Behind The Rebel Mask

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Loran

Monday was to be my first day of school. I emptied my money bag into my potato sack pillow for safe keeping and instead put in the blank book, ink, brush, and a spare bit of bread and meat for lunch. It barely fitted in the burlap container, and there was a bulge in the edge, but it would have to do. I dress in the plaited maroon dress. Though the fabric is simple and cheap, but it will be good enough for me.

Omama Mae has heated up oats and fried them into patties for breakfast. I eat mine eagerly to satisfy my growling stomach, but butterflies are a buzz in my stomach and I am not able to finish. We set outside. She marches me down our street to the main street I recognize from our shopping. We trot down that street to a grand white building that looks nothing like any other building. The forest which surrounds the town lies behind it, but in the front there is a little garden patch and a green area. Kids are playing in the road. I collect myself with a deep breath. Omama Mae gives me a big hug. "Remember, Loran, who you are." She winks and turns away. I turn and watch her disappear into the busy street.

The Miech, as the Allerakins call her, or schoolteacher, appears at the door of the building. "Children!" She cries. The kids drop the potato sack that they were playing with next to the door and hurry into a line. I sneak to the back and follow them through a sideways corridor and into a large room.

Many of them have books wrapped together with fabric or tiny bags like mine. A few of them have a pail filled with their things or a bundle that is probably lunch. When I enter, the children are all settling the tables. There are 4 long tables on each side of the room, each seating four children. I am able to quickly calculate that that means thirty-two children could fit in the entire room.

"Loran?" The Miech asks as soon as she sees me standing awkwardly at the back of the room.

I nod. "Yes."

"Yes, Miech." She corrects. "Always address the person that you are responding to.

"Yes, Miech." I respond.

"Meg?"

"Yes, Miech."

"Who sits next to you?"

"Haliy, Miech"

"No, on the other side."

"Nobody, Miech."

The Miech turns to face me. "Sit next to Me, Loran."

I walk to the right side of the classroom. Meg is the girl who saw me that day I went shopping. Who saw me through the window. She has dirty blonde hair and is as thin as a stick. Next to her sits a girl with dark hair peeking out from a scrap of cloth that covers her hair. Her dress is plain white cotton. It has a triangular neck and a bottom unevenly cut with an even hem.

Next to her sits a boy with lemon-colored hair that is overgrown. I feel out of place with my nice collar and finger-brushed hair tied off with a scrap of fabric. The

Miech begins lessons by calling out the names of different children. They will raise their hands and say "Here, Miech" when they hear their name called.

My name is last. I respond just as the other children do and then take out my book, ink, and brush just as the other children have done. The Miech walks along the line of tables, assigning each child a task. She skips over me and assigns Meg a reading in one of her books to do with the other girl, Haliy. They both are to read a passage and memorize it, whatever that means, and recite (another word that I have no clue about the meaning of) it to the class. She continues on assigning kids pieces or stories to write.