranced, I let my mind wander and picked up a crown as I began drawing.
Rachel simply remained seated at the table, her hands folded in her lap as she silently observed everything that the boy sitting across from me and I did.
After a few minutes passed, the music changed to "Beauty and the Beast" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and I became consciously aware of the tall boi's dark, sunken eyes boring into me from out of his long, gaunt face. I glanced up and accidentally made eye contact with him.
"What are you drawing?" he whispered. I could feel a scrange energy being emitted from him. Maybe there were the the "vibes" Kiki was talking about.
Swallowing my nervousness, I answered. "I'm drawing a picture of my cat, Blossoms. It's an orange picture because she's an orange cat."
His dark eyes studied my face intensely for a second before he responded. During that time I tried my hardest not to sweat. "All right," he whispered. "I'm drawing a map." he showed me his work in progress, which I could easily tell was a surprisingly to-scale model of the playground we had just been in naught but fifteen minutes ago. The background music changed to "Part of your World" from Disney's The Little Mermaid as I studied the map's detail.
"Wow, that's very good," I whispered.
"Thanks," he replied, never taking his intense gaze off me. "I kind of have a knack for drawing maps. One day, I hope that I can be the first person to draw a map of the whole world."
I put my hand to my chin as if I was thinking about something. Didn't something like that already exist? I could almost feel my brain short-circuiting.
"That's… cool," I whispered, letting that train of thought run off the tracks like the caboose that got loose. "I'm Maddie, by the way."
"Jacques." His eyes bored deeper and deeper into me, as if he was trying to discern some hidden truth about me that even I didn't know. We both went back to drawing for a few minutes until the background music changed to "A Whole new World" from Disney's Aladdin. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I could still feel Jacques staring at me. It was almost as if the classroom and the world around us were not there, and we simply existed in a primitive, three-dimensional space made up of a grid of blue cubes, and Jacques' gaze was two solid rays originating from his deep, dark, sunken eyes that physically pierced through the space that was currently being occupied by the object known as my body. I could no longer keep myself from sweating nervously. This must be how Chuck feels all the time. I trembled, paralyzed with fear, the orange crown dropping from my slender, supple fingers.
"Maddie?" Jacques' whisper snapped me out of my trance. "Is everything okay? You were acting… a little weird just now."
"Everything's fine," I whispered. Jacques looked like he was about to scream, but maybe it was just my imagination. "It's just that you… uh, keep staring at me, and it's, uh, making me a little uncomfortable."
"Oh." Jacques blinked, ad the tension was immediately removed. "I apologise, but I really can't help it. I have, uh, Lagophthalmos." He tripped over the large word, struggling to pronounce it even slowly.
I blinked in return. "You have what?" I asked, not even trying to repeat the word.
"Please, don't make me try to say it again," said Jacques, averting his gaze embarrassedly. "It's a rare condition I was born with, that means that I don't need to blink like most people." Jacques blinked again to prove his point. "I have to think about blinking in order to blink." Now that I thought about it, up until then, I had never actually seen him blink.
"Since I don't need to do it, I just don't most of the time, which means I tend to stare a lot, I guess," continued Jacques. "It's hard for me to notice, so sorry if it was bothering you."
"No, it's fine, I didn't know," I reassured him, feeling kind of bad about myself for being unsettled by his condition. It was a bit of a shame though – while Jacques' condition was harmless, combined with his tall, imposing stature, gaunt, long face, and dark, sunken eyes, it made him look downright ornery. As much as I hated to think it, I wouldn't be surprised if many people avoided him because of his appearance. My picture of Blossoms forgotten, I instead watched Jacques get back to work. His slender fingers grasping the crown, he continued drawing his map of the playground with surprising precision. The background music changed to "Someday my Prince will Come" from Disney's Snow White. Hypnotized by the soothing music, swirling lights on the screen, relaxing scent of the candle's flickering flare, and the rhythmic movements of Jacques' hands, I soon found myself dozing off, despite my better judgement. Before I knew it, I was… asleep.