“Did they do well on your test?” Beanie asked.
“Half of them of did,” Mark said genuinely.
“Just tell them you need more time to grade them. That’ll buy you some time.”
“That’s a great idea, honey. Thanks.” Mark smiled for once that morning.
“I’ll help you look for them at home, Daddy. After school I mean.”
“Thanks, Beanie. I appreciate that.”
Mark arrived at Kitewell Elementary and pulled up to the front of the school. He was glad that at least she made it to school on time. The buses hadn’t arrived yet. His school was a mere five minutes away. He’d be late, but at least Beanie gave him a good idea to buy him some time with his soon to be anxious students.
Mark reached in the backseat and then handed her an umbrella.
Beanie closed her eyes, wishing she could help her father find the tests so that he wouldn’t have to lie to his students. Suddenly, underneath Mark’s car seat, smoke started to stream as if a match had been lit.
Mark panicked and reached under his car seat and pulled out a thick folder. All of his test papers were in there. Smoke started to sizzle from the burnt edges of the tests. He hastily opened the door and outstretched his arm, holding out the folder to the rain. The rain put out the smoke within seconds. The folder was damp when he retracted his arm and closed the door.
“Gosh, this is it, Beanie. My tests!”
He opened the folder and the edges of the tests were burnt. He didn’t care though. At least he found them.
“I wonder how they got there. Did Bram put them there?”
“Maybe,” Beanie said with a shrug.
Mark drew a deep breath. He felt relieved, ecstatic. “I … I don’t know how that happened. But this is a godsend.”
He noticed that Beanie’s ruby ring glowed. “Did … did your ring help me find it?”
“Um … ”
She looked at the ruby and saw that it was bright red. “I … I think it did.”
“How did you do it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just works when it wants to.”
“Well, whatever you did, thank you, honey. You saved me.”
He hugged her.
“Goodbye, Daddy.”
“Love you, honey.”
Chapter 15
Beanie dashed to the double doors. She closed her umbrella with raindrops trickling on the sidewalk. She opened the door and went inside the school building. The hallway was empty. Her wet rain boots squeaked on the slick floor as she made her way to the library. She sat at a table and glanced at the big round clock on the wall. It was only 8:05 a.m.
She sat on one of the couches in the library. It was so quiet that the building seemed vacant in spite of the dark-haired librarian shelving books from the other side of the room.
Beanie unzipped her backpack and drew out the science book that she had checked out yesterday. She opened it up to the first page. The author of the book was Dr. Orson Gerald. She had never heard of his name before. On the copyright page, it was published from Glebe University in Arlington, Virginia. She hadn’t been to Virginia before. She couldn’t remember the last time she went on a vacation with her family.
Beanie leafed through the pages until she landed on a colored image of a solar system. She read the descriptions of the constellations and the stars. Her eyes grew heavy since she stayed up late stapling Nighthawk back together. But she pressed on—interested in the subject matter.
Halfway down the page, Dr. Gerald wrote about black holes—how the laws of physics collapse at the point of singularity. Not even light could escape it. Wow! She thought. Not even light. Where did everything go?
Dr. Gerald posited a couple of theories, but one in particular grabbed her attention. He posited that black holes drew light and matter into another dimension, and there, it reconfigured them into a reality where the laws of physics were slightly different, yielding exceptions that wouldn’t be possible in ordinary reality.
Dr. Gerald went on to describe this alternate dimension as so: it bent natural laws, made it possible for the supernatural to exist, for nontangible things such as souls or thoughts to be tangible, for miracles and magic to exist.
Beanie thought about this and then thought about Mrs. Kantor’s magical powers, as well as the spirit-gems. If magic were possible, then could this world be a product of a black hole? How could anyone prove it wasn’t? How could they prove their reality was the real one?
As Beanie pondered these notions, her eyes grew heavier. She slumped on the couch. The book fell from her hands. She fell asleep.
…
“Excuse me,” the librarian, Mrs. Turtle, said, shaking Beanie’s shoulder.
Beanie stirred in her seat.
“You’re supposed to be in class right now,” Mrs. Turtle said.
“In class?” Beanie said fretfully. She yawned, and then sat up.
“Yes. Didn’t you hear the bell?” Mrs. Turtle said.
Beanie looked at the clock on the wall. It was 9 a.m.
“Oh, no,” Beanie gasped.
“You better run to class,” Mrs. Turtle said.
“Can you write me a pass?”
“Please,” she said didactically.
“Can you please write me a pass?”
Mrs. Turtle sighed. “All right. But next time, you should get to bed earlier. You don’t want to fall asleep and miss class again.”
Beanie grabbed her things and followed Mrs. Turtle to the checkout desk. “What’s your full name?”
“You don’t know my full name, Mrs. Turtle?” Beanie thought it was strange that she didn’t know. She had only been to the library a million times.
“I … I seemed to have forgotten,” Mrs. Turtle said.
“Beanie Sinclair.”
Mrs. Turtle wrote that down on the pass. “And who’s your teacher?”
She was surprised Mrs. Turtle had forgotten this too. What was happening in Kitewell?
“Mrs. Somerset,” Beanie said.
Mrs. Turtle looked up at her with grim eyes. “Mrs. Somerset! You’re late to Mrs. Somerset’s class?”
“She’s here today?” Beanie said in surprise, assuming that Mrs. Lightwood would take her place or a substitute would after what happened yesterday.
“Didn’t you hear? Oh, you were asleep.”
“Hear what?” Beanie said.
“Mrs. Somerset strolled into the library and reprimanded a student who should’ve been in her class. Everyone practically left after they heard her voice.”
“Ariel?” Beanie gasped.
“Yes, Ariel. That’s her name. She was in big trouble.”
“What did she do?”
Mrs. Turtle signed the pass. “Good luck.”
She handed it to Beanie. Beanie stared at her confusedly. She didn’t want to go to class.
“Well?” Mrs. Turtle said. “Aren’t you going?”
Beanie nodded. Her face was pale. She knew Mrs. Somerset wanted to get even with her.
Beanie slowly turned around and walked to class. Her rain boots didn’t squeak. They were dry, as well as her umbrella and rain jacket. She stood nervously outside the classroom door and could hear Mrs. Somerset admonishing the students for taking advantage of the situation yesterday after she left. Her voice was high and caustic. Beanie didn’t want to go in, but when she turned around, she saw Mrs. Turtle watching her from the hallway.
Beanie gulped, then walked into the classroom.
Mrs. Somerset caught sight of her and stopped midsentence. All the students craned their necks in silence, gazing at Beanie like she was in big trouble. Mrs. Somerset marched up to Beanie and snatched the pass from her hand. She glanced at it, and then looked Beanie in the eye.
“Why are you late?” she scowled.
>
“B-b-because—”
“Never mind. Did you know we have a test today?”
“A test?”
“Yes. A unit test. Did you not study, Beanie?”
“We have a test?” Beanie said incredulously.
“You didn’t study, did you? That’s not like you, Beanie. I’m very disappointed in you.”
“What’s it on?”
The kids giggled.
“What’s it on?” Mrs. Somerset mocked. “Take off your raincoat, then go to your desk. I left the test on your desk.”
Beanie hung her raincoat on the hanger and then went to her desk. Once she sat down, she realized that she couldn’t read the test. It was as if it was written in a foreign language.
“You may begin,” Mrs. Somerset said.
The kids began by writing their names down on it. Ariel met Beanie’s eyes. Ariel looked like she was scared out of her wits. She rubbed the dry tears off of her face and then started the test. Beanie glared at her angrily.
Why didn’t she get me when I fell asleep in the library? Why didn’t she warn me about the test!
Beanie returned her attention to the test. She tried to read it, but the words were incomprehensible. She didn’t even know where to write her name. Frustrated, she raised her hand.
“Yes, Beanie?” Mrs. Somerset called from her desk.
“Can you help me?”
“I’m terribly busy.” She sipped her cup of coffee.
“Can you please come over and help me?” Beanie pleaded.
Mrs. Somerset slammed the coffee cup down. It splashed on her desk, which irritated her even more. She refused to get up, and from her desk, she said, “What’s your question?”
“I … ” Beanie looked around the room. Her classmates eyed her suspiciously.
“Your question?”
Beanie rose and took her test with her to Mrs. Somerset’s desk. Mrs. Somerset had a rule that no one was allowed to walk to her desk during a test. She believed that when a student walked to her desk, they could peek at other student’s tests on the way. Mrs. Somerset expected absolute silence, and once a student finished their test, they were allowed to get up and turn it in at the tray on the far table.
“What is the meaning of this?” Mrs. Somerset snapped. “You know the rules.”
“I can’t read this,” Beanie said softly.
“You can’t read?” Mrs. Somerset mocked.
“No. I mean I can’t read this test.”
Mrs. Somerset snatched the test from her hand. Beanie trembled at how fast she took it. Mrs. Somerset glanced at the test, then looked up at Beanie.
“There’s nothing wrong with the test. It’s perfectly fine,” Mrs. Somerset said.
Beanie blushed. “Can you give me another test?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“They’re all the same.”
The kids snickered.
Beanie’s eyes began to water. “I don’t want to fail, Mrs. Somerset. Can you please give me another test?”
“Go back to your seat.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Beanie stood there for another moment. A tear rolled down her cheek—her mind refused to accept defeat.
“Please,” Beanie muttered.
“Do you want to stay after school for detention?”
The kids guffawed.
Mrs. Somerset glared at them to be silent.
“Fine,” Beanie said, wiping the tears with the back of her hand.
She went back to her desk with her arms swinging like rubber, her dark brown hair lolling over her face. She slumped in her desk, feeling hopeless.
After Beanie collected herself, she penciled her name at the top of the test, then wrote Mrs. Somerset sucks for each answer. On the last page of the test, she wrote Mrs. Somerset is an evil witch.
Just before she got up to turn it in, she saw a snake outside the window. It was curled up on the branch of a tree. It hissed at her with its thin tongue. Its eyes shimmered bright yellow. Beanie felt a chill crawl up her skin.
Suddenly, the words on the page started to move. They rearranged themselves into strange symbols, and then they started to crawl off the page like ants. They seeped into her hands like tattoos, rearranging themselves into inkblots.
Beanie screamed.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Mrs. Somerset cried.
Beanie raced out of the classroom and down the hallway. She darted into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She rinsed her hands under running water, but the inkblots didn’t go away. They seemed to have a life of their own. They rearranged themselves into strange symbols. Her hands felt icy cold, and she could feel a darkness overcoming her. She looked at the mirror and saw her eyes turning black.
“Get off me!” she shrieked, scratching the palms of her hand.
The ruby pulsed rapidly and began to burn the inkblots. Her hands started to sizzle with smoke and she groaned in pain. The ink started to melt off her hands like sludge. She rinsed them under the water until they were clear of the ink.
“Thank you,” she said to the ruby ring as if it could hear her. “That was way too close. You’re like my guardian angel.”
When Beanie looked up at the mirror, she saw a skeletal man with a hood standing behind her.
She lurched back against the wall and spun around. The man was gone. She looked around but didn’t see him anywhere.
Chapter 16
After lunch, the kids returned to the classroom and put their chairs in the center of the room. With the rain still coming down hard, Mrs. Somerset decided to have them play Musical Chairs for recess. On any other occasion, Beanie and Ariel would enjoy this game, but Beanie overheard Katie talking with her friends to single her and Ariel out to lose.
The ten kids stood in a circle, facing nine chairs in the center. Mrs. Somerset pushed the play button on the boom box. An upbeat song by June Starwood started and the students walked in a circle around the chairs. Beanie kept an eye on Katie, who had a smirk on her face. Ariel followed behind Beanie and noticed the menacing glares the students gave them.
The music stopped.
The kids sprang for the chairs toward the center of the room. Katie pushed Ariel out of the way and sat in one of the chairs. Ariel stumbled and bumped into Lacy, who staggered and missed the chair she intended to sit in. Ariel regained her balance and sprang for the chair. All of the students sat down except for Lacy.
“That’s not fair,” Lacy cried. “Ariel pushed me.”
“Did not,” Ariel shot back.
“Did too.”
“Did not.”
“You’re out, Lacy,” Mrs. Somerset said resolutely. “Please stand aside so that the game can resume.”
Lacy pouted and went to the far wall.
“All right, class,” Mrs. Somerset said, “Stand up and get in a circle.”
The kids formed a circle around the chairs.
“Lacy,” Mrs. Somerset called, “please remove one chair from the game.”
She did so with a sour expression on her face. There were eight chairs left in the center of the room.
Mrs. Somerset pushed play on the boom box and June Starwood’s upbeat country song picked up where it left off.
The kids sauntered around the chairs. Katie and her two friends kept their eyes on Beanie and Ariel the entire time. After about fifteen seconds, the music stopped. The kids dashed to the chairs. Ariel bounced around like a pinball. Just before Greg sat in the chair, Ariel’s sapphire, which she had been keeping in her pocket, made the chair zap with an electric shock. Greg jumped out of the chair and Ariel sat in it.
He was out.
Mrs. Somerset instructed Greg to remove another chair. There were seven chairs left. As the game continued, Bean
ie and Ariel made it to the next round together. Ariel’s sapphire would create an electric shock before a kid sat in her intended chair, but she didn’t realize it was doing so. It seemed to help her like a guardian angel, just like Beanie’s ruby ring. Neither of them knew how to make their gemstones activate on will. They seemed to operate only in dire or stressful situations.
After five rounds, Katie, Beanie, and Ariel were left.
Mrs. Somerset was now on the second song of the June Starwood CD. She pushed play and the catchy song played with the girls moving in a circle.
The song stopped. The last note hung in the air like a gasp.
The three girls sprang for the chairs. Beanie rammed into Ariel, knocking her off the chair. Ariel fell to the carpet, groaning in pain.
“You’re out, Ariel,” Mrs. Somerset said.
“She pushed me off,” Ariel protested.
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Somerset said. “Didn’t Lacy say you pushed her? I let you stay in the game, didn’t I?”
“Yeah,” Lacy said.
“But it’s not fair,” Ariel said. “I was in the chair when Beanie pushed me off.”
“You should’ve woken me up in the library,” Beanie blurted. “You got me in trouble.”
“I didn’t have time. Mrs. Somerset came in there and yelled at me!”
“Enough!” Mrs. Somerset said. “Ariel, please remove one of the chairs.”
Ariel did so and then crossed her arms when she went to stand at the wall with the other kids.
“This is the last round,” Mrs. Somerset said. “It’s a face-off between Beanie and Katie again. The girl who wins gets to have my very special wand,” she said, holding it up for all to see.
Didn’t I break it? Beanie thought.
The students gaped in awe. They wished they were still in the game. It wasn’t fair that Mrs. Somerset hadn’t told them what the prize was until the last round. It wasn’t fair at all.
Mrs. Somerset played June Starwood’s song on the boom box. Beanie and Katie moved uneasily around the last chair with their nerves on edge. Their hearts thumped ceaselessly, their feet shuffled with unbearable tension.
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