The Risks

September: Chapter 29

At ten o'clock the following morning, we met Charlotte where she'd instructed.

"Good morning," she chimed. Today her hair was tied in a loose knot at the nape of her neck. She looked to Parker. "Good to see you up and about."

"It's good to be up and about," he agreed.

She nodded. "If you'll follow me, we can get started."

She took us back toward the middle school, showing us each floor. In the center of the third floor, not far from our room, was the middle school library. When Charlotte noticed the peak in my interest, she informed me that most of the reading material here was aimed for a younger crowd and that she would make sure to show us the high school library where we might find something more suitable.

Back down the three flights of stairs and into the middle school gym, we took a left and we passed the Band and Choir rooms. Further down the hallway was where they held shop class which was now used mostly for building the steel walls. One guy with light brown hair styled into a messy sort of pompadour lifted his welding mask and looked at us with a sour expression while the other men and women gave a quick wave. Then we headed up another hallway, which ended up looping back to the concourse. One the way, Charlotte pointed out which rooms were used for residency and which were used as actual classrooms. I remembered her saying that she'd convinced many teachers to stay here, and that they'd brought their children.

"What subjects do they teach?" I asked curiously.

"Mostly the basics really," Charlotte answered. "Reading, writing, simple math for the younger groups. The older children are taught according to what they're interests are. If they want to help build things, we teach them more complex math and engineering skills. If they want to work in the greenhouse, we teach them botany skills. And so on."

"Makes sense," Parker added as she led us to the high school gym.

All on the right side of the gymnasium all the bleachers were stacked up against the wall, while the ones on the left were down to provide seating. Scattered across the floor were several plastic tables and chairs. People sat among them, chatting while eating, but they looked up curiously when we entered.

"We use this as our cafeteria," Charlotte explained, waving at a woman who was largely pregnant. A thousand questions popped into my mind, but Charlotte continued quickly. "It works for now, but during the colder months, we'll miss this area for recreational use."

She exited the gym and we followed her through a classroom that must have been where they taught science. The tables sat four and had sinks attached at the front. Along the windows sat beakers and protective gear, although none of it looked like it'd been touched for a long while.

A door in the back of the classroom led us to the greenhouse that was humid and filled with different crops.

"We grow mostly fruits here, but when it gets too cold outside, we'll make room for the vegetables as well," Charlotte explained, then greeted a man who was tending the plants.

She showed us out another set of doors and outside. We stood facing the track and football field. The Astro Turf was still in place along with the neatly spaced yard lines.

"When it's nice out, we use this area for recreation." Charlotte pointed off to the right toward a grassy area filled with browning corn. "Corn there, then further are other various vegetables. You'll also find apple trees there, along with the chicken coop and cows."

She then acknowledged the walls surrounding the school and repeated what she'd told me about them to Parker. He seemed impressed.

Back inside the school, Parker glanced down the hallway that led to the high school locker rooms -which was mostly used for laundry- and other entrance to the gym. At the end were closed double doors, barricaded and sealed with thick chains.