I was watching The Sandlot while simultaneously trying to write the last portion of this post. I'm ashamed to say that this was my first time watching Sandlot. I can more than understand why it is a classic. My favorite scene was when they were all at the carnival on the spinning wheel. Terribly gross, but hilarious.
Only two more segments will follow this post! Come and see how this story ends at the Weekly Read! If you're stopping by for the first time, why not give the beginning of this story a try! Start by Clicking Here.
The Place Between Part 13
The bell rang.
The Place Between Part 13
The bell rang.
Mike and Chelsea began to scoot out of the library, looking to Cassie for an explanation about this new man and about the incident yesterday. They wouldn't be in class together for another two periods and the wait that would span between them would seem forever.
Martin looked to Cassie too. The bell had him confused. "Does that mean we have to go?" he asked her quietly as he nervously watched the exodus of teens leaving the library.
"No," Cassie dismissed. "It's the first bell. There'll be two more telling us all to get to our advisory period, but Marlie will write us a note, so we'll be fine."
Marlie began her conversation with the assistant to the principle while simultaneously keeping an eye on the students as they left the protective sanctuary of her keep.
Cassie's nonchalant assurance did little to assuage the butterflies in Martin's stomach. Though there were many similarities between this world and his, and while there was no way anyone could uncover his secret unless he made a display of magic, it was unnerving to be so far and yet so close to his home.
~*~*~
As Cassie had anticipated, Marlie wrote her and her "cousin" a note dismissing them from being considered truent. While that was a free pass, escaping the whispers and harsh judgmental gazes from her classmates was unavoidable. Cassie wished she had printed a sign and taped it to her and Martin's shoulders saying "We're cousins" to help shoo off the people who continuously kept coming up to her to ask questions. Advisory was a free-for-all, so Cassie had anticipated this to be the worst part of the day. She was glad that she had previously warned Martin about this because she could see that he was nervous. She could not imagine how much worse off he would be had she skipped any sort of disclaimer.
While Marlie had left a message with the principle's assistant, both Martin and Cassie realized that it would be some time before they heard back from Marlie with confirmation about the meeting. Marlie would reach out to Cassie (having her schedule on a stickie note posted to her computer) through the class phones.
First period dragged on for Cassie. For Martin, he was genuinely interested in the subjects being taught to the students. He found this to be a great learning experience. Even though watching a half dozen youth playing with their cell phones underneath their desks or in their backpacks was less than encouraging, it was exciting to see the day to day lives of people in the world above.
Cassie felt bad for Martin - her first real class of the day was art, which was all well and good, but then followed Calculus, which was a bit more like purgatory. However, right before the bell rang to release the students from math, the phone on the teacher's desk sounded. Cassie and Martin sat straight. They watched the teacher talk on the phone while the rest of class packed up for third period.
"Uh, Cassie," although she was already looking, the teacher drew Cassie's attention with a wave of his hand. "Your cousin can go see the principle now."
Cassie and Martin looked to each other. This was the moment of truth.
"Did they say if I could go too?" Cassie asked the teacher.
Mr. Morris gave Cassie a look. "What do you think your next teacher will think if you miss class?"
Mr. Pryer might not have noticed, but Cassie knew that she could not disappear from class with her friends being so curious about Martin. They needed answers.
The bell rang.
The students poured out from class and Martin looked to Cassie with great concern.
"I'll take you to the principle," she answered his unasked question. The pair of them began to walk out of the class. "But I'm not going to be able to miss my next class unnoticed." They walked into the hall buzzing with students en route to their next destinations. Cassie started to lead Martin to the main office where their morning at the school started together. "If anything happens..." Cassie tapped on the ring that the president and him gave to her so that they all could communicate. "Let me know."
Martin was determined to see this through. An enormous part of him hoped that nothing would happen, but he truly wanted to uncover the people behind this conspiracy. 'We're probably just over thinking this entire matter,' Martin ensured himself. 'But if this man turns out to be anything less than what he appears...God help us.'
Cassie and Martin walked into the office and approached the principle's assistant who sat at small desk overflowing with files and paper work. To say this woman was overworked was a drastic understatement.
"Hi," Cassie timidly approached the desk - she felt as if she was about to ask permission to visit with the 'great and powerful Wizard of Oz.' The office assistant merely looked over her glasses to see what this student who was likely going to be late to class had to say. "Um, my cousin, Martin Shire is here to speak to the principle. I just brought him by so that he could find this alright." Cassie reached back to grab Martin by the elbow and pulled him up to stand beside her. She was feeling nervous without him within her direct eyesight.
"One moment please, sir," the assistant said sweetly to Martin. "The principle is on a phone call at the moment, so it'll be a couple more minutes." The assistant turned her gaze to Cassie and said sternly, "He's in good hands now, so you better get on to class, missy."
Martin took a step away from the desk toward some plastic chairs where students waiting to see the principle would have to sit. With a half smile to Cassie he said, "I'll be alright. I'll see you soon." The pair had already discussed the two potential scenarios for meeting afterward: 1) if everything went okay and the principle turned out to be a regular joe, the pair of them would meet either in Cassie's biology class - the number of the room was written on a square of paper in Martin's pocket - or 2) if the principle turned out to be a guy up to no good, Martin would leave the school as discretely as possible and alert Cassie through a buzz of the ring she wore. From there, Cassie was directed to wait until the sun went down and her parents tucked themselves away to sleep for the night before she could return to the Place Between. That was the plan at least, what would actually transpire...
While Marlie had left a message with the principle's assistant, both Martin and Cassie realized that it would be some time before they heard back from Marlie with confirmation about the meeting. Marlie would reach out to Cassie (having her schedule on a stickie note posted to her computer) through the class phones.
First period dragged on for Cassie. For Martin, he was genuinely interested in the subjects being taught to the students. He found this to be a great learning experience. Even though watching a half dozen youth playing with their cell phones underneath their desks or in their backpacks was less than encouraging, it was exciting to see the day to day lives of people in the world above.
Cassie felt bad for Martin - her first real class of the day was art, which was all well and good, but then followed Calculus, which was a bit more like purgatory. However, right before the bell rang to release the students from math, the phone on the teacher's desk sounded. Cassie and Martin sat straight. They watched the teacher talk on the phone while the rest of class packed up for third period.
"Uh, Cassie," although she was already looking, the teacher drew Cassie's attention with a wave of his hand. "Your cousin can go see the principle now."
Cassie and Martin looked to each other. This was the moment of truth.
"Did they say if I could go too?" Cassie asked the teacher.
Mr. Morris gave Cassie a look. "What do you think your next teacher will think if you miss class?"
Mr. Pryer might not have noticed, but Cassie knew that she could not disappear from class with her friends being so curious about Martin. They needed answers.
The bell rang.
The students poured out from class and Martin looked to Cassie with great concern.
"I'll take you to the principle," she answered his unasked question. The pair of them began to walk out of the class. "But I'm not going to be able to miss my next class unnoticed." They walked into the hall buzzing with students en route to their next destinations. Cassie started to lead Martin to the main office where their morning at the school started together. "If anything happens..." Cassie tapped on the ring that the president and him gave to her so that they all could communicate. "Let me know."
Martin was determined to see this through. An enormous part of him hoped that nothing would happen, but he truly wanted to uncover the people behind this conspiracy. 'We're probably just over thinking this entire matter,' Martin ensured himself. 'But if this man turns out to be anything less than what he appears...God help us.'
Cassie and Martin walked into the office and approached the principle's assistant who sat at small desk overflowing with files and paper work. To say this woman was overworked was a drastic understatement.
"Hi," Cassie timidly approached the desk - she felt as if she was about to ask permission to visit with the 'great and powerful Wizard of Oz.' The office assistant merely looked over her glasses to see what this student who was likely going to be late to class had to say. "Um, my cousin, Martin Shire is here to speak to the principle. I just brought him by so that he could find this alright." Cassie reached back to grab Martin by the elbow and pulled him up to stand beside her. She was feeling nervous without him within her direct eyesight.
"One moment please, sir," the assistant said sweetly to Martin. "The principle is on a phone call at the moment, so it'll be a couple more minutes." The assistant turned her gaze to Cassie and said sternly, "He's in good hands now, so you better get on to class, missy."
Martin took a step away from the desk toward some plastic chairs where students waiting to see the principle would have to sit. With a half smile to Cassie he said, "I'll be alright. I'll see you soon." The pair had already discussed the two potential scenarios for meeting afterward: 1) if everything went okay and the principle turned out to be a regular joe, the pair of them would meet either in Cassie's biology class - the number of the room was written on a square of paper in Martin's pocket - or 2) if the principle turned out to be a guy up to no good, Martin would leave the school as discretely as possible and alert Cassie through a buzz of the ring she wore. From there, Cassie was directed to wait until the sun went down and her parents tucked themselves away to sleep for the night before she could return to the Place Between. That was the plan at least, what would actually transpire...
The walk to class felt like the walk to the gallows. The expectant eyes of her friends as she walked into class a minute after the bell rang were equally as daunting. The beginning of class usually took a while to get going, most of the students were still standing or sitting on the tops of their desks. Only Mike and Chelsea noticed that Cassie was late.
"Hey, where's that guy?" Chelsea asked. "We didn't even know you have a cousin."
Cassie settled into her seat and dumped her pack up on to the desk, leaning heavily upon it.
"What's that?" Mike said pointing at Cassie's ring.
"It's just a costume ring," Cassie answered dismissively. Cassie casually tucked her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirts "And he's kinda a distant cousin on my dad's side." Cassie answered, but she knew that the answer would not be enough for her friends. Indicating to her friends to lean in close, Cassie said quietly, "Look, he's here for more than just to see what a day in the life is like for us. He's here to find out what he can about the stuff that happened yesterday."
"Like how?" Chelsea asked.
While Cassie explained to her friends that Martin was investigating the situation personally, Martin was doing exactly that.
Mr. Pryer called class together and for the next thirty-one minutes everything was going just fine. That was until Cassie started with a jump.
The ring on her finger had begun to buzz.
The ring on her finger had begun to buzz.
~*~*~
Looks like there's trouble afoot! Come back next week, to see what's going to happen next!
I'm off to bake gluten free chocolate scones now.
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
