The Lost Son | Ferry's Tale # 2

The lake house

The literature teacher entered, and the class turned quiet. Miss Wood was tall and lean, an old maid who lived only for her job. He began to distribute her students' essays. The best one was Ben's, who sat at the front desk.

"Congratulations, Mr. Knight," the teacher told him. "Your essay has made me think. The best in class, as usual."

Finally, the teacher came to their desk. She handed them their paperwork without saying a word. Both he and Matilda had made just over half the score. Matilda's essay was short and to the point. Unfortunately, that didn't guarantee her a high grade. Now, they had to wait for the best students to choose their partners.

"I hate this class," she sniffed again.

Ben was invited in front of the class to read his essay. He always hated being in the spotlight. He cleared his throat, blushed, then read his paperwork in a low voice. The theme of the essay was traveling. Ben hadn't traveled, but his work on the topic of life's journey made everyone think. After he finished reading, almost the entire class applauded. Except for the football team, whose members had been yawning the whole time Ben read his paper.

"Now you can choose your partner, Ben," the teacher encouraged him, winking at Steph who blushed, all smiles.

But Ben seemed to hesitate. He raised his eyes from the ground, but his gaze did not stop on Steph but searched further. And when he met Celia's eyes, his look lit up. The girl looked surprised at first, but then she smiled. The whispers started around them, but they didn't seem to care.

"Benji?"

Steph's high-pitched voice broke the murmur of the class. Ben woke up and saw his girlfriend's with arrows in her eyes.

"Mr. Knight, you have to choose your partner," said Miss Wood. "We don't have all day."

"Stephanie," Ben finally said with a sigh.

Steph, who seemed puzzled for a moment, was now smiling, self-assured. Ben instead, went back to his desk with his head bowed.

The next essay was Celia's.

"Congratulations, Miss Haughty," the teacher said. "You have a way with words," she smiled. "You could become a very good writer."

"I'm sorry," Celia said, looking indifferent, "but I'm not going to become a starving writer. This is usually the case with writers."

Miss Wood seemed disarmed by her answer. "That's a shame. But it's your choice. Finally, who do you read as a reading partner?

"Elf," Celia said without even breathing. "I choose Ferry Donovan," she added with confidence.

Ferry thought he hadn't heard well. But Celia had spoken loud and clear so the whole class could hear. The girl went to her place without even looking at him. Even Matilda's jaw dropped, even though she always had something to comment on. Then there was the turn of the other students whose essays had the highest grades. Andrew and May were among them. Andrew chose Billy. May chose Matilda.