Plus the supposedly one-size-fits-all jumpsuit she wore was way too short. I could see the tops of her Project-issued socks and a blindingly white patch of skin on each of her legs.
I furrowed my brow and bent down to grab my handheld from my bag.
I froze.
At that moment I caught a whiff of something very familiar. Something I thought I’d never smell again: thecommingling of burnt coffee beans and sweet old-lady perfume.
I closed my eyes, hoping that I was just imagining things, until I heard …
“Sleeping, Mr. Stellar? Not a great way to start off your first day in class.”
My eyes shot open and so did my mouth. What was
Mrs. Halebopp
doing here?
“Your original teacher was unable to make the trip,” Mrs. Halebopp said in her gravelly voice. “I was called in at the last minute. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mrs. Halebopp.” She paused and ran her fat gray tongue over her lips. “I’ll be your teacher for the duration of this trip.” She shot me a smirk.
I thought I was going to faint. Or throw up. Or throw up and then faint. Up until that moment the only thing this trip had going for it was that I never had to find myself in Mrs. H’s clutches ever again. But here she was, leaning over my desk, her snarled beehive blocking out the light, just like she’d been doing every school day all year.
“I hope you’ve been working on your speech, Mike.”
I gripped my desk and looked into her bottomless eyes. “Well, uh, to be honest, I …”
“Didn’t think you were going to have to finish it after all, did you?” She cackled. “Well, look on the bright side. It’s going to be a new assignment for this class, which means you’ll have a leg up. Of course, I’ll grade you harder because you’ve had more time for research, and I’ll expect your speech to be longer—and given earlier—than everyone else’s, but …” She trailed off.
I didn’t know what to say. I closed my eyes and tried to wish her away.
Mrs. Halebopp swept herself over to the holoboard hanging in the front of the classroom, leaving me in a wake of burnt coffee stench. She began writing the rules for the assignment, which by this time I had memorized.
Larc turned around in her seat and whispered, “I think she likes you.”
I stared at my handheld, not wanting to get caught whispering.
“Seriously,” said Larc, braces glinting. “I’ve never seen her take such a liking to—”
“What do you mean you’ve ‘never seen her’?” I blurted out in a fierce whisper. “You were homeschooled, remember?”
Larc sucked in her bottom lip, smiling. She turnedback around in her seat. And before I could even try to figure out what Larc was hinting at, Mrs. Halebopp winked and motioned for her to go to the big teacher’s desk at the front of the room.
I had never, ever seen Mrs. Halebopp wink. The sight frightened and captivated me. I thought I could actually hear rusty creaking coming from her eyelid.
Larc flounced out of her seat. I stared after her in disbelief. She and Mrs. H held a short private conversation and then Larc returned to her seat. I tapped her on the shoulder.
“What was that all about?” I whispered.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she singsonged over her shoulder.
I glanced up at Mrs. H hulking behind her desk. Seeing that she was shuffling some papers and not looking at the class, I leaned forward and whispered to Larc. “Do you know her or something?”
Without turning around, Larc just shrugged. Then Mrs. H was up, passing some kind of awful pop quiz to the class.
“Though I have all of your records, I’d like to see how you do on this quiz. It will help me understand what level I should begin teaching on. Beginner …” And here she looked squarely at me. “Or advanced.” She looked at Larc with a smile. “Write out a timelineof Venus Aldrin’s greatest accomplishments. You have ten minutes.”
She paced the aisles to make sure no one was cheating and she
I furrowed my brow and bent down to grab my handheld from my bag.
I froze.
At that moment I caught a whiff of something very familiar. Something I thought I’d never smell again: thecommingling of burnt coffee beans and sweet old-lady perfume.
I closed my eyes, hoping that I was just imagining things, until I heard …
“Sleeping, Mr. Stellar? Not a great way to start off your first day in class.”
My eyes shot open and so did my mouth. What was
Mrs. Halebopp
doing here?
“Your original teacher was unable to make the trip,” Mrs. Halebopp said in her gravelly voice. “I was called in at the last minute. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mrs. Halebopp.” She paused and ran her fat gray tongue over her lips. “I’ll be your teacher for the duration of this trip.” She shot me a smirk.
I thought I was going to faint. Or throw up. Or throw up and then faint. Up until that moment the only thing this trip had going for it was that I never had to find myself in Mrs. H’s clutches ever again. But here she was, leaning over my desk, her snarled beehive blocking out the light, just like she’d been doing every school day all year.
“I hope you’ve been working on your speech, Mike.”
I gripped my desk and looked into her bottomless eyes. “Well, uh, to be honest, I …”
“Didn’t think you were going to have to finish it after all, did you?” She cackled. “Well, look on the bright side. It’s going to be a new assignment for this class, which means you’ll have a leg up. Of course, I’ll grade you harder because you’ve had more time for research, and I’ll expect your speech to be longer—and given earlier—than everyone else’s, but …” She trailed off.
I didn’t know what to say. I closed my eyes and tried to wish her away.
Mrs. Halebopp swept herself over to the holoboard hanging in the front of the classroom, leaving me in a wake of burnt coffee stench. She began writing the rules for the assignment, which by this time I had memorized.
Larc turned around in her seat and whispered, “I think she likes you.”
I stared at my handheld, not wanting to get caught whispering.
“Seriously,” said Larc, braces glinting. “I’ve never seen her take such a liking to—”
“What do you mean you’ve ‘never seen her’?” I blurted out in a fierce whisper. “You were homeschooled, remember?”
Larc sucked in her bottom lip, smiling. She turnedback around in her seat. And before I could even try to figure out what Larc was hinting at, Mrs. Halebopp winked and motioned for her to go to the big teacher’s desk at the front of the room.
I had never, ever seen Mrs. Halebopp wink. The sight frightened and captivated me. I thought I could actually hear rusty creaking coming from her eyelid.
Larc flounced out of her seat. I stared after her in disbelief. She and Mrs. H held a short private conversation and then Larc returned to her seat. I tapped her on the shoulder.
“What was that all about?” I whispered.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she singsonged over her shoulder.
I glanced up at Mrs. H hulking behind her desk. Seeing that she was shuffling some papers and not looking at the class, I leaned forward and whispered to Larc. “Do you know her or something?”
Without turning around, Larc just shrugged. Then Mrs. H was up, passing some kind of awful pop quiz to the class.
“Though I have all of your records, I’d like to see how you do on this quiz. It will help me understand what level I should begin teaching on. Beginner …” And here she looked squarely at me. “Or advanced.” She looked at Larc with a smile. “Write out a timelineof Venus Aldrin’s greatest accomplishments. You have ten minutes.”
She paced the aisles to make sure no one was cheating and she
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