“Must be your pep talk, Mum!”
“Yea don’t say…” The woman smirked, dunking her teabag. “Were we a-talkin’ the same language?”
“Gotta run! …Love ya!”
Danny scurried off to school. Soon, he took his place in line outside Mr. Foster’s door with the other boys. He wrenched his neck and scanned the crowd. Many children from Patti’s bus were present, but she was not there.
“Darn, she would be out today,” Danny muttered, rubbing his hands together.
Andy approached Danny from behind, pumping his yo-yo. “Watch this one, Mouse.” A frosty cloud stretched from the boy’s lips like a cartoon balloon. Danny watched in amazement. Andy snapped his wrist, and the yo-yo arced like a guided missile into a high trajectory. The bob orbited Andy’s hand once and came to rest in the commanding boy’s palm. “It’s called Ring Around The Moon,” Andy gloated.
“Wow, wish I could do that.”
“Trust me, you’ll get the knack…”
“I’d be happy if the darn thing would come back!”
“It’s all in the wrist…” The shivering trickster repeated the stunt. “So, today’s the big day?”
“Huh?”
“Ya gonna talk to Patti…right?”
“I told you. When the time is right, it’ll happen.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Trust me…” Danny winked. “I got the knack!”
Science Class:
The bell sounded, and Mr. Foster opened the back door. The frozen children flooded the passage like he had opened a sluice gate. Inside, the room’s warm welcome chased away the autumn chill.
“Go to your lockers and then take your seats,” Mr. Foster repeated his morning litany.
Bustling children scampered between the lockers and homeroom. The girls flocked to one corner of the classroom like chickadees, chirping with the latest gossip. Across the way, a brood of boys huddled to chitchat about sports, girls, and sports. Perched atop their desks, Andy and Danny surveyed the room.
“Doesn’t look good, Mouse.”
“I hope she’s not sick.”
The morning announcements sputtered from the loud speaker, and the lesson commenced.
“Today, I thought we’d discuss our closest neighbor, the moon.” Mr. Foster positioned himself at the head of the class.
Distraught over Patti’s absence, Danny’s mind was absent, too.
“…Moon has no light of its own… …Moon circles the earth…”
When the time is right, what will I say to her?
“…About 29 days... …About 240,000 miles away…”
What did Mum advise? Speak from the heart?
“…Moon keeps the same face to earth… …Moon does not turn upon its axis…”
“WAAAAITTTT!!!”
“Danny!” Mr. Foster was floored. “Please raise—”
“Did you say the moon does not rotate?”
“Yes, that is correct. That way, the same side always faces earth.”
“No! That’s not right!” A light chuckle echoed across the room.
“Cool it, Mouse!” Barnegat piped up. “It says so right in our science books.”
“Then, our science books are wrong!”
The children laughed hysterically at Danny’s gall. Mr. Foster retired to his desk and allowed the class to debate the issue.
“Mouse, do you know more than the science book?” Thompson challenged.
“Books can be wrong, ya know.”
His opponents’ contempt was contagious.
“Forget it, Mouse!” a voice shouted. “You’re obviously wrong.”
“It’s true, I tell ya!” Danny insisted. “And, I can prove it!”
“Don’t listen to him!” snapped another. “He’s looney.”
The teacher’s curiosity was piqued. “Can you really prove it, Danny?”
“Absolutely! The center of attention, the boy’s heart pounded like a bass drum.
“Then, please come forward.”
Bombarded by insults, Danny trudged front and center.
“Ooh…you’re gonna get it now, Mouse!” teased a choir.
“Quiet!” Mr. Foster was unamused. “This debate is exactly how we learn from one another.”
The teacher rested an arm on Danny’s shoulder, knelt down, and looked the child in the eye. “If you can’t prove it, it’s all right,” Mr. Foster whispered. “I’ll clear things with the class.”
The man rose to his full height when Danny tugged on his sleeve. “Mr. Foster?” The boy was beaming. “Just find me an assistant.”
“Danny informed me,” Mr. Foster announced. “He’ll need an assistant.” He found no allies.
“Having a partner is a marvelous idea! In fact, I think I shall break the class into groups.”
“Thanks a lot, Mouse,” someone grunted.
“Don’t sound so excited. Now…who is willing to help Danny?”
Mr. Foster scanned a sea of blank stares – not one volunteer. “No one? Will no one take Danny as a partner?” Even Andy was uncertain of Danny’s cockamamie scheme.
“It depends…” a brave soul revealed.
“On what?”
“Depends if you say he’s right…or wrong.” The consensus laughed, nodding in agreement.
“This is a class discussion,” Mr. Foster explained. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Sorry, Mr. Foster…I was running late.” Patti burst through the door. The bedraggled girl grappled with her books. The stack teetered on her knee while presenting her hall pass.
“Why, Miss Connor!” The teacher rescued her tipsy tomes from a perilous plummet. “I’d say you’re right on time. Help us settle a wager.”
“Me?” Patti straightened her outfit and patted her hair. “But, I-I-I…”
“That’s right,” Mr. Foster placed her books on the floor. “Come stand beside Mr. Ormont.”
“No, really…I’ll just take my—”
“The science book says the moon does not turn on its axis.”
Patti failed to comprehend the complexities. “So?”
“Well, Mr. Ormont claims this is incorrect. …Which do you believe?”
Patti brushed her bangs and bit her lip. “The science book, I guess…why?”
“Because Danny insists he can prove his point. What do you say to that?”
“Ok…let’s see him prove it.”
“Will you be his science partner?”
“Oh, boy!”
“All right, Danny…” The teacher stepped aside. “Let’s see what you can show us.”
Danny approached the globe atop Mr. Foster’s desk. His highly curious assistant followed.
“Patti, please hold out your hand.” The girl obeyed without hesitation. “Just follow my lead,” he instructed, gripping her wrist. “Keep your palm facing the globe at all times, ok?”
The girl nodded in agreement. “Sounds simple enough.”
Danny addressed the class. “Now, let’s say Patti’s hand is the moon.” Danny informed his fellow students. “Her palm is what people call the near side. Here’s what we’d see if the moon did not rotate.”
All eyes were glued on the performers. Mr. Foster shuffled through some books at his desk while Danny performed for the class. Maintaining his grip, Danny proceeded to guide her hand in a path that followed the surface of the globe.
“Hey, what gives? I can’t do it!” she declared.
“That’s exactly my point. If your hand does not rotate, you can’t do it.”
Patti cocked her head a tad and smiled in amazement. Danny smiled back; his heart performed backflips.
“But, when I loosen my grip…” Danny repeated the same experiment, circling the globe. “Watch what happens this time.”
“Piece of cake! …If you’ll let me turn my wrist.”
“Exactly. And, that’s why the moon must rotate on its axis.”
“How did you do that? Is it a trick?”
> “Oh, I’m just full of surprises…” Danny dreamed.
Patti giggled like tiny bubbles floating on a breeze. “Uh, Mouse…can I have my hand back, please?” Danny stared in awe, wallowing in her chocolate brown eyes.
“No! You’ll fall!” Her companion grew irate. “I won’t let go this time!”
“This time?” Patti gawked at the freak. “Is the sky green in your world?”
“I swear this all seems strangely familiar.” Danny tightened his grip.
“OW! You’re hurting me!”
“Danny? Danny!” Mr. Foster cried. “Mr. Ormont!”
“Mouse, I think you’re being paged…” The girl snapped her fingers before his eyes.
“Huh…? Oh, oh…” Danny released Patti’s wrist. “I’m sorry.”
“That was a very impressive demonstration.” Mr. Foster applauded. “Actually, Danny is right. Here are other books which agree.”
A collective gasp rippled across the classroom. The children were all abuzz, only this time, not one negative remark was spoken. Danny and Patti stood at the front of the room, awaiting further instruction.
“Let’s settle down, people,” Mr. Foster called. The students gave Mr. Foster their undivided attention. “I only have one question for the class. Who wants to be Danny’s science partner?
All hands rocketed into the air. Mr. Foster gazed into a crowd of goosenecked arms, stretching and straining, competing to reach higher and farther than the next. They moaned in pain, desiring to be Danny’s partner.
“Actually, Miss Connor… You two already make excellent partners.”
“Huh? No! I mean, I-I-I…”
“Wonderful! I thought you’d agree.” Mr. Foster divided the rest of the class into study groups of three amidst grumbles of disapproval. “Don’t complain. It can always be worse.”
“Say, what about Danny and Patti?”
“I think the two of them will work out just fine. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Danny was elated. Good fortune was drawing them together. The couple locked eyes, and the boy’s heart floated away. He stood on the brink of bliss ready to reveal his heart. Why am I so afraid? He cleared his throat and conjured up the nerve.
“…St. Swithin’s?” Danny cried. “No way!”
“What did you say?”
“Patti, you really came from St. Swithin’s?”
“Hey! Who told you?”
“Uh, duuh! …You just told me.”
“But…I didn’t say anything!”
“Patti! You just told me you went to St. Swithin’s School for Girls.”
“What are you, a mind reader? I never said a word.”
“That’s too freaky…how else could I have known?’
“The only thing freaky around here is you!”
“That’s funny…I thought you were just new to the class.”
“No, I’m new to the school. What’s so funny about that?”
“Because…I’m new, too.”
“No way!”
“You don’t get it. I went to St. Swithin’s School for Boys!”
“Impossible. That’s just too weird!”
“Uh, Patti…” He shuffled his foot, sighed, and turned away. “Wanna hear something even weirder?” The shy boy glanced back, and she was gone.
Morning Recess:
“Well…? What’d she say, what’d she say?” Andy gushed. “Tell me everything!”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb. What did Patti say?”
“Oh…nothing.”
“You two were sure talking up a storm for a lot of nothing.”
“Say, Andy…What do you feed a hungry table?”
“I don’t know. What kind of question is that?”
“Seriously, what do you feed a hungry table?”
“Quit stalling! …What did Patti say?”
“Give up?”
“I suppose…” The fair-haired boy shrugged. “Tell me.”
“Table food!”
“Oh, that’s terrible!”
“I know,” Danny snickered. “My jokes are no laughing matter.” Andy sucker-punched the comedian in the shoulder.
“And, how do you feed a hungry table?”
The captive sidekick covered his ears. “I’m afraid you’re going to tell me…”
“One tablespoon at a time, get it?”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Andy groaned. “Your jokes have gone to the dogs.”
“Now, what do hungry fingers eat?”
“Enough, already! Tell me what Patti…”
“…C’mon, guess!”
“Don’t tell me.” The boy held his stomach and groaned. “…Finger food?”
“Yes, but how do you feed hungry fingers?”
“You got me there.”
“By the fistful!” The giddy boys chuckled in the warm autumn sun.
Andy grew serious. “Quit foolin’! Speaking of fool, what was all that nonsense in class?”
“Not sure what you mean.”
“Stalling again? …Didn’t you tell Patti that she was going to fall?”
“Oh that…it was nothing.”
“Nothing, huh? And, something else was strange, too…” Andy scratched his head. “What was it? Aw, c’mon, you remember…”
“We have something in common.” Danny blushed. His ears blazed red, stopping traffic a block away. “Patti and me…”
Andy shot his friend an incredulous look. “Ya gonna torture me? Or, ya gonna straight-out tell me?”
“She came from my old school…” Danny stared into the distance.
“Impossible! Didn’t you say you went to an all-boys school?”
“Yes, I did. I mean she was at my sister school.”
“There’s a coincidence for ya,” Andy remarked. “What else did she say?”
“Nothing…”
“Enough already!” Andy exploded, tired of beating around the bush. “Did you ask her out?”
“No…”
“Geez, are you dumb! You had her, and you let her get away?”
“Get away? She’s not going anywhere.”
“Don’t be so sure...”
“I’m not worried. It’ll happen when the time is right.”
“You keep saying that.” Andy raised a doubting eyebrow. “What makes you so sure?”
“Don’t you see? It’s happening right before your eyes! We were destined to become partners!” Danny cheered. “Just like I told ya!”
“I don’t know…”
“Oh! And, there’s one thing more…”
Andy rubbed his hands together. “Now, we’re getting to the good stuff!”
Danny looked his friend straight in the eye. “I can’t put my finger on it, but I swear, for a minute there…”
“Finally. …Don’t stop now!”
“We could read each other’s minds!” Danny whispered, glancing around. “That’s how I knew what school she attended.”
“Dang, Mouse…” His friend ogled the crazy loon, perplexed. “I suppose you expect me to believe that, too.”
“It doesn’t really matter if you believe me or not. It simply is.”
In the lower field, the friendly game of kickball exploded into a bench-clearing brawl. Andy and Danny stood beneath the sheltering oak and watched sportsmanship melt into mutiny. Fellow classmates turned against each other pushing, clawing, jabbing, tackling, punching, pinching, grabbing, and biting until the future athletes melded into a living sculpture – a mound of human spaghetti.
“C’mon…let’s go break it up.”
“Do you have a death wish, Mouse? They’ll cream us!”
Danny marched toward the field. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Andy followed in hot pursuit.
“Give it back!” Beneath the human pyramid wriggled two forms, one hugging the kickball. “Get off me!”
It was Barnegat and Thompson, kickball diamond kings. Danny saw them for the first time in a new light – their natur
al habitat. The Neanderthals were undoubtedly the two biggest kids in the sixth grade and destined for varsity football. For now, they were opposing team captains.
“You were out!”
“The ball never touched me!”
Danny perused the tangled knot of angry boys. Andy kept his distance. Boys punched and howled–jammed shoulder to shoulder, foot to face. The pack clawed each other like wolves vying for the same bone. The diplomat approached the hostile crowd, unnoticed. He took a deep breath, placed two fingers on opposite sides of his mouth, and expelled a shrill whistle instantly grabbed the boys’ attention.
“Hey, Barnegat! What are the rules to this game?”
“Stay out of it, Mouse!”
“Is this some new way to play kickball, Thompson?”
“Butt out, Ormont!”
Nearby, their teachers served sentry duty over the schoolyard. “What are those boys doing?” Mrs. Fishbine gasped, in horror.
“Calm down, Edna…”
“Shouldn’t we break it up?”
“Call me crazy, but I believe Danny has it well under control.”
“You’re right, Stan…” Mrs. Fishbine seethed. “You are crazy!”
“This won’t settle anything!”
“Says you!”
“Is this what the gym teacher means by magnet ball?”
“Mouse, you fool… What are you talking about?”
“Friendship. Is that how friends act?”
“He’s no friend of mine!” Thompson snorted. “Did ya see that play at the plate?”
“What’s more important?”
The teachers remained at their post, monitoring the situation.
“You put too much faith in your students, Stan.”
“They’re a fine bunch.”
Mrs. Fishbine frowned, turning away. “You coddle them, Stanley.”
“And, you stifle them,” Mr. Foster retorted.
“Give them an inch, and they’ll take a yard.”
“You mean, give them an inch, and they’ll grow a yard.”
The cynical woman faced her colleague. “Want some free advice?”
“No thanks. I can’t afford it – even at that price.”
“Children should be treated as inferiors.”
“Let up on the reins, Edna. Let their pride shine through.”
“It’ll never work…”
“I’ll bet you a lunch that Danny can settle this amicably.”
The stubborn woman pumped her advisory’s hand. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“There’s more to Danny than meets the eye, you can be sure of that.”
“They’re serving hamburgers today,” Mrs. Fishbine bragged. “Make mine rare.”
On the kickball field, the fatigued warriors began to unknot. The mob encircled Danny and the two quarreling boys. Barnegat and Thompson dusted themselves off.