Chatterbox: Inkwell

My NaNo story!

This is my first time doing NaNo, so if you guys have I feedback, I really want to hear it!  

Okey-doke, I'm going to post segments of my NaNo story here every Wednesday. Or when ever I have one done. But probably on Wednesday. Anyhoo, I hope you like the story!

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Chapter One

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring....

Sasha winced. Even over the chatter that filled the lunchroom, the school's insistent bell rang and rang. It was necessary, sure, but why did it have to be so loud?

"There's the bell!" chirped Sasha's best friend, Dawn. She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder, scooped her sandwiches into her lunchbox (none to neatly, but that was typical for Dawn), and started walking towards the trash cans. "You don't want to be late for science, do you? Mrs. Merivale will be SO mad."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sasha said over the shrill ringing of the bell. Seriously, why didn't it just shut up already? She tucked her foil-wrapped leftovers into her lunchbox (much more carefully than Dawn had) and joined her best friend at the lunchroom doors.

As they entered the halls of their middle school, Stafford School for Intelligent Youth, Dawn began to chatter about the homework quiz they'd done the night before. "I mean, usually history is easy, but Mr. Preston threw us, like, TEN trick questions. I mean, come ON. Number four was NOT fair. How should WE know who Levi P. Morton was vice president to?! We've been studying the PRESIDENTS, not the VICE presidents. And number 8..." Dawn kept up a steady stream of chatter all the way to science class. Used to the constant talking of her best friend, Sasha walked alongside, only half-listening. 

She was thinking about the other homework she'd done last night, which was, incidentally, for science. Its questions had been as tricky as the ones for history. So tricky, in fact, that she was pretty sure that it had been given to her by mistake, and was meant for someone two grades older than her. She'd done what she could, of course, but it mentioned things that her older sister, Geneva, had talked about learning, and she was in high school! Sasha just hoped that Mrs. Merivale would be lenient, as she had a reputation for being the strictest teacher at their school. 

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the second bell, which was even shriller than the first. "Eep!" Dawn yelped. "We'd better get going!" The pair quickened their pace, hurrying through the hallways.

When they reached the science lab, about half the class was already there. Dawn slid into her seat as Sasha approached the teacher desk. "Mrs. Merivale?" 

"Hmmm?" Mrs. Merivale was scanning some papers on her desk, most likely homework she'd already received. 

Sasha took a deep breath. "I think you gave me the wrong homework."

Mrs. Merivale looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Sasha could feel her cheeks beginning to flush. She barreled on, pulling the quiz out of her bag. "See, the questions are asking about things that you've never taught us. Like question 10 talks about things my sister has mentioned learning, and she's in high school, so this might be the wrong quiz or something..." She trailed off. Mrs. Merivale was looking over her homework with an unreadable expression. Had she said something wrong? Or was it the right quiz after all, and she just hadn't been paying attention?

"This is the wrong quiz," Mrs. Merivale mused, and Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. "This is intended for 9th graders." She reached into her desk, shuffled through some papers, and finally pulled out a quiz. "Here you are. It's still due tomorrow, I'm afraid. I can't extend the deadline."

"That's all right," Sasha replied, relieved she hadn't gotten in trouble. She hurried back to her seat, pulled out her textbook, and waited for class to start.

By the time the third bell rang, everyone was in their seats, most people chatting aimlessly. Mrs. Merivale took attendance, then clapped to get everyone's attention. "Textbooks away, if you please," she instructed. 

Dawn and Sasha exchanged a puzzled look. This wasn't exactly normal. Usually, Mrs. Merivale started class by reviewing some piece of information or the last page or so of the textbook. Sasha tucked away her textbook with the rest of class, and wondered what Mrs. Merivale had planned. A pop quiz? She sincerely hoped not.

"Stand up!" She directed. This was even less normal. Chairs scraped against the floor as the slightly confused class stood up. Dawn shot Sasha a "what's happening?" look. Sasha shrugged and made a "how should I know?" face in return. 

"Now, we are going to do a little exercise. Form into pairs." Dawn and Sasha made a beeline for each other as the rest of the class dutifully shuffled around. "Now, one of you find three things that are alive, and the other should find three things that aren't. You have ten minutes. Go." All the teams scrambled off to find the items requested, most still shooting the occasional curious look towards Mrs. Merivale. 

"I'll look for the living stuff?" Dawn offered. Sasha agreed, and they split up. Sasha gathered her items, and within minutes, the entire class was seated again.  Dawn glanced over at Sasha's desk, then frowned, whispering, "You were supposed to find the not-living stuff!" Sasha's forehead wrinkled. "I know," she whispered back. "Then why-" Dawn started, but Mrs. Merivale cut her off.

"No talking in class, young ladies." Sasha and Dawn both blushed, but Mrs. Merivale was already talking again. "Now, take your items up to my desk, keeping it in separate piles, living things on the left, non-living things on the right." She waited until the class was settled again. "Now. In the living pile, we have a lot of different things. Flowers, leaves, a few test tubes full of mold... Seems that everyone's done a good job here. And in the non-living pile, there are rocks, fossils, more rocks, a dried flower or two..." Mrs. Merivale paused, picking up a leaf with a curious expression on her face. "Why is there a leaf in the non-living pile?" 

"That was me, Mrs. Merivale." The words were out of Sasha's mouth before she could stop them. Immediately, she wished she could take them back. The entire class turned in their seats to face her, their expressions ranging from huh to she's a weirdo. Mrs. Merivale raised an eyebrow. "Explain your reasoning, please."

Sasha squirmed under the weight of so many eyes upon her. "Um, I..." She took a deep breath. "A leaf isn't technically alive. It's part of something alive, but not alive itself. To say a leaf would be alive is kind of like saying someone's arm is alive. Which an arm isn't. Just to clear. Because the person's alive, but not the arm. Not that the arm is dead, it just isn't alive." Stop babbling! Just shut your mouth and get on with it! 

Mrs. Merivale nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense." Her eyes were nearly unreadable. Curious, a bit surprised, but there's something else, too. Suspicion? Interest? Sasha couldn't quite place it. And there's something about the way she was staring at her. Some edge to it that Sasha couldn't shake off. 

That gaze stayed with her through the rest of the day. All through Math and Social Studies, Sasha felt the echoes of that gaze on her. Whatever it was that she couldn't place lurked in the back of her mind. Even at home, petting her cat and eating dinner, she felt slightly unsettled, and she had no idea why. It was only once she was lying in bed, listening to her cat's rumbling purrs, that she realized what else was in that stare. She'd seen it whenever Mrs. Merivale had a new specimen to show the class, or a new chart to display. Fascination. Mrs. Merivale was fascinated by Sasha's answer. The last thought she had before drifting off to sleep was Why?