Arrazethia

Children were seen happily playing on the jungle gym, chasey, talking to their friends, parents or reading a book at the front of Arrazethia Primary School. The school itself was a three-story red bricked building, with several large elm trees growing here and there providing shelter for the students. Class has not started yet and the children had some time to play as several teachers watched them. A young couple named Nathan and Connie Jones walked together hand in hand with their five-year-old son, Lucas for his very first day of school.

Their son was scared and nervous about going to school for the first time. “Mummy, do I really have to go to school? What if I do not like it?” he asked with fear in his voice.

“Yes, you do have to go to school, Lucas” Connie said. “You’ll love it, I promise.”

“But what if nobody likes me?” Lucas asked as he looked at her sadly.

“They will like you, Lucas” Nathan said giving him thumbs up. Lucas looked at him and doubted what his father said.

Seeing that his son was unhappy, Nathan stopped walking and took Lucas’s backpack off his back and unzipped it. Connie and Lucas stopped walking and watched him.

“What are you doing, Nath?” Connie asked as Nathan dug through Lucas’s backpack.

“You’ll see” Nathan said smiling to Lucas and Connie who were watching.

“Did I forget my lunch box?” Lucas asked taking a guess on what his father was doing.

“No, I put it in there this morning. Now where did I put Sandy?” Nathan said aloud.

“Did you put Sandy in my bag, Daddy?” Lucas asked excitedly. Sandy was the name of Lucas’s favourite teddy bear who was nearly always with Lucas. Nathan smiled and pulled out a small brown teddy bear which had a red ribbon around its neck. The teddy was missing an eye but Lucas didn’t care. He loved Sandy the moment he saw her at one of the op shops one day with his parents and had to have her, his mother bought Sandy for him.

“Sandy!” Lucas yelled out as he went to snatch the teddy from his father. Nathan laughed and changed his voice.

“Lucas, can I please stay with you? I do not like it in this bag and I’m sure your teacher will be happy to teach us bears too!” Nathan said in the best female bear voice he could provide. Nathan made Sandy walk on the ground to Lucas, Connie watched in amusement and chuckled to herself.

“Yes, you can, Sandy. Although I think you need a school uniform” Lucas said smiling. Nathan grinned and gave Sandy to Lucas and watched his son give the bear a hug.

“I must remember to get her a new eye when I get the chance to” Connie said to Lucas. “And I’ll make her a uniform for you!”

“Sandy says she’s happy to have one eye. She says it makes her feel like a pirate and is excited for her uniform, thank you, Mummy!” Lucas said, hugging Sandy tightly.

Nathan laughed and zipped up Lucas’s bag and put it on Lucas’s back. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you to class” Nathan said. Lucas began to skip with Sandy in his arms. He imagined himself and Sandy working hard in school and getting praises from the teachers.

Soon the three made their way to Lucas’s classroom and when they got there, they were greeted by a female teacher named Mrs. Jayce, who was going to be Lucas’s main teacher throughout the year. Mrs. Jayce was a chubby woman. Nathan and Connie spoke to her for a while as Lucas stayed by his parents’ side with Sandy in his arms as he listened in their conversation.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Jayce. Can Sandy please stay in the classroom with me? She is my best friend and I can’t part with her” Lucas asked, when Mrs. Jayce and his parents stopped talking for a moment. Lucas looked at Mrs. Jayce as he showed Sandy proudly to her.

“I am afraid not, Lucas. We try to keep children away from teddies and other toys in classrooms. Not to mention your teddy is ugly, smelly and is missing an eye. She’s better off being at home or tossed in the bin!” Mrs. Jayce replied turning her nose up at the bear and Lucas. Lucas at once looked sulky and stayed silent when Mrs. Jayce said that. Connie didn’t like what Mrs. Jayce said, how could she possibly be so horrible to a child and still be a teacher?

“Excuse me, Mrs. Jayce. I understand you believe teddies and such are distractions but I believe it was unprofessional of you to say that about Lucas’s teddy” Nathan said. “Sandy helps him stay focused on his work” he added.

“If you do continue to be rude, we will inform the education department” Connie said, angrily.

“Here, Daddy. Take Sandy back home and Mrs. Jayce wants you to put her in the bin” Lucas said and began crying. The thought of being without his beloved teddy was too much for him. He gave Sandy to Nathan who took it. Lucas then turned around to face Mrs. Jayce, then sadly looked at his parents and his beloved bear.

Mrs. Jayce was afraid that Connie meant what she said. She didn’t want to lose her job! She loved it but wanted to be stern with children and to ensure they get a proper education instead of being focused on their teddies and favourite toys.

“Truthfully, I always found that toys and teddies distracting for children hence why I don’t allow them in my classes. Some teachers do but, in my class, they stay out. I’ve had many students who never did their work as they were more interested in playing which really bugged me. Lucas, I’m sorry I said that about your teddy. You shouldn’t throw her in the bin but you should keep her at home. I want to ensure you have the best education in this school” Mrs Jayce said.

After accepting Mrs. Jayce’s apology, Connie glanced at her ring-watch and noticed it was almost time for Lucas to start his first lesson. “Lucas, your father, and I must go. We hope you have a great day at school and make lots of new friends” she said and knelt to her son. She threw her arms around Lucas and pulled him in a hug, Lucas returned it, resting his head on her shoulder. Connie smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

“Good bye, Lucas. We will pick you up this afternoon” Connie said, then let go of him. She then stood up, and nodded to Nathan, did the same to Lucas. Lucas hugged Nathan and rest his head on Nathan’s shoulder. Nathan kissed Lucas the top of his head and let go of him, then got up.

“Good bye, Lucas, have a lovely day at school and do what Mrs. Jayce tells you to do, oh and Sandy says good bye too” Nathan said and turned his attention to Connie then back to Lucas after he heard him speak.

“Good bye, Mummy, Daddy, and Sandy! I’ll see you three soon too!” Lucas said. He was sad about not being able to take Sandy with him in class and being without his parents. Lucas watched as his father put Sandy on his shoulders and made Sandy wave good bye to him. He had stopped crying after that.

Mrs. Jayce silently watched Connie and Nathan with Lucas and rolled her eyes while watching them say good bye to one another. She grinned when Nathan told Lucas to listen to her.

Nathan looked at Connie and held his hand out to her, Connie smiled and held his hand. The two began to walk away with Sandy on Nathan’s shoulders.

Lucas watched in despair as his parents left, he then started crying again. Mrs. Jayce took the young boy in the classroom and introduced him to his classmates.

“Lucas, stop crying and take your bag off and put it on the floor with the other bags. Do you see that empty seat next to the girl with red hair? That’s where you are sitting” Mrs. Jayce told him. She pointed to where the other students have left their bags which was on the ground in the room against the wall. Lucas obeyed her without a word, he was thinking of Sandy and wondered if he should listen to Mrs. Jayce and throw her in the bin.

Lucas looked around the classroom, noticing there were twenty-five desks with chairs, one of the desks were at the front of the room – that one belonged to Mrs. Jayce. There were twenty-four students currently sitting at their desks, some were talking others chose to do drawing or reading. Lucas saw an empty spot where Mrs. Jayce told him to sit, smiling he dumped his back with the other bags which were on the ground against the wall and weren’t put down neatly.

Lucas then ran to his seat. He noticed Mrs. Jayce’s desk had a large pile of paperwork, a cup with pencils in it and a bitten red apple. Behind her desk was her chair and on the wall behind it was a blackboard with the day’s date and writing that said “Welcome to Mrs. Jayce’s classroom!” with flowers drawn around it. He saw that there were other pictures hanging on the wall that other kids have drawn in the past.

“The nerve of that teacher telling Lucas to throw his teddy in the bin!” Nathan grumbled angrily as he and Connie made their way to their hover-car. He was relieved to know that all the children who were seen earlier playing on the jungle gym were now possibly in class as there were none running around. Arrazethia Primary School was silent as parents walked back to their vehicles after dropping their children off.

“You can tell she has not had kids. She’s a despicable woman. Makes me wonder why she was hired in the first place. Poor Lucas, he must feel gutted about not having Sandy with him” Connie ranted as they made it to their hover-car.

“What should we do now, Con?” Nathan asked as he unlocked the car and opened the front passenger side for her to get in, which she did. He passed Sandy to Connie and closed the front passenger door. He then walked around to the driver’s door and opened it; he pulled the driver’s side door closed and their seatbelts automatically strapped them in. Nathan then turned the car on and switched the radio on to hear what’s on the latest news. Connie had Sandy on her lap and hugged the bear, wondering how Lucas was doing without her.

’A brand-new universe had been discovered behind the sun yesterday. With the exact same planets as we have in the same order. A student named Marline Nickleson found the parallel universe while using a brand-new telescope which allows one person to see through the sun for a few minutes thanks to the special x-ray vision the telescope has. Marline and several astronauts are now going to see if the Earth like planet can be compatible with life’ the radio announced, Connie looked at Nathan excitedly and grabbed his left hand.

“That’s heaps exciting, Nathan! Imagine life behind the sun. But wouldn’t it effect the alignment in our solar-system?” Connie asked feeling thrilled about the discovery. Nathan was about to answer her question when the radio said more information about it.

’If life is supported on the new Earth, we will be sending several people on a one-way flight from each city and town to help rebuild the planet to be exactly like ours. The project should it be successful, will take around ten years to build the new Earth cities and towns’ the radio continued the announcement.

Nathan was very excited. “Connie, if the new Earth is a liveable planet, we should apply for the project to rebuild it and bring Lucas along with us. He’d love that” Nathan exclaimed, imagining him, Connie and Lucas rebuilding a home on the planet with high-tech equipment. Connie smiled and nodded with agreement; the radio did a final speech.

’If the project goes ahead and couples with children will not be allowed to be involved. That also includes couples who are pregnant! And that’s the end of the announcement for today, stay tuned for more news about the new universe later this week…’ the radio then switched off the news and put on regular music.

Nathan frowned. He thought it was unfair that he and Connie couldn’t bring Lucas with them to the new planet, but he wanted to go to the planet somehow.

“That’s weird how they say we can’t bring kids with us, Nathan. Well, the only option we have is to pretend we don’t have children and lie to the forms if we have to fill out one. I’m longing to help rebuild this planet too so Lucas can have a better future on it if he was to somehow get there in years to come” Connie suggested.

Nathan switched on the hover-car and started to drive. “Where should we go today, Connie? That’s not a bad idea but what about Lucas? How will we tell him?” he asked, feeling worried.

“We will go to Daphne’s today and ask her if she can look after him if the project goes ahead. We have several options, Nathan which are: We can brain-wash Lucas and make it so that Daphne is his mother if she’s okay with the plan. We can fake a death scene and only tell several people that we know about our journey to the new Earth and we can tell the truth to Lucas and lie to the forms” Connie suggested as she began to think of solutions.

Nathan thought for a moment, he didn’t like either plans and shook his head. “I still think it’s unfair for Lucas, honey. Why don’t we wait a bit until we find out more about the planet then decide from there with what to do? Does Daphne know we’re coming? I thought she has work today at the council office as a secretary for Mayor Luke Nickleson” he said.

Connie realized what he meant about being unfair for Lucas and let out a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. Maybe we won’t go and help then. Goodness, I forgot she has work. I think we could go and get another eye for Sandy and get her cleaned by a professional teddy bear repair service for Lucas and as promised I’ll make her some clothes” she said.

“Alright, we’ll do that then. There’s one that’s an hour away from here” Nathan said with a smile and drove them to the professional teddy bear repair service. It took them two hours and ten minutes to get there as traffic was chaotic due to an accident. Connie shuddered as she looked at the scene of the accident and sympathised those who were involved. They were able to pass it thanks to the traffic controllers.

Lucas sat at the desk where Mrs. Jayce told him to sit. He looked at the student next to him who smiled to him. “Hello, my name is Mari Applegates and it’s nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends!” the girl named Mari introduced herself. “What’s your name?” she asked smiling as she waited for his reply.

Lucas looked at her shyly. “Hi, Mari! I’m Lucas Jones… Nice to meet you too, and sure, let’s be friends” he said and returned the smile.

The day went fast for Lucas now that he made his first friend. For recess and lunch, all he did was played with Mari at the jungle gym or played chasey with her. They both thought class was boring but loved playtime.

When school finished for the day, Lucas fetched his bag and ran outside the classroom and was so happy to see his parents waiting for him with a familiar looking teddy-bear.

“Mummy! Daddy!” Lucas exclaimed, running up to them. He smiled and opened his arms wide to give Connie and Nathan a hug, both knelt and hugged Lucas, kissing his cheeks as they did.

“Hello, sweetie. How was school?” Nathan asked smiling as he held Sandy in his hands, ready to give her to Lucas.

“Class was boring but I had fun when we got to have breaks. I played with a girl named Mari Applegates” Lucas answered, looking around to see if he could see her so he could introduce her to his parents. He couldn’t find her so he turned his attention back to his parents.

“Mari sounds sweet. I wonder if she’s Daphne’s little girl” Connie said, remembering that Daphne had once told her she has a daughter and shares the same last name as Mari.

“Mummy, who is Daphne?” Lucas asked as he watched his parents get up. Nathan gave Sandy to Lucas and smiled.

“Daphne is a long-term friend of mine, dear. We catch up for a coffee or go to the movies when we get the chance to” Connie replied. Nathan gave the newly repaired and cleaned Sandy to Lucas who hugged her straight away and thanked him.

“Thank you for cleaning and giving Sandy a new eye! She says she feels much better and had missed me” Lucas said as he looked at his beloved bear. “Have I met her?” he asked looking at his parents referring to meeting Daphne.

Connie thought for a moment as she tried remembering if she had introduced her son to Daphne or not. “I don’t think so, Lucas. She leads a busy life style as she’s the mayor of this city and a mum of three” she said. She and Nathan do not have jobs.

Lucas smiled and imagined himself being at Mari’s house playing in a playground. He imagined her house being a single story like his and made from wood. He pictured Mari with older siblings and her parents.

To be continued...