Chapter 3: Fairy Tales & Other Enablers of the Ignorant
Colby was the first student to arrive in the English classroom that afternoon. Knowing his preference for the front of the classroom and Keira’s preference for the back, he strategically chose a seat in the middle. As usual, Keira slid into the seat directly behind Colby just as the tardy bell rang. Jumper was seated to her right, which was a suspicious position, given that he was an equally skilled prankster and Keira was due for a little payback after lunch.
The class began normally. Roll was taken. The teacher, a handsome young man with geeky black glasses, seemed as distracted as the students. The thought of being tied up in school on this particularly beautiful late summer day was disconcerting to everyone.
“Let’s get on with it people. Open your books to page 3,” Dr. Tyler said with a sigh. “For these first few weeks, we will discuss fairy tales and fables.”
“Great,” Keira said with a roll of her eyes. Unfortunately, the comment was spouted with a bit more volume than she had intended. It reached Dr. Tyler’s ears.
He looked over his glasses at Keira and picked up the attendance record. He stood quietly not taking his eyes off her. “Would you like to share your insight on this genre with the class, Miss Ryan?"
“Not really, but you asked.”
Colby’s mouth gaped open and his pencil dropped to the floor. Having the complete opposite reaction, the corners of Jumper’s mouth pulled into a large grin. The room fell deathly quiet except for a few random giggles. The few seconds that followed seemed like hours until Keira spoke again.
“I just think that these stories…er, I guess, tales, whatever you want to call them…are ridiculous. Why would anyone waste their time to read or believe any of this garbage?”
Jumper snickered. Colby couldn’t believe his ears. This was no way to make a first impression. Why was Keira goading the teacher? He slumped down in his chair so as to not intercept the cold, piercing gaze that Dr. Tyler now had on Keira.
Dr. Tyler, in a manner that was eerily calm, attempted to explain, “One man’s garbage…another man’s treasure, Miss Ryan.” He turned to the class and continued, “These works are fiction. They are a flight of fancy, a feast for the imagination, a…”
Keira rose to her feet and slammed her hands on her desk. “Don’t you mean a mockery of the truth, an enabler of the ignorant? Do stories of fairy godmothers prancing around, elves, goblins, mogdocs, and trolls really help? Puh-lease, tales of idiotic creatures like tooth fairies help no one. Oh, and are we really to believe that the poor, tragic, but brave orphan assumes their destiny only after their parents die like in Cinderella, Snow White,” she shrieked. “HELL, even Harry Potter?” She smashed her fist against her textbook and the desk top fell apart, hitting the floor with a loud bang.
Even Jumper was speechless.
“Miss Ryan!” Dr. Tyler barked, showing considerably less restraint than before. “I appreciate a spirited debate. However, I do not tolerate vandalism or profanity in my classroom. You are dismissed to the principal’s office. Take all your belongings with you. You may be there for quite some time.”
Keira rushed out and slammed the door behind her. As Colby recovered from his shock at Keira’s outburst, he finally realized what was really happening. The clue came from her last words; an orphan, like Cinderella, Snow White, Potter…an orphan, like Keira.
Yet, Keira was not exactly like those fictional characters. She was an orphan, not because of the untimely death of her parents, but because of their decision. Colby didn’t know much about it, but he did know that her parents were still among the living. They were very young when she was born. A few days after she came into the world, they gave her up. She has lived with Nana ever since. Nana was a kind woman and Colby had always believed that she was actually Keira’s grandmother or some other relative, even though that theory had never been confirmed. Thinking back, he realized that he never really had a solid reason for this opinion, it was just a feeling. Keira would never talk about it. She never visited or even talked about her parents. Colby had supposed that the fear of being unwanted was too terrible for even the fearless Keira to face.
Still, Keira’s classroom meltdown was bizarre and it left Colby with a truckload of questions. Of all things to set her off, why was it English class? Why was the most imaginative person that Colby knew ranting about creative stories? Why was she being so closed-minded? Was she conceited enough to think of her life as a fairy tale?
Colby’s insides were racing to catch up with his best friend as his body was forced to stay put. Did she need him? For once, the teacher’s pet found that he was thinking of something other than the lesson. His questions collected like raindrops in a bucket and filled his head until it overflowed. There was only one person that could answer them.
When the bell rang, he darted into the hall, through the gym doors, across the library, to the principal’s office. Keira was nowhere to be found. Deciding that she must have already received her sentence, Colby headed to his next class.
Still, his questions were all he could think about. There was no logic to what had happened. His mind needed it to make sense. He blocked out everything else as the scene played over and over in his head. That’s probably why he didn’t notice the incessant tapping on his shoulder soon after he took his seat in study hall. Escalating her attempt to get his attention, Brooke finally leaned forward and whispered directly in his ear… “Colby.”
That sweet perfume ripped Colby from his distraction in a heartbeat. His spine tingled as she leaned in close again, softly brushing his ear with her cool cheek… “Colby,” she called again.
He could feel his whole body tense as her breath hit the back of his neck. “Ba…Brooke. Hey, hi, I mean uh, what’s, uh, what’s goin’ on?” Colby somehow managed to shut off the babbling by reprimanding himself in his own head.
“You’re Colby, right? I heard about Keira and I know you two are close. Is she okay?”
She leaned back in her chair and Colby turned around to meet her glimmering emerald eyes. Her blonde hair seemed to glow lightly as it framed her angelic face. Her tan skin was accented by pink cheeks and lips. Dazed by her beauty, he started to answer almost unconsciously, “I hope so. I mean, I think so. She had already left the principal’s office when I stopped after class.”
“You don’t know?”
His stomach began to tighten. All he could do was look at her. She leaned close for the second time and Colby could feel his heart racing as if it were about to pop out of his chest and sprint down the hall. He gripped the edge of his seat to steady himself.
“Keira didn’t go to the office. They’re furious. Dr. Tyler, Principal Murphy…they’re all looking for her. They know she couldn’t have gotten too far off school grounds; she hasn’t had enough time. Colby, if she left the grounds, that’s cause for suspension maybe even expulsion.”
“She wouldn’t leave. I think I know where she is.”
Colby raised his hand and asked Mrs. Bethany for a hall pass under the pretense of working on his honors research project in the lab. She granted his request. Colby wasn’t one for lying or breaking the rules, but this time Keira needed him.
He quickly made his way to the chem lab. Luckily, this was the chemistry teacher’s planning period, so the lab was completely empty. Carefully checking that no one was watching, he moved to the back of the room and opened the wooden door to the lab’s supply closet. Once inside the closet, he shut the door and turned to a large, dingy white cardboard box marked Handle with Care: Bunsen Burners. He shoved the box aside to uncover a small door painted with giant sunflowers and a rainbow.
This was their secret hideaway. Colby had discovered it the year before, after spending countless hours in the lab to secure his spot in the accelerated science program.
When the school was built, the district superintendent at the time included the nursery as part of the building plan. To the public it was praised as
progressive and an invaluable aid for teen mothers, but privately it served as free daycare for the superintendent’s five young children. So, after she retired, the nursery was closed. Eventually most of it was converted into a massive storage closet for the new lab, but this tiny space on the other side of the miniature door was useless and eventually forgotten. Colby had shown it to Keira last week, after she had convinced him to sneak off from freshman orientation for some extra exploring.
As soon as he pushed the door, he could hear the sobs of his friend. Light from a high window streamed down to bounce off her black hair. He bent down and pulled himself through the tiny doorway. By the time he entered and re-latched the door, she had gained control of her tears. He sat down beside her on the floor. Keira turned to him. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. Instead, she leaned on his shoulder and stared at the wall. “I’m fine. I just…you know.”
“I do,” he said, even though he really didn’t.
“Thanks.”
It took every ounce of restraint that Colby had in him not to say more. He wanted so badly to ask the questions that had driven him to this hiding place, but he watched them evaporate as he looked into her sorrowful eyes.
“Well, I have some gossip that will cheer you up,” Colby said in an effort to re-direct the conversation.
“What’s that?”
Colby grinned, “I hear that Brooke Banes can’t stay away from Colby Hayes. She was practically on top of him in study hall, whispering in his ear.”
“No way, sounds like a fairy tale to me.”