"We'll discuss more later!" Those words Sachiko said, stuck to me like seven layers of cheese pressed between two toasty slices of bread; the perfect grilled cheese sandwich! UNFORTUNATELY, little miss PRISS has left me chomping at the bits, for days, now! I'm no expert, but I was at least hoping to know when our little plan would start.
"When, when, when, when's it gonna start, miss priss??" My eyes dart across the classroom, ricocheting from corner to corner, window to window; similar to a game of pinball.
"D-dude, y-y-you drifting off a-again? Snap o-outta it afore.." Clarence, having taken notice of my fidgeting fingers, beneath my desk; tries to get my attention.
"Kids, any volunteers to try to solve this problem?" Our Second grade teacher scans the classroom; not for too long though, before he notices something amiss. "Ah, mister Bax; you look willing."
"Cr-cr-crap, too l-late!" Clarence says in defeat, as he realizes something I've yet to figure out.
"Come on up, Thomas; show us what you've got." Our teacher beckons me as if I were supposed to lead our class into battle.
"Reporting for duty, teach!"
"Ah, that's the right attitude, Thomas! Though I am a little disappointed you didn't respond to mister Bax; after all that prodding you did."
"I'm terribly sorry, teach! But, what's the point of all these words I'm looking at?" I interrupt our teacher, as I gaze aimlessly at the chalkboard in front of me.
"Well, Thomas, out of those four words, only one of them has a 'pre-fix'. I need YOU to identify which one!"
If he weren't such a nice guy; I'd swear this bloke were a villain; his making ME solve such a messy problem!
"Four words.. more like fourteen, innit?!"
I don't know if it was because of my rapid eye movement, a moment ago, or, perhaps stage fright? Either way, I didn't see what the teacher saw.
"Hahahaha! There sure are a lot a words up there, teach!"
The laughter of my classmates helped me calm down a bit. Next thing I know, the teacher's tone changed, as he placed his hand on my left shoulder.
"It's alright Thomas. Take a deep breath, and look closely at the FOUR words, right in front of you."
I slowly follow his lead.
"Now tell me, what.. do.. you.. see?"
As if a curtain that was preventing sunshine from entering a dark room was removed; my eyes could see clearly what was in front of me.
"Oh, so it IS Four words: Sad, Happy, Joyful, and Unhappy."
"Good eye, Thomas. Now, which one has the pre-fix?"
"Hah, trick question, teach! Two words have pre-fixes: Happy, and Unhappy!"
I had just won the battle the teach had hired me for! He caught me off guard, for a second, sure, but, my sense of accomplishment was well worth the momentary confusion. At least that's what I thought until I saw the look on our teacher's face.
"Thomas." He shakes his head.
"Yes, Mr. Layne." I reply formally in response to my teacher's disappointment. "Was I wrong?"
"Not Entirely, Thomas, consider yourself Half-Right. Only one of your answers was wrong; while your other choice was correct." Mr. Layne gives me consolation as he points toward the chalkboard.
"Unhappy is the right word? Unhappy is the right word, right??"
Satisfied isn't enough to describe the look on my teacher's face, after I gave my answer. Maybe relieved, as well?
"Unhappy IS correct; it is the only word with a pre-fix! Thank you for your participation Mr. Bax, go ahead and take a seat."
Mr. Layne redirected his attention back to the lesson at hand; the differences between pre-fixes and suffixes…real FUN, haha. But, I'm touched that he referred to me by my last name; he was quite against it, at first.
As I make my way back to my desk, I'm met with inquiry.
"Psst, psst, hey kid; your name's Thomas right?"
"Of course." I tell the boy, but he's been here long enough to know that by now. There's only bout fourteen of us second graders, here at OGO. Easier to remember my fellow orphans' names than a messy pre-fix!
Yet, the boy continues, "why'd teach call you Mr. Bax? You isn't a small adult, in disguise, is you?"
"Haha, no, I just,"
"Be quiet back there, gentlemen; or else you'll be forced to stay inside for recess!"
"Yes, sir!!" We both reply.
Mr. Layne interrupted our little chat. Smashing! He either has ears the size of an elephant or we were louder than expected. I don't want to risk missin' out on recess, so I whisper my next words as quietly as I could.
"I need as much memory of my parents as possible."
Class continued as normal, until it was time for recess. I was all kinds of excited for the fun that awaits, but more importantly; I wanted to forget the sign of disgust on the boy's face, after I replied.
"I-I-I've got a n-new record to b-b-beat! Bet ya I-I-I'll do it in five min-minutes." Clarence has a magnetic energy that's enough to give anyone motivation to play around as much as he does. "What's the record to beat today, mate?"
"Must y-y-you have to a-a-ask, my f-friend? It's 40 r-r-rounds of te-tether b-ball!" Clarence's answer attracted a large crowd.
"Did he say forty rounds?"
"No way! He can't do it. He won't do it!"
"I bet he can!"
"How much??"
"Two juice pouches."
"What flavor though?"
"Blueberry fizz."
"You're on!"
I'm just as intrigued as the other kids. But the real question to ask is, "who's Clarence going up against today?"
"….!" I couldn't hear the kid's name, but his presence was more than enough for me to remember who he was.
"Clarence, you is not smart if you think you beat me!"
"Emiliano.." I say to myself. He talks funny, like Clarence does, but something feels different about him. I shake my head to combat the discomfort. The game starts and intensifies rapidly to the two minute mark. Everyone's eyes are glued to the competition.
"Twenty five rounds."
"Already??"
"You can see, can't you?"
"Shut up!"
Clarence; being as tall as he is has a clear advantage, yet Emiliano's keeping up longer than most kids. The goal is to see how long anyone can stay in a match with Clarence before they tire out. His parents must have been body builders, gymnasts or something of the like.
Four minutes in, 32 rounds of tether ball, and counting. The mood starts to change.
"Emiliano, give it up man! The longer you go, the longer Clarence's next challenge will be!"
"He's right, I know I don't have enough energy to keep up with Clarence forever!"
"Give it a rest. A bet's a bet, you just don't want to fork up your precious juice pouches!"
The banter of my fellow orphans increases my interest in this particular game. Yet, in the blink of an eye, with a gentle series of tugs on the back of my shirt; the channel I was focused on changed.
"Thomas, it's go time." The sound is faint in comparison to the loud game, I'll just ignore it.
"…it's go time." Rats! I can still hear her voice! Her timing is horrible, despite her accurate rhythm of tugging on my shirt with every word that comes out of her mouth.
"Thomas, Thomas, please turn around!"
There it is; that proper demeanor of hers! Sachiko's politeness where most others would have at least kicked me; forces me to give her my attention.
"Yes, Sachiko, you finally ready to tell me when our plan starts?"
"Here," she presents me with a rolled up piece of paper; securely wrapped up with rubber bands.
"What's this, a ninja scroll? Sachiko, does thou wish me to eliminate the Queen?"
As if what I said betrayed what is fitting, Sachiko quickly looked away in silence for a few moments before she replied.
"It's our contract. Oh! And there's a few key reminders to look back on, so you don't forget anything. Isn't that neat, Thomas!??"
There was cheering going on behind us; obviously Clarence's match with Emiliano ended. Yet, the smile that was now present on Sachiko's face had my full attention.
A quick reminder of why I must help her, and do what's necessary in order to stay here, at OGO.