The Thief in the Treehouse - Short Story

Mrs. Mairose

"Class dismissed!" Mr. Raven announced after wrapping up ELA.

Raucous laughter and chattering rose as students began to stream into the hallway.  It was time for art class, which was probably most students' favorite special at Riverdale Intermediate School because of how sweet Ms. Mairose was. Ms. Mairose was the sort of teacher that you didn't even have to like art to like her! She made her classes fun and intriguing, even for the "I can't draw a stick figure" kids.

Mr. Raven's class rushed through the hallway like the surge of the tide, not wanting to be late for the universally loved teacher. Not a single student was ever late for her. No one wanted to imagine what Ms. Mairose's bad side was like. Although many students, and even some teachers, thought that she didn't have one, no one ever wanted to try to find out. And so far, thankfully, no one did.

After everyone got settled into their seats, three best friends, Caleb Chase, Leah Blue, and Roxy Brown, glanced at each other, excited for what the day would bring. They'd been inseparable since kindergarten, and were very fortunate to have been put in the same class for every class.

Ms. Mairose cleared her throat to get the class's attention and made some quick marks on her attendance sheet while scanning the room, counting. Just to make sure, she asked, peering over the frames of her blue glasses, "Is anyone absent today?"

The students looked around the classroom. One voice called, "No, all of us are here!"

"Thank you, Jordan," Ms. Mairose replied to the beaming student. She continued, "Today is going to be an exciting one! It's time to begin something new! As you might know, it is traditional for sixth graders to create a poster to represent their class before graduating from Riverdale. The art will be hung in the cafeteria for all of the other students to see, and the representatives of your classes will get a treat on the last day.

"I have assigned each of you into groups of four to participate in designing this poster. You may do anything you want with it as long as it is about your class, positive things of course, and as long as it is school appropriate. Any questions before I announce the groups?"

One boy raised his hand. His eyes looked as if they were pleading. He shifted his orange shoe across the floor. "May we please pick our own groups?"

Ms. Mairose shook her head and smiled sympathetically. "I have already assigned them, dear."

The whole class whispered around in shock. They felt so betrayed by the best teacher in the whole school! "How could she do this?" Caleb heard one of those overly dramatic girls whisper across the room to another girl. Her whisper was pretty loud.

"Settle down. It's always good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. Now, when I call your name..." Ms. Mairose continued to tell the class which table they would go to, one of the six tables for one of the six groups. She began to announce the second group, "Group Two: Caleb,"

Caleb had his doubts about this group.

"Roxy,"

Caleb and Roxy immediately looked at each other, Roxy's amber eyes and Caleb's deep brown ones brightening up with joy and surprise. Ms. Mairose said the unthinkable, the impossible!

Ms. Mairose adjusted her strawberry blonde curls and brushed off her messy apron suspensefully before saying the next name. "Leah,"

Leah's jaw dropped as Caleb and Roxy's eyes snapped over to meet hers from across the room. Was that planned? But then, all three faces fell at the exact moment they thought, Wait. We're separated into groups of four. Who's the fourth person?

Their question was answered in a split second. "And Aisling. Please move to your table. Remember, this is your new table for the next few cycles until the project is due." Ms. Mairose finished. She smiled, showing the dimples on her cheeks as she gestured kindly over to the table at the far end of the classroom.

The trio's faces fell further into dread.

Aisling Fern? Caleb thought, This can't go well, she's so quiet. I've never heard one peep out of her after all this time! Also, doesn't she sabotage projects like this?

From the way Leah and Roxy were looking at him as their group made their way to the table, Caleb's heart sank as his mind spiraled into the endless number of situations that could happen. So did the girls'. They all felt sick to their stomachs. Or maybe they were just being dramatic. Whatever.

One of the boys from Group One, Greg, leaned over to the other table and whispered into Roxy's ear, "Man, good luck. Aisling's in your group! I did a math packet thing with her once and she tore my hard work to shreds! Then, she managed to get me into trouble!"

Roxy's eyes widened as she began to nervously fidget with the straight strands of her auburn hair. She could only imagine what Aisling would do. Another girl tapped her on the shoulder, wincing. 

"That Aisling girl ruined my friend group. Someone had to leave nasty pranks all over Jordan's party. He broke up with me after that."

Roxy looked away. What had Mrs. Mairose gotten them all into?

_ \ | / _

Word Count: 878