Resolve

"OH, NO! OH, NO!" she writhed in turmoil, only it was all on the inside. Mustn't let anyone notice her agony, she couldn't call attention to herself in any way. However, now that she was settled in her desk before class, she would have to get up and go out again, something she'd never done.

Secretly priding herself on always being organized, never needing to retrace her steps because of a forgotten assignment or a missed teeth-brushing event, now she would have to get up, go back to her locker, retrieve her book report, and return to her seat before the bell. "Would she accept it late, like in fourth period?" Which would be worse, having to ask her for that favor or risk having her state, "First tardy, this is your warning." She decided if she stopped debating with herself and hurried she could probably avoid either.

That spot was always there, just to the left and behind her seat in Mrs. King's room. It was a little hazy distortion, just outside of her vision. She'd always been a little afraid of it, why was it only in this room? Could it be some of that tension always filling this classroom? Mrs. King ran such an intense class, fun, but a little like being in a pressure cooker. It was almost a tangible feeling, something you could feel in the air and smell as you walked in. Kind of a heady, intense flower smell like a full garden right after a quick, August shower.

In her haste to retrieve the book report she broke one of her own, unspoken rules, she leaped out of her seat and went toward the back of the room. Her mother always told her, "You're judged by the company you keep." She didn't really know the kids who sat in the back dodging the teacher's scrutiny. In her haste she accidentally moved right into that hazy sphere.

Suddenly, everything went weird, the sounds, smells, even the taste in her mouth changed. A transformation, just like those metaphors she finally understood. Despite herself she let out a wail, not out loud, too risky, but the air around her was disturbed as if it could hear her thoughts.

Creatures began emerging from the woods around her. Where did the trees come from? They don't belong in the classroom. She wasn't in a classroom anymore. "Drat, now I'll be tardy for sure!" The thought of terror at her new surroundings was overweighed by the fear of being tardy, and without her book report. That was quickly displaced, however, when her vision cleared and she could actually take in these new creatures and their proximity to herself, also the fact that their eyes were focused on her. "I have to hide, I have to run, HELP?

Grace scurried quickly behind a large broadleaf tree just to her right and behind her a little bit. Cautiously she peered out from beneath a low hanging branch. The surroundings were beginning to lull her into a sense of calm; this didn't feel like a bad place. You know, sometimes, how you can actually feel tension in the air, like it's electrically charged? The air here was mouth, kind of like after a peppermint ice cream in chocolate covered waffle cone with a little syrup and sprinkles on top. Yum - the tummy rumbles and you suddenly realize lunch will be too long in coming. Relaxing now she began assessing her situation, at least she wasn't alone. "Yikes, I'm not alone!"

That one, he has four eyes; over there, spiky hair reaching up toward the sky; funny looking sky, polka dots everywhere and glarey spots at equal distances from each other; "ick, those hair tips are a weird blue color, kind of like mold on old cheese. There's a scary one, huge, a "stranded" person caught in an enormous body being cried over by Richard Simmons. Her, that blond, she is female, isn't she? Black, tight skin stuck to all the contours of her body, slinky like and angry. She sneaks along, surly and hostile, have to stay out of her way. What's wrong with him? I hope it's all right putting genders on these, him, bouncing off the sides. But there are no 'sides' here, he's a little like Evan throwing himself into lockers to bounce off as if dazed, but Evan was a bit dazed. Look at that, a gecko, racing into corners, blending with the environment. "Cool," she mused, "I think I'll try to make it over to him, I do need help and he seems the friendliest."

"Hi, I see you there, can you help me?"

His tongue flicked, then he talked, "Lost?"

"Yeah, I don't know how I got here, I was in Mrs. King's English class, then I was here."

"Yeah, we're all from Mrs. King's class, hard, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but all you have to do is keep up, I have an A+." Immediately she wished she hadn't said that, now he would call her a schoolgirl and not like her. He didn't seem to care however, he just went on regarding her with his lazy, big, eyes. "I mean, I have to go to a good university on scholarships, I'm the youngest of six kids. Mrs. King is finally teaching me all the 'holes' I have in my reading and writing skills. She says I read about the same as a sixth grader, I have a 'below proficient' ability to write, my language arts skills are really poor, or bad, no poor, only fifth grade level, and I only got a 30% on the spelling pretest." She spouted these off with quickness coming from memorization, she knew she had to work hard this year. However, Mrs. King kept telling them they would all improve by giant strides if they "did everything."

Nightly grammar work and reading, weekly reading logs and spelling work, 80% or better on every test, spelling and reading comp., monthly writing assignments and book reports, plus writing units. Add another eight to ten writing tasks, not to mention two or three speeches in the year. The first week had been a nightmare, her parents worrying about her load at night and wondering if this teacher was too much pressure on top of three other high-powered teachers. Her brother had survived Mrs. King and he always said she helped him, and he really liked her by the end of the year. "She's fair," She'd heard it again and again.

"I really need to get back. Can you help?"

The little gecko regarded her with his huge eyes, "You're not considered a leader by people are you?" He said it as if he already knew her siblings called her "Gracie, Go Along." She hated that name, first of all she was "Grace," a name she held high. Named after grandmothers and seemingly full of promise, Grace suited her. She didn't like that "y" sounding attachment. Just because she was a Libra, born in the month of the scale, she didn't like conflict, she would agree to anything. She never voiced an opinion about where to go out to eat, or what movie to see with her friends, not even what T.V. program she wanted to watch instead of whatever violent fare her brothers preferred. What was so wrong with being a follower - less stress.

"Look," she tried to sound authoritative, 'I just need to go back, are you going to help me or not?"

"You can go back whenever you want, it only takes resolve." He calmly replied. "You know, this is all in your imagination, you stepped through the fantasy portal that allows the rest of us to escape all the "academics" of this room. You know, like Mrs. K is always teaching about, a Portal!" He said it like she was slow and hadn't gotten something he had already learned. Amazing how even the "F" students learn the things she teaches. Does she have supernatural powers that teach by osmosis or something?

"Please, I don't want detention, I need to get my book report, and get back before she notices I'm late."

"Oh, please, your book report on the day it's due? How lame, I always turn mine in late, she always takes it anyway. She can't stand to think one of us worked and we won't get credit for it. You don't have to worry. Also, this portal suspends time. You know, like in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe."

Grace quickly asked him if he knew the author of that, just in case he would be a good choice for her team in fantasy jeopardy, just in case she had the highest A of all the girls in the room and got to be captain. "Wait, what am I thinking, he's a gecko, we're caught in some time warp fantasy thing," she caught herself.

He answered anyway, "Dah, yeah, it's C. S. Lewis, I've read all of them. Hey, if you're captain, pick me okay, I'll pull my weight."

"But, you're a gecko, you're not really in my class, are you?"

"I'm Zach, you know cute little guy always drawing my "Joe" character on everything."

"Zach, please help me get back, I can't miss anything, you know scholarship and all." Grace pleaded, adding to herself, "What had he said about resolve?"

"Heh, you're here, look there's your seat, chill woman."

He looked confused by her panic. Grace looked down, sure enough there was her seat, right next to Stephanie with her new, black vinyl pants. Over there was Laurence, "That boy really needs to lose some weight, at twelve he's a heart attack waiting to happen. Sure enough, there's Evan. Was I dreaming, I better watch those daydreams." Zach was peering at her, so was John, through his thick lenses. Taylor was also wondering, "whaz up with that," you could read it in his eyes under his skater haircut, blue tips! They all smiled at her as if she had been let in on a big secret. Then, she noticed, her book report was in her hand. She slid into her chair just before the bell, "There comes Mrs. King, better start on my DOLE class opening work." Grace breathed a sigh, "I feel good, confident, I wonder if I've found my resolve?"