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CHAPTER 1 THE EXCEPTIONAL ONES
I have to write it all down. Just in case someone else discovers the portal. There were six in all, six adventure-starved souls. Five came back, different from before, and one stayed behind. It’s been a long time now since...
Albin hurried into class, late as usual. The others didn’t even glance up at him. Head hanging low, he looked down at them. Each going about their business: Titiana, hidden in a corner of the room, fixated on a square of floor tile at her feet. Arthur, laughing nervously as he looked out the window, and Sarah, spinning faster and faster around Cosmo who had his eyes closed and was more than likely reciting something he’d read in an encyclopedia the night before.
To him they looked like dust collectors, waiting there like always and forever. He yelled at them in a mocking tone, “Hey you bunch of maggots, what’s up?”
Sarah shot back at him, “And you’re just as obnoxious as ever. Can’t you ever be on time?”
“Apparently I’m not the only one.”
“True. He hasn’t arrived yet.”
She quickly glanced behind Albin to check the hallway before adding, “What do you think he’ll be like?”
“Ha! Just like all the others. What do you expect? First, he’ll be too scared to look at us, barely even face us. Then, when he thinks our eyes are elsewhere, he’ll take a good, hard look at us. Another one of those teachers without enough hours in his schedule, and who won’t know what he’s supposed to do.”
Arthur rushed over to jump into the conversation, bumping into Cosmo who was in his usual spot in the center of the room.
“What are you two talking about?”
“The substitute,” they replied in unison.
“I’m sure he’ll be really nice.”
Sarah stifled a laugh.
“You always think everybody’s going to be nice.”
“So?”
Humming a tune, she rolled her eyes and went back to circling Cosmo.
While Arthur was in the hallway on the lookout for their new teacher, Albin sidled over to Titiana. He positioned himself squarely in front of her, smack on top of the tile she’d found so fascinating. Without moving back an inch, she managed to blend into the wall. She didn’t turn her head away or even look up. Nothing in her posture would have changed if he hadn’t been there. Or maybe she would have spread herself farther out into space. Disappointed by the lack of response, he rejoined Sarah just as Arthur flew in stammering and pushing up his glasses that were barely held together by a slack rubber band.
“The sub, he’s here! He’s tall. Really tall.”
The man who entered was over six and a half feet tall. He ducked, most likely out of habit, as he crossed the threshold. Silently he studied the students to whom he would be teaching history. At the same time, each one of them scrutinized him, including Titiana who had timidly looked up. Finally he spoke.
“Hello. I’m Mr. Merlin, your new teacher.”
That one simple sentence was spoken in a voice that expressed a depth and knowledge beyond what he had learned at the university. Sarah responded by introducing the others to him. She had always been the best at speaking in public and had become the spokesperson for the class.
“I’m Sarah, seventeen years old plus a few days. I’m the one in charge here. They wouldn’t be able to do anything if I weren’t here to help. By the door, that’s Arthur. Better to step aside when he’s heading your way because he still hasn’t learned how to not topple people over when he’s on the move. In the middle, the one who’s giving me an annoyed look is Cosmo. He’s the youngest, but watch out. He’s the smarty pants of the class. He’ll stop you mid-sentence if he thinks you’ve made a mistake. It’s thanks to him that you’re here today. He sent a letter to the office to get rid of the previous teacher who was incompetent, in his opinion. Just so you’re forewarned. Over there in the corner, that’s our shy one, Titiana. She’d rather be ignored, so try not to be too harsh with her. And finally, the showoff in the leather jacket, that’s Albin. Don’t pay any attention to him—he knows nothing about nothing but tries to play the bad guy. He’s also the oldest, but in his case, that doesn’t do him a whole lot of good.”
Normally, Albin would have snapped back at her, but he was too busy gauging everyone’s reaction to the new teacher, in fact, that’s what they were all doing. In the one and half years since their arrival at the school, this was the first teacher who hadn’t seemed afraid of them. A sense of fear emanated from everyone they met— fear of the unknown, of what was different. Something that could certainly describe all five of them.
Mr. Merlin took a long look at each one of them, and then told them he had decided to spend the first class period getting to know them. He talked about himself and listened to what they had to say. He was interested in them, but his curiosity didn’t seem creepy. It was the first time that anyone in the school had truly talked with them as if they were completely normal human beings.
There was something out of the ordinary about this teacher. It was probably due to his outward appearance. He was wearing an old raincoat with folds incrusted with dust that looked like it had been there for ages. His leather hat resting on the corner of the desk seemed like it had seen more than a few torrential storms. Clothes, weathered by time and with a warm patina of a well-loved person, clothes that suited him perfectly.
Yet it was more than just his clothing. He had a gaze that didn’t stray, that showed more depth and curiosity than most people would have felt comfortable expressing with their eyes. And also his smile, rare and quick, that touched only a corner of his mouth. It conjured up images of a swashbuckler, an old one with crevassed skin that had seen too much sun, and long hair that had seen too few barbers. If he could teach history with all its upheavals, plot twists, and unforgettable figures, there was no doubt that he could teach his students about the vicissitudes of life with its ups and downs. At least that’s how most students imagined it would be, particularly those in this self-contained classroom who were now under his responsibility.
The class period had come to an end, announced by a strident and intermittent bell that awakened students asleep in overheated classrooms in front of humdrum teachers. Only the history students in the small classroom at the end of the hall in the old building would have liked for their class to continue. It was with regret that they exited the room one by one. Their teacher followed slowly behind them; his students couldn’t move very quickly since their wheelchairs didn’t maneuver easily over the uneven tile floor of the widest hallway in the school.
September 5, 20..
THE SUNNYVILLE TRIBUNE
Two town citizens, Sara Leneuf and Albin Carquois, ages 15 and 16, crossed the threshold of our high school for the very first time.
Thanks to the enthusiasm and determination of our mayor, Mr. Taupe, a new class has been created at Napoleon High School. Students with physical handicaps interested in pursuing a mainstreamed education are now welcome to study alongside students of their same age at Napoleon High School.
All accessibility issues have been addressed to facilitate an easy adjustment for the two students who will soon be joined by others. These students will most certainly be pleased by the tolerance and open-mindedness of our wonderful town of Sunnyville.
