The Pretzel Rod Club

Part 4

Mark was disappointed to see Timothy leave so suddenly. He didn't even get a chance to talk to him much. Ryan quickly found another boy to fill Timothy's position. Someone who brought some enthusiasm to the job. They went back to work but it didn't last long. 

Mr. Grinns showed up and much to the dismay of Mr. Bronski, took Mark away to join a foreign language class. Mark dutifully picked up his bear and followed the man down the hall to the classroom. He joined a group of other boys he didn't recognize. They filed into the classroom and took their seats. Each boy putting their teddy bear in the seat next to them. Mr. Grinns left them in the care of Mr. Fitz.

"Gutten morgen, Klasse." he said, "Ich hiebe Mr. Fitz. Auf die do anteworten wirst, "Gutten Morgen, Mr. Fitz". Wedierholen!". 

The boys stared at him blankly. No one was familiar with German. Mr. Fitz raised his voice, 

"Wedierholen! Wedierholen! Gutten Morgen, Mr. Fitz!" 

The boys didn't make a sound. Mr. Fitz was so animated that some reached for their teddy bears for comfort. Mr. Fitz grabbed the bears out of their hands and placed them back in the seats they came from. One boy was so frightened by this sudden gesture that he put his thumb in his mouth and started to cry. He got a pat on the back. "Sehr gut!". He turned back to the class, "Wedierholen! Gutten morgen, Mr. Fitz!".

He repeated the phrase several times without explanation and then obviously annoyed, retrieved some worksheets from his desk and handed them out. They were in German and there was no explanation. They appeared to be instructions. There were unfinished simple drawings that some boys took to mean that they were to take their pencils and complete them. 

Mark was one of those boys, and being the boy closest to the man, got a rap on his knuckles as a reward. He rubbed his hand and glared at the man. Unkind thoughts arose in his mind but he held his tongue.

"Nien! Nien!" Mr. Fitz was more annoyed than ever. "Hor sofort auf! Warte auf anweisungen!"

Mark couldn't take anymore. He stood up and shouted at the man, "What the hell do you want? We don't understand!"

Mr. Fitz raised his yardstick. "In dieser klasse sprechen wir nur deutsch."

Mark had expected the other boys to back him up. Nobody dared. Some were openly sobbing. Mr. Fitz gave them the same treatment he gave the boy who was sucking his thumb. "Serh Gut!" Mark retreated. He sat down and placed his hands on his desk.

Daniel's Advanced Childhood teacher was explaining the various trajectories different sized marbles could take in attempting to hit their targets when she noticed the time. She had her students put away their notebooks. 

"Just a reminder, class, Tomorrow we will be taking part in a field trip to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. please dress appropriately." she turned her attention to Daniel. "Speaking of which, Daniel, we'll be having lunch soon. Do you think you can show us how you dress Timothy?"

Daniel beamed with pride he went to the window and retrieved Timothy's clothes. Once again, the boys formed a circle around the chair Daniel had Timothy sit down on, but when he went to unzip the boy's sleeper, Timothy swatted his hand away. He was comfortable wearing what he had on and didn't want to change.

Daniel tried one more time and then he turned to the teacher for guidance. "Timmy, dear, you don't want your friends to see you like this, do you?". Timothy didn't say a word. He just crossed his arms. He had a determined look on his face. She looked at Daniel. "Very well, Timmy, you don't have to change." 

The bell rang and the boys stood in line single file. Timothy walked in front of Daniel with his teddy bear held tightly against his chest. They marched through the Pretzel Rod Club, back to the ninth-grade table in the main dining room. There were audible gasps as Timothy made his appearance in his baby blue blanket sleeper with the puppy dog applique. Timothy didn't seem to notice.