New School

“Sadie, you've got mail!” Mrs. Flame called upstairs.

Sadie dashed down. She stopped right in front of the tall woman.

Sadie grabbed the envelope, then ran back up the stairs to her bedroom. Plopping down on her belly on her bed, she opened it up carefully.

Inside was a letter. It was on plain, white paper and typed using a plain font.

Dear Miss Flame,

I am mailing you this letter to let you know that you have been accepted into the Junior High School for Talented Children. Your classes begin this next Monday, on the 23rd. Your skills have already been evaluated, so there is no need to take a placement test. Your teacher will be Mrs. Priscilla Plain.

Have a nice day, and welcome to our special program.

Signed,

Principal Henry Henderson

For more information, call Principal Henderson at the following number.

Puzzled, Sadie looked down at the number. She pulled her phone out and dialed.

“Hello, this is Sadie Flame,” Sadie said.

“I know,” a deep voice told her, “I'm Principal Henderson of the Junior High School for Talented Children.”

“Oh. Well, I was wondering about the letter I received. I've never gone to this school before, not even for an evaluation, and my parents would tell me if I were switching schools. Could you tell me what is happening with this? Is it a mistake?”

“No, not a mistake. I hand-picked you to be a part of this school program. Your parents know you will be switching schools, although they don't know about your talent. If you would like to tell them, that is fine.”

“Okay. What do you mean by 'talent', though?” Sadie asked.

“You'll find out when you get here,” the principal explained.

“Oh. Well, then, I'll see you there?”

“Yes, you will. Goodbye.”

“Uh, goodbye.”

Sadie hung up, then scratched her head. It was a mystery to her why she would be chosen for this.

The next two days went by quickly, and it was soon Monday. Sadie had forgotten about the new class. That is, until a green minivan with the word 'school' written on it pulled up in front of her house and the driver walked up to her front door.

“Hello, my name is Mrs. Plain. Priscilla Plain,” the driver said, “I'm your teacher. Come with me into the bus.”

Sadie followed her new teacher out and into the car. She wasn't used to the teacher picking her up from her house. Or the bus being green, either. However, it was even weirder inside the van, because as soon as she got in and buckled up, her surroundings began to fade. After everything faded back in, she realized she was not in the same room. Instead, she was sitting on a chair inside a classroom. At the teacher's desk, someone began to appear in the chair. A moment's time revealed that it was Mrs. Plain.

“What happened?” Sadie asked frightfully.

“We came to school,” Mrs. Plain announced, “We always get here by teleportation. We can, thanks to the vice principal. She's nice, donating her powers like that . . . Anyway, I'm sure you've got plenty of questions. All of you. Today is the first day for most of you, so welcome. I'm Mrs. Plain, and this is my classroom, often identified as the 'Green Classroom'.”

Sadie looked around, noticing that name was fitting. Nearly everything in the room was green. The walls, floor, desks, and even the trim on the windows were green. After further inspection, she noticed that Mrs. Plain's blonde hair was tinted ever so slightly with green.

“Since today is the first day for most of you,” Mrs. Plain continued, “We won't be doing much schoolwork. Instead, we will be exploring the school. However, this is only the first day for my class, so you can see similar things that we will be working on. Now follow me however you feel most comfortable.”

A couple students began to rise into the air as they went after the teacher. Many of them, however, stayed on the ground.

Each of the rooms had huge windows to the hallway so that you could see into all the classrooms without going in. Sadie began to see what the school meant by 'talents', as she watched one student filling out schoolwork while upside-down, and another one wasn't even holding the pencil. A student in the front was mostly invisible, although Sadie noticed a note on the blackboard said, 'If you feel most comfortable invisible, please remain partly visible, so that I can see where you are at all times.' In other classrooms, there were even odder children.

A boy, about Sadie's age and from her new class, approached her. Without meaning to, she looked into his bright blue eyes. She saw a slight amount of nervousness.

“Hi,” the boy said, “My name is Gresham. Gresham Frost. I've been here a year, but I failed the class, so I have to take it over again. Do you want me to show you around or anything?”

“Uh, sure. I mean, if you want.”

“Of course I want to. Mrs. Plain wouldn't mind, as long as we let her know in some way. Oh, and be careful what you do. Those glasses have something attached that allows her to see what any of her students are doing anywhere in the school. Well, except in the bathrooms. Anyway, I'll go tell her.”

Sadie stood there a moment, while Gresham talked to Mrs. Plain. When he came back, he, in an asking sort of way, slowly took her hand in his.

“You're warm,” Gresham told her.

“Sorry,” Sadie apologized.

“No, I like it. And your hair is very pretty, too.”

Sadie looked self-consciously at her bright orange hair falling around her shoulders. She smiled. She knew she was going to like this new school.