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Chapter 3 - "You have to let me come!"

The corridor was quiet. Of course, classes were going on, but it was empty. I shuffled around slowly, not wanting to hurry. After all, classes weren't going to be finished until 2:50. It was only 2:40 now. The lockers were a pretty aqua blue, and it fits flush into the futuristic Novella Regional Public School, where every 'child' from the ages of 6-18 went. I passed through the corridors, looking at the numbers engraved on the doors to my right. Room 102, room 104, room 106, room 108. I was looking for room 207. Up another flight of stairs. Finally, on the second floor, I counted the doors on my left. Room 201, room 203, room 205...

There it was! Room 207. Jen's homeroom. Where I would be demonstrating mechanics to her class. After all, the principal allowed it, and the students admitted that it was better than listening to Mrs. Livingston drone on and on about math. Which was really boring, if I do say so myself. I actually enjoyed the attention. There was no stopping me from feeling the happiness of being appreciated. Probably isolation, but not emotion. The bell trilled quickly, and I covered my ears. It was a big mistake, standing near the thing. Sometimes you could be stupid without even knowing it, Cameron. Students exited their rooms, and I took it as my cue to go inside. 

The furnished teacher's desk in Jen had her nose buried in a book. Her dirty blonde hair was pinned back with a bobby pin, though a few strands escaped and shielded her crystal blue eyes. What did I expect? Jen was always a reader. As a teacher, she barely got enough time to read her books, between loquacious children to look after and so many things to grade, even though her students were in 6th grade.  I walked up to her desk.

"Jen?" I said, shouldering my bag. She didn't realize I was standing there, but I walked up to her anyway, covering her face with my hands, tearing her eyes from the book. Keeping note of the page, I flipped her book closed, to the cover. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I and II".

"Jen, haven't you already read this already?" I asked her. My hands still covered her eyes, but she started smiling and lifted them off her face.

"Of course I have, Cam! This is my third time. Shouldn't you have known?" Jen teased, making sure her bookmark was still holding her page and putting the book in her backpack. "You're here early, Cammie. You have all your tools, right? We'll need at least 20 ornithopters for everyone." Jen said, tapping her schedule sheet. How do I say this- Jen was very serious about her work, and she managed everything precisely. If anyone touched her things, she would never forget it and made sure to keep her things away from people she didn't know or trust. This past week, she had kept an efficient schedule, making sure that there was enough time for the students to create their creations and enough time to present their ornithopters. The class was learning about mechanics and the impact of the combination of machines and living things. Jen had called me in to demonstrate how to build the flying birds and said that it would make a good hands-on project. So I came.

"Yeah Jen, I actually have enough supplies for 22 people. Including ourselves. I figured out that Irene didn't need all that old stationary, so I reused them. Or just used them, since she didn't use half of the things in the boxes. I didn't see her today, but I had told her I'd use the supplies. She had gone grocery shopping." I told Jen.

"Oh yeah! Happy Birthday, Cammie!" Jen stood up and hugged me. "I know it's tomorrow, but I might not make it tomorrow. To tell you, I mean. I'll try to pop in and give you a present, okay?" Oh yeah. Jen was a rambler. She talked quickly when she was excited or nervous, and that meant now. 

The bell rang, and students began filing in, holding books, talking with each other, and laughing. My eyes shifted through them, and I froze. Brooke and Alister. Brooke Palmer and Alister Palmer. Identical twins. They both were smart, too smart for their ages. It would be an understatement if anyone said that the Palmer twins were no less curious than an explorer. And I'm warning you, they could get annoying. Though they were only about five years younger than me, they sometimes acted younger, and sometimes older than their ages. And they were 11 years old.

Everyone sat in the desks. Jen asked for silence, did attendance, and then introduced me.
"Class, this is-"
"I know! She's Cameron McCole!" Brooke shouted. I cringed a little on the inside. I hadn't taught in the class before, but people still seemed to know me. It made me wonder. Who actually knew me, though I didn't know them?

"Yes. My name is Cameron McCole, and it's a pleasure to be here today. Today, we are going to make an ornithopter out of stationary supplies." I said, without my usual soft tones.
"Cam? Are you alright?" Jen asks. I don't know. I sounded different. With that one thought, I lost myself. I'll have to get it back. Before anything else happens.

I opened my bag, pulling open the zipper. I had pre-packed all the items needed, securing the personal packages with rubber bands. I pull all 22 out, setting them on Jen's desk. 

Inhale.
Exhale.

I take a few bundles in my arms, placing them on the student tables. Trying to plaster a smile on my face.
"Don't touch them yet," Jen instructs. She's close, but her voice is distant. I keep traveling from desk to desk, going back to Jen's to restock. Brooke smiles, but the genuine facial expression fades after she sees my face. The last kit for the students is passed out only two left for Jen and I. I go back to Jen's desk, standing next to her chair. I go sit down at the extra desk and chair that Jen saved, taking one of the two bundles and dumping all the contents on my desk. The students follow.

"Take the 4 pieces of wood and attach them to each other with glue like so. Bend the wire to fit the motor piece, and cut the tissue paper into the wings and tail shape. Twist the rubber band and let it fly." I instruct, going through all the parts. Half an hour later, ornithopters are flying around the room. I turn to Jen, who is smiling. She twists the rubber band, letting her ornithopter fly. The bell rings for dismissal just as the ornithopters are flying to the ground. The excited students grab their creations, packing up and running out the door. Brooke and Alister walk up to me, holding their books.

"Hey, Cameron," Alister says. "I noticed you were going to go to your shop. I don't suppose we could come?"
"Yeah, Cameron! You have to let me come!" Brooke says excitedly, brushing her copper red hair back. What should I say?

"No."

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Hey, guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I thought I should update this for a change. And I'm sorry, I have no idea what compelled me to write that emotion change. Anyway, the image above is an example of an ornithopter, and the video is the one I followed of how to make one if you're interested.
See ya next time!
-Sree :D

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