Chapter 8
First Day of School
Morning came bright and early. The sun in the sky
changed color from yellow to blue, then pink and green. To
the people of Baja, this was a great way to start the day.
But, in the Carrot-Top household, it was Peter's first day
of school after coming back home, but he had different
plans.
He wanted to go fight on the side of his father. Peter
quickly jumped out of bed and summoned the genie Merseft.
As he arose out of the magical book with his sleepy eyes,
Peter commanded him to make a double look-alike to fool his
parents. This would give Peter the ability to be in two
places at one time.
Merseft was a little hesitant, letting Peter know that
parents are smarter than they look, but Peter was confident
that it would work. With the power of a magical spell and a
room filled with glowing smoke, the genie conjured up a
look-alike.
"Wow! He looks just like me," said Peter.
"Well, isn't that what you wanted?" asked Merseft with
a sarcastic tone.
Peter went over and touched and poked the look-alike.
He couldn't believe his eyes to see a real duplicate of
himself. Peter knew in is heart of hearts this plan would
work. He wanted so badly to fight on the side of his father
and grandfather, but his parents were not having any of it.
They wanted him protected because of the prophecy of the
elders. If Peter was indeed the eighth key, they must
protect him.
The look-alike Peter was dressed and ready for school,
courtesy of Merseft. Now it was time to put the look-alike
to work. Peter sent it on its way downstairs to breakfast
while he awaited his parents' departure. There was only one
small problem, the look-alike was too stiff moving and the
personality was off. As he (it) went downstairs, Jane and
Sam noticed right away something was wrong.
They began to ask the look-alike many silly questions
like, "What is your favorite orange?"
The look-alike had no idea and said, "Well, orange of
course."
"Ha, ha, ha. You're wrong," said Sam.
"My son's favorite orange is strawberry, grown in the
finest parts of Baja," said Jane.
They knew Peter was up to something, so Sam went to
the neck of the look-alike and saw a little button. When he
pressed it, the look-alike was cut off. Sam and Jane
laughed.
"It's a little early for him to be skipping school,
isn't it?" asked Sam.
"Yes, indeed, we must get to the bottom of this," said
Jane.
She went on to tell Sam of Peter's new friend, Merseft
the genie, and yes, he was real.
"So the book does work," replied Sam.
"Yes, but he has yet to harvest its bigger powers. We
must watch him," said Jane.
The Carrot-Top household was very busy that morning.
They had a new day at school, and they had to try to save
one of the most secret forests of Baja, the Ambassador
Forest.
"Peter, get down stairs now," said Jane.
At first, Peter hesitated and didn't appear until the
next louder call of his mother. "Yes, Mother!" he said.
Jane ordered her son to get ready for his first day of
school. Peter begged his parents to let him go with them,
but they answered no. They told him that there would be
many more times for him to save Baja, but today was the
first day of school. Peter hung his head low in reluctance
to go, although he was excited. He wanted to be in both
places at one time. But nevertheless, Peter had to get
ready for his first day at Waldorf Academy.
As Dingo chased Oscar through the house and the phone
began to ring. Peter was upstairs getting ready.
"Honey, your ride will be here any minute," said Jane
as she shouted to Peter.
He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs and ate his
favorite, mushroom pancakes and turtle eggs.
"Slow down, son," said Sam as he watched his son
gobble down his food.
Jane was just smiling and watching Peter, a proud mom
to see her son on the first day of school where he was very
happy to be, and where he would always fit in.
As soon as Peter finished eating his breakfast, there
was a loud roaring noise over the Carrot-Top's mansion.
Everyone stepped out to see what or who it was. They slowly
looked up into the sky as a big shadow was cast over their
house. It was Peter's ride to school in style. This flying
creature carried a disc on its back that was filled with
children. Peter could see his soon-to-be classmates looking
down at him.
"Wow, what is that?" asked Peter.
"It's your ride to school," said Sam.
The creature was so unique and huge. It was bright
yellow and red in color with the mystical symbols of Baja
on its body. Then a jolly old man stepped out of the ride
as steps suddenly appeared in thin air.
"All aboard, all aboard," said the man.
Peter gave his parents a hug and quickly ran up the
stairs, looking back to get his parents' approval. He was
torn between leaving his family and starting life at a new
school. Peter could see all of his new classmates through
the windows of the disc, and the children on board were
also eager to see the boy king that everyone had been
talking about. As Peter reached the top of the stairs, he
waved good-bye to his family.
Then he was stopped by the driver. "May I see your
pass?"
Peter search and searched but could not find any kind
of pass. "I think I forgot it, sir," said Peter.
"Well, we will have to find you one," said the driver.
The driver reached into the same pocket that Peter had
searched and pulled out a golden pass. It was embossed with
Peter's picture in gold, and it glittered in the sun. His
parents could see it all the way on the ground.
Peter's eyes followed the gold pass as the driver
waved it in his face, back and forth went his eyes. The
pass was so temping to grab, but gently Peter took it out
of the driver's hand. A smile came on the driver's face
telling Peter that he would be just fine, and he gave Peter
a gentle push on his back into the ride.
The loud bird squawked as it began to take off. The
massive wings had to pick up speed before it could lift
itself off the ground. Because of the size of the bird and
its wings, it kicked up so much dust in the air it made
seeing quite impossible, but Jane and Sam, with Peter's
grandparents, waved good-bye to their son.
The massive bird flew up into the air as the disc on
its back spun and glittered in the sun's rays. Peter slowly
walked down the aisles of the ride. It was like stepping
into a futuristic world. All the children were neatly
dressed in their uniforms. The ride was equipped with
everything from talking gadgets to miniature robots picking
crumbs up
off of the floor. There were attendants that
served drinks, juices and any food your heart desired. Kids
began to look and whisper. Peter began to brush his orange
hair back with his hands as a sign of nervousness, his
freckles increased as they multiplied in seconds.
Then a voice shouted, "Sit here, Peter!"
Peter followed the voice until he reached where it was
coming from. All the way to the back of the ride sat a
person that he had seen before.
"Miss Clara Cabbage," he said. A beautiful girl with
fiery long red hair braided into two ponytails; her
mismatched shoes caught Peter's eye.
"Yes, Peter, it's me," said Clara.
Clara and Peter were shy with each other, but somehow
they seemed to make the best of friends. She reintroduced
him to the friends he met on the Captain Johnny ride.
"This is Robert Clark, Zack Bean, Nicholas Webster and
Benjamin Franklin, who is also known as Ben," said Clara.
Everyone gave a big hello to their new friend Peter.
The entire time, the children on the ride began to just
stare at Peter, until Clara got them to look away by
sticking out her tongue, and making green saliva bugs jump
out and fly into the air. The bugs let off a green smelly
odor, and the rest of the kids began to cough and cover
their mouths and noses.
"That is so cool," said Peter.
"Okay, my little ghosts, quiet it down," said the
driver.
Peter knew then that he would have no reason not to
fit in here. In his heart, he knew he'd chosen the right
school. Clara's last display gave the kids something to
talk about rather than look at Peter.
"If you think that is cool, look what Zack can do,"
said Clara.
But, Zack was a little shy. He was one of the easiest
people to make friends with. His bright blond hair set him
apart from the rest. He was hesitant to show off his
talents until Nicholas coaxed him into it.
"Oh! Come on, Zackey boy, you can do it! Show off
those useless talents," said Nicholas jokingly.
Once Zack got his courage up, he held his breath in
tight and began to blow and blow. Suddenly, a huge clump of
snot fell from his nose. Zack commanded it to turn into a
cute little puppy.
"Whoa! That is gross and cute at the same time," said
Peter.
The rest of the children on the bus began to choke and
gag, and yet some thought it was cool. Then a long slender
hand came across Peter's face. It was like rubber, and it
had at least ten watches that graced it, and they all
glowed with the symbols of Baja. Peter couldn't seem to get
those mysterious symbols out of his mind. The watches were
encrusted with sparkling rocks, and all had the face of a
different animal from tigers, bears, to seahorses, and many
more.
The watches were mystical to Peter's eyes. Whether it
was his imagination or not, the animal faces seemed to
move, and when he glanced back at the watches, the faces
seemed to stop moving. Peter looked in the direction of
where the long arm was coming from and who it belonged to.
A skinny, Beanpole of a boy stood up, "Hi, Peter. My
name is Robert Clark."
Robert was very slender. Besides being skinny,
everyone noticed his dark, jet black hair, all slicked down
and greasy. He was at least seven feet tall, and he didn't
hesitate to show off his ability to disappear in thin air.
Robert was so slender, if he turned sideways, no one could
see him. He paraded up and down in the ride showing off his
talent. One minute you saw him, the next you didn't. One
minute his head would show with no body attached, or the
kids might see an arm or leg every now and again. The kids
were going wild clapping and cheering.
"Okay, kids, settle down," said the driver.
Then a loud roar came from the back of the bus. It was
Nicholas Webster, the class clown; a little on the heavy
side with baggy clothing and thick eyeglasses.
Then a voice shouted, "That's all he can do is roar.
He has no talents."
Nicholas was sad because indeed all he could do was
roar, but Peter was impressed and started clapping. This
made Nicholas very happy and so proud of his roar that he
roared so hard the windows on the ride cracked. Everyone
suddenly began to take notice of little old Nicholas, and
in the end, he got the last laugh.
"Last but not least, this is Benjamin Franklin. We
like to call him Ben," said Clara.
Peter waited with anticipation to see what Ben's
talents were. Suddenly Ben turned around and his entire
face was covered in fur, pure white fur. He had long blue
hair and piercing black eyes. Peter was a little shocked,
but played it off and gave Ben a handshake. Ben went on to
explain to him that he had a gene disorder that had made
him so special.
Out of excitement, Ben jumped into the aisle of the
ride to demonstrate his abilities and gift. Without a
thought, he changed into a huge white shaggy monster. He
was so big that his weight began to sink the ride and
squash anyone in his path. Ben began to burst out of his
uniform and shoes, but he didn't care, he wanted to show
off his talents.
"That's enough, Ben," said the driver, and within
seconds, Ben was his normal self with the exception that
his uniform was torn and he had holes in his shoes.
"That is soooo cool!" said Peter.
"Now, Peter, show us your talents," said Zack.
"Oh! It's not that cool like yours are," said Peter,
but he wanted to fit in.
As everyone watched, Peter explained to the children
his talents of making large holes. Everyone wanted to see,
so Peter stood up and stretched his hands out of the
window. With a minute to concentrate, he began to make a
large hole in the sky. The kids were amazed; the sky had
opened up as if someone had sliced it. As they looked into
the hole in the sky, they saw things they had never seen
before, like a mystical land of fairies and seas that were
multicolored. Kids hurried to the windows wanting to get a
closer look.
"Wow, there are more worlds out there," said Clara.
Peter had made a great impression on his new friends.
But there was one thing he did not know how to do, and that
was how to close a hole. Once he opened one, it was hard
for him to close it. Many holes that Peter made never got
closed.
"Okay, Peter, that's enough," said the driver.
Peter immediately stopped, but he left behind another
open world that no one knew how to close. It was all in
harmless fun. The children on the bus kept looking back at
the magnificent display of a new world. Even the driver was
impressed, but the fun abruptly stopped when a voice yelled
from the back.
"Is that all you got, Carrot-Flop?" This person was
making fun of Peter's last name.
Clara immediately recognized the voice and shouted,
"Oh! Shut up, Steve!"
All the children looked back, waiting on Steve's
response. Steve Capri was a big bully, bigger than most of
the children his age. He had one strand of hair that stuck
up from his head. No matter how he brushed it back, it
always seemed to stick up at attention. The children dared
not tease him; they knew that he was a rough-and-tumble
kid. But Clara was not afraid of him, and that made Steve
even more upset.
But like all of these children, Steve had a gift, and
his gift was smelly feet. He quickly pulled of his shoes,
and his feet began to grow huge, and then a black odor
choked the air. The children and staff on the ride began to
choke constantly. Even the driver had to suspend the ride
in mid-air to catch his breath.
The driver hurriedly walked down the aisle and grabbed
Steve by the collar, and took him into the restroom to put
his shoes back on. Steve was not going quietly.
He yelled at the driver like a spoiled brat, "I am
going to tell my parents! Do you know who my parents are?"
"I do not care who your parents are. They left me to
take care of you, and that's what I am going to do," said
the driver.
As the driver and Steve left, the remaining children
raised their heads up slowly as they searched for clean,
fresh air.
"He is a stinker," said Clara to Peter.
They both laughed, until Steve's friends came forward
to confront Clara and her friends, "Laugh now, cry later,"
said Jamyra Jam. She was a skinny brown child. Her
complexion was flawless, and she had blue eyes and long
white hair. She was very pretty, but underneath that
prettiness was a bossy, spoiled little brat.
"Who is that?" Peter asked.
Clara explained to Peter that Jamyra Jam was the ice
princess of Waldorf Academy, and her parents were the
founders of the black moons.
"What are the black moons?" asked Peter.
Ben jumped in to tell Peter that the black moons were
discovered by the Jam family. The moons produced black dust
to keep Baja energy efficient without looking for other
fuels and dangerous substances. Because of the Jam family's
discovery, Baja had never worried about light or energy.
Everyone warned Peter to keep a distance from Jamyra,
because once she got mad, she would turn anything into
solid ice, and it would take days to thaw. Peter gave a big
gulp and looked over his shoulder as he felt Jamyra staring
at him.
"Oh, don't worry, Peter. She's only allowed to use it
in emergencies. If she does without an emergency, she will
be in big trouble with the elders," said Zack.
Peter was relieved to hear that, and watched as Zack
pointed out all the other kids in Jamyra's group. There was
Millie Spoon, an anti-social girl who only showed one eye
because her hair was always covering the other. She was
very slender with waist-length long black hair and big
saucer eyes. Her gift was invisibility. Zack went on to
tell Peter that Millie was by far the nicest out of the
entire group. She only hung out with Jamyra and the others
because Steve Capri was her cousin.
Then Zack showed Peter a slender-built young man who
was very handsome, quirky and over confident. "His name is
Michael Beetle-Bug, but do not call him by his entire
name," warned Zack.
Peter watched with great interest as Zack explained
the cool kids to him. Zack went on to tell Peter how
Michael's family owned the beetle-bug farm, one of the
largest in Baja. The farm was responsible for producing
beetles that protected vegetables and other foods. The bugs
were man-made and went out every day protecting many farms
in Baja from annoying pests.
Michael was average-sized and always dressed in all
black. He was the only child in school that could pull off
his gift. When Michael turned around, Peter saw his gift.
He had wings like a butterfly that were black and had white
polka dots all over them.
But, they were no ordinary wings. When Michael got
upset, they turned into razor wings, sharp enough to cut
through almost anything. What was most annoying about
Michael was the buzzing sound that came from his wings.
Clara seemed to think he did it on purpose.
Last but not least, there was Sam Salmon. No one
wanted to sit by Sam because he was not only sloppy, but
huge. His clothing was dirty and his shoes untied. He was
constantly eating, with food pouring from his mouth. He was
gross, constantly digging in his nose and pulling his
underwear out of his butt.
Sam had to be carried in a glass container when he
became unruly. His gift was blowing huge fart balls that
were green and slimy. Sam never used his gift to better
humans, just for a cheap laugh. He was ordered by the
academy to be transferred in a glass tube until he could
behave himself.
"Thank goodness," said Peter.
"Yeah! That is not a pretty sight," said Clara as they
both began chuckling.
Clara and her friends reminded Peter that the other
side would not be happy with him being their friend, as she
pointed toward Jamyra and her crew, but Peter was very
comfortable with which side he'd chosen. He was a young man
that was always true to himself and dedicated to the people
he called his friends.
So much commotion on the ride distracted Peter from
seeing the real beauty of Baja. There were trees that
reached up to the heavens, and giants climbing the
Beanstalk. The giants always waved to the children on the
ride and ran up the Beanstalk. Peter was impressed by what
his eyes witnessed up close and personal.
"Has anyone ever gone to the top of the Beanstalk?"
asked Peter.
"Yes, when you sign up for field trips," said Zack.
"I can't wait to sign up," said Peter.
As they rode to school, the bus was very quiet as the
children admired the scenes of Baja. Trees sang and danced,
flawless in the air. Bright stars made pictures in the
skies, from teddy bears to lions. There was always a show
for the children.
This was also the time for the bus driver, Mr. Stamp,
to relax and give the children the history of Baja. He was
also their guardian angel, watching over the young future
of Baja. He took the history of Baja very seriously.
Although at times, his speeches could be very boring,
causing the children to take a brief nap. But, oh, not
Peter!
He wanted to see all that Baja had to offer. This was
his first day at school, and he wanted to enjoy every
minute of it. Not one time did Peter worry about his
parents. In fact, he forgot that they were going to the
Ambassador Forest.
As Peter was daydreaming, a loud voice spoke, "Good
morning, st
udents. Sit up and pay attention."
"Who is that?" Peter asked Clara.
"That is Mrs. Laura Dean. She is over 200 years old
and the meanest teacher in the school," said Clara.
Mrs. Dean was very old, but once in a while, she tried
to make herself look young again. Her skin was pale, and
she wore bright red lipstick. Her hair was jet black and
came down to her knees. She always wore military style
boots and gear, as if she were going to war. She walked
around with a cane that she used to slap the hands of rude
children or to hit the desk when no one was paying
attention.
Mrs. Dean's face appeared in a cloud of blue mist. The
face went down the aisles of the ride, barking orders at
the children. "Tie your shoes. Fix your shirt. That skirt
is too short. Sit up straight." The orders went on for a
while.
Most of the children feared Mrs. Dean and never wanted
to cross her path. When Mrs. Dean got to Peter, she looked
him over a few times. Peter's face was turning bright
orange as he stared into space.
"Don't think for one minute because you are supposed
to be our savior that I will let you get away with murder,"
warned Mrs. Dean.
"No, sir!" said Peter.
The children laughed hysterically until Mrs. Dean shut
them up with her angry voice. "That's 'No, ma'am.' you
little brat."
When Peter realized that he'd made a mistake, all he
could do was apologize over and over, but it did not help
his case any. Afterwards Mrs. Dean disappeared from the
blue mist from whence she came.
"That was a close call," said Nicholas.
The ride had become rowdy once again, children being
children with horse playing, the throwing of papers and
passing notes, and all the girlie gossip taking place. This
was what Peter wanted, a normal life and a school where he
would not be rejected.
A few air miles away from school, another ride pulled
up next to the children of Waldorf Academy. It was the
school of S.C. McPhergerson. This was also a bright school
and had many rival competitions with Waldorf Academy. Peter
looked around at the children on the other ride. They were
all dressed in army armor because S.C. McPhergerson was an
army school, and the students wore the attire to match.
These kids were ruthless. They seemed to be little warriors
in disguise. Some of the children had on crowns; some had
bows and arrows over their shoulders. They looked as if
they were ready for war.
"And to think my parents almost chose that school for
me," said Peter to his new friends.
The children from S. C. McPhergerson stared down the
children from Waldorf. One kid yelled out, "We will get you
this year at the Comet Bowl, you losers!"
"Oh! Shut up!" said Jamyra, and both rides went off
into their own separate directions.
"What is the Comet Bowl?" asked Peter.
"I will handle this question," said Jamyra. Jamyra
went on to tell Peter that the Comet Bowl was only for the
experienced comet riders. It was where schools compete to
destroy comets in the sky.
Each school creates their own amount of comets, and
each comet came with a big surprise inside. Everyone had to
watch the other team, their comets could be dangerous. Once
a rider had fallen off three times, he or she was out of
the game.
"That sounds cool," said Peter.
"Not for you, you little puppy dog," said Steve.
"Oh! Shut up, he's probably better than all of you,"
said Ben.
Jamyra and her crew were not happy about Peter wanting
to join. They considered him to be weak. Besides, she was
the captain of the comet team.
"Okay, kids, we're here," said Mr. Stamp.
Peter's eyes grew like saucers when he saw the landing
strip at Waldorf Academy. It was a huge runway with lots of
other transportation coming and going. He hadn't seen this
particular area on his tour of Waldorf; it was amazing;
children and teachers where coming and going. The different
animals used for transportation were breathtaking. There
were many huge birds with discs on their backs carrying
many people. They were huge, with bright colors and the
Baja symbols.
Some were getting cleaned and fed by handlers. The
animals were well taken care of. What was so unbelievable
were the huge giants that were green and blue in color,
carrying large domes on their backs. In these sand domes
were people eating and drinking, dropping off children for
school. They had come from many worlds over.
Waldorf academy was well known all over, and by the
beauty of the school alone, Peter could see why. He and his
new friends scanned their badges as they came off of the
ride and stepped onto another seated ride.
"What is this?" asked Peter.
"It's a transport that takes you to the center of the
school where students interact and meet up," said Clara.
The ride was shaped like a capsule and was cherry red
in color with gold trim. There were so many gadgets and
knobs on the ride. The capsules could hold at least ten
students, and Peter and all of his friends got in. This was
exciting to him. The capsule scanned each student and
greeted them by name. After the voice scanned Peter's
friends, it came to him.
"Good morning, Sir Carrot-Top, glad to see you could
make it," said the voice.
Then seatbelts came out and buckled the children in,
and a machine printed out the children's assigned classes
for that day. Luckily for Peter, he was in the same classes
with all of his new friends. Clara reminded him that every
day it's a new schedule. As the children took the capsule
to the center of the school, they were offered many healthy
morning snacks. Each child had a package of cotton worms.
"Oh! Gross," said Peter.
"Actually, it's really good," said Nicholas.
Peter watched as the worm wiggled in the package,
ready to come out. He could not force himself to open it.
Clara opened her pack first and gobbled down her worm. The
worm was pink and filled with vitamin cotton candy.
"Now that's my kind of lady!" said Zack as he watched
Clara gobble down her cotton worm.
When Peter saw that it was okay, he quickly opened up
his package and tasted his worm as it moved in his hands.
"That's not bad at all," he said.
The friends laughed and giggled as they rode the
capsule through their school. Peter's new friends told him
that every morning the entire student body must meet in The
Center.
"What is the center?" asked Peter.
The Center was a place where all the teachers came
together to welcome the students, his friends explained. He
started to daydream, looking out the capsule window.
Waldorf was spectacular. There were tunnels and mazes, and
there were elves and fairi
es working on the tunnels. He saw
many spectacular sights. There were creatures he had never
seen before. To Peter, this school was a big playground for
his imagination.
"Peter, Peter, are you ignoring us?" asked Robert.
"Oh! No, I was so amazed by the tunnels," said Peter.
"Well, quit your daydreaming or the teachers will put
you on moon duty," said Zack.
But Peter never paid any attention to his friends'
words and kept on staring out of the window. Suddenly, the
capsule stopped and a long winding robot mechanical head
came in and began scanning the children. The face on this
robot was scary looking. Peter flinched for a minute.
"Oh! Peter, it's okay. It's only Mr. Lobo," said Clara
as she explained to Peter that this was a precaution the
school took to make sure the students were always who they
said they were.
"Yeah, because we have a lot of shift changers who can
take another form," said Robert.
It was a lot of information for Peter to take in, but
he went with the flow and did as the other children did.
As Mr. Lobo came forward and scanned Peter, he blurted
out, "Umm, ha, ummh, ha. Okay, you're good. Get out."
The children jumped out of the capsule and were in
"The Center". The place looked like a palace, with servers
for the children and caterers running everywhere. The
atmosphere seemed to be from the time of the pharaohs on
Earth. There were huge statues, golden spheres, secret
doorways and passages that mysteriously opened.
The teachers seemed to speak in codes, but everyone
understood them except Peter. His new friends were there to
help him out. The codes went as follows: 8, 5, 12, 12, 15.
This made no sense to Peter, but Clara jumped in and showed
him in the air how to read and interpret the codes. In
Baja, the entire code system was made of numbers. So 8, 5,
12, 12, 15 meant "hello." "H" is the eighth letter of the
alphabet, and "e" is the fifth letter and so forth.
The hard part was getting your brain to count the
letters fast and then translate them. Clara told Peter it
was going to take time and practice. He was excited. It was
like he was a part of a secret force.
Clara showed him how it was done as she walked over to
Jamyra and said, "8, 5, 12, 12, 15."
Jamyra responded by saying, "19, 8, 21, 20 - 21, 16,"
(shut up).
Then Clara responded by saying, "6, 18, 15, 7 - 6, 1,
3, 5," (frog face).
Everyone around them laughed as Clara called Jamyra a
frog face. Jamyra went angrily to get a teacher. The
teacher came over and scolded the two ladies in code.
Everyone knew what she was saying, except for Peter. He
almost had it figured out, but his brain was a little slow.
"Don't worry, you will get it," said the teacher.
"And my dear friend, Peter, that is how the code
works," said Clara, laughing and sticking out her tongue at
Jamyra.
Before the assembly began, the children tested out
their gifts in "The Center". Jamyra turned things and
student into ice. Clara blew green spit frogs and bugs all
over the place. Robert used his slender body to slip
through the crowds and trip other students. Zack and his
snot boogers were everywhere. Zack had kids pinned to the
walls with his snot.
Ben turned into a big bear that pushed kids all around
the halls and room area. Then Nicholas began to roar and
roar as he cracked walls and broke glass with his loud
echoing sounds. Peter joined in and began to create small
holes that swallowed up everything in their paths.
The children were going wild, acting like they were
losing their minds, playing and horsing around. Then
suddenly, hovering from above was the head of the school,
Mr. Stewart.
"Quiet down and stop this ruckus immediately!" he said.
The children immediately stopped the horse play and
paid attention to Mr. Stewart. "The Center" was so quiet
you could hear a pin drop. Mr. Stewart informed the
children that he was very disappointed in the way that they
had behaved and everyone would have moon duties.
The children gave a big "Booooo!" as they all hated
moon duties and had better things to do. But Waldorf was
such a prestigious school, no student wanted to get kicked
out.
Mr. Stewart led the students in prayer and the
assembly began with announcements. Then the bell rang for
classes to begin, but before classes started, Mr. Stewart
introduced Peter, the boy king, to the entire student body
and faculty. Everyone turned to get a glimpse at the one
boy the prophets claimed would save Baja, but Peter was on
the shy side. His face began to turn bright orange, and his
hair curled up from sweat. But the students and faculty
gave him a big round of applause, and then the children
were on their way to classes.
"What are moon duties?" Peter asked Zack.
Zack explained that when you had moon duties, you went
to the Elk Mountains and cleaned off the 400 moons of Baja.
The dust on the moons had to be cleaned every week to keep
the bright moonlight, and to regulate the temperature of
Baja. Zack also explained that it could get messy and the
moon dust stunk, and it was very dirty.
"That sounds so cool," said Peter.
"You won't say that when you're there," said Clara,
but to Peter, this was another adventure for his curious
mind.
The sounds of the bells rang through the halls, "Ding
dong, ding dong." Kids began rushing to class; they didn't
want to be late. Clara told her friends they must hurry.
Their first class was biology with Mr. Randel Hunter.
Mr. Hunter was the kids' first teacher they saw most
mornings. He was on the strange side; he talked to all the
animals before he cut them open and dissected them. The
children saw Mr. Hunter as slightly odd and overwhelmingly
crazy. He wore a tribal mask over his face that was made of
dead animals' bones and skin. Even his clothing had to be
made of animals. He never smiled and always tried to scare
the children with the new creatures he caught for them to
dissect.
No one knew what Mr. Hunter looked like; as he was
always wearing the tribal mask. The only thing showing was
his golden hair. It was braided into many small braids, and
then into bigger ones. Clara, Peter and the rest off the
children ran to class, just in time before Mr. Hunter
turned around.
He saw that they were almost late and said, "Nice of
you folks to join us." The classroom filled with laughter,
and in a mean voice, Mr. Hunter belted out, "Quiet now!"
The classroom quieted and the children paid close
attention to the board as Mr. Hunter wrote his lesson plans
for that day.
"Peter Carrot-Top, don't be late to my class ever,"
said Mr. Hunter as Peter took a big gulp in embarrassme
nt.
"You and Millie Spoon will be lab buddies," he said.
Some of the children laughed, and some made kissing
noises until Mr. Hunter made all the commotion stop.
Peter slowly walked over to Millie and said, "Hi," as
he sat down to start his first day at school. To Peter,
this was all he ever wanted and imagined. He was quite
content at Waldorf Academy and felt at home with his new
friends.
Peter Carrot-top Page 8
