Happy Thoughts || Peter Pan

Chapter 1

The ringing of the schoolbell violently jerked Avery out of her book. The letters of the page still danced before her eyes as she looked up at the clock and slammed her book shut. Carefully she stowed it in her bag and calmly walked to the large building, where she blended into the crowd and like a sheep followed them inside. With pushing and shoving, students tried to reach their classrooms on time. She always wondered where this fear of arriving late came from, since she didn't actually care about that as much. Avery did everything at her own pace. She was not rebellious that way, but peaceful.

Inside classroom 5C, she sat down at her familiar little table by the window and took her book out of her bag again. She glanced out at the schoolyard, where the last children were running to the school doors. Spring was already in full swing; the sun was shining and the trees were in full bloom. Nothing but delicious floral scents filled the streets as the Prunuses exchanged their bare branches for aromatic, pink blossoms. Avery had been looking forward to spring. When the grass was dry, she could snuggle up against her favorite tree to completely lose herself in a new book during breaks.

'Good afternoon everyone,' sounded Mrs. Abner's lilting voice as she strolled into the classroom with clicking shoes. 'If you could put your books on the table on page 394. I'll put my things on the desk for a moment.' She nearly tripped as she stepped onto the elevation, and some chuckling sounded through the class.

Avery cast an indignant glance sideways at Brad who stared at his teacher with amused eyes, hopeful that she would make another misstep and send her things flying through the classroom. She abruptly turned her gaze to the front of the class when the boy gave her a wink. Behind her, she heard the shameless giggling of Britt, Laura and Sarah, who were now probably staring in Brad's direction with fluttering eyelashes and pursed lips. She couldn't suppress a deep sigh and tried to focus on the book in her hands. Not the history book she was supposed to have on the table, but the reading book from her bag. It was a delightful novel she had been hiding behind for the last few hours, about a boy and girl who were supposed to meet in Paris, but kept missing each other, even though the reader already knew they were destined to meet. She was already in chapter 16 and had almost finished the book. Silently she enjoyed the rest of the book, until Mrs. Abner discovered her.

'Mrs. Johnson, one of the themes in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream play is 'Love as the cause of suffering,' would you explain that in more detail? The answer is in your book on the page I just mentioned.'

Avery looked up at the impatient teacher. 'Uhm,' she went, 'Well, many of the characters in the play conceive of love as a 'curse,' raiding defenseless victims and disrupting their lives, and all the lovers simply find each other again at the end. Personally, I think it is a reflection on Shakespeare's own life, because one of his children, Hamnet, had died at the age of 11. It had to be a sad reminder to him that although he was able to bring the twins Viola and Sebastian back together in his play, he would never be able to do this for his own little daughter who would have to spend the rest of her life celebrating her birthday without her twin brother. By the way, it might be the reason he wrote his tragedy Hamlet, don't you think?'
The class remained silent and Mrs. Abner nodded begrudgingly, 'That was a very complete answer, thank you, Mrs. Johnson.' She turned to the board, but cast another glance at the red-haired girl, who had already returned her eyes to the book. "Would you mind closing your book now, dear child?
Avery nodded and placed the book closed on the corner of her small table.