”...Lunch today will be burgers, mashed potatoes, and green beans...”
Lyza sat at her desk with her cheek against her hand, holding up her head.
Rini slipped through the door while the vice principal's voice carried over the speaker, dampened by the murmurs and mumblings.
The rat hung her backpack in a rush, pulling out her binder and heading to her desk, still wearing her olive-brown Patrols hat.
The rabbit straightened up a bit when Rini sat down at the front of the row, and let out a sigh. “...Morning, Rini,” she said, in a low, soft voice.
”...Teachers, remember to check your mailboxes for a package of letters to hand out at the end of the day.”
Lyza watched as Rini reached up to undo the Velcro that held the ear-holes of her hat in place.
”The school time is now seven forty-one; have a lucky Friday!”
There was a slight clatter as the microphone was set back into its holster, before the sound cut out.
Rini set her hat down on her desk, and turned her head to glance over her shoulder. “Morning, Liz,” she replied, before turning back.
The car ride home the day before had been less awkward. Except that the rabbit had to once again decline an invitation to visit at the Isonheim's home.
”Good morning everyone,” Ms. Hupp greeted, her long-skirted dress swishing as she stepped up to the middle of the classroom. “I hope you all remembered to wear a lucky charm,” she said, raising her wrist to show a charm-bracelet with shamrocks on it.
”And watch out for murderers in hockey masks!” Tommy blurted.
”You can do that easy,” Panda remarked, “just don't go camping.”
”This Friday's even doubly-unlucky,” Cathy spoke.
”Oh? Why is that?” Asked the teacher, enjoying the morning conversation with her class.
”Cuz, it's Friday the thirteenth, and there's thirteen days of school left!”
”Um... Actually,” Kelly-Elly interjected, “there's only twelve days left.”
Cathy wrinkled her nose. “No! There's...” She thought for a second, counting on her fingers. “...Oh...” She muttered, her body slinking down as she realized she was wrong.
The others in the class started to giggle and laugh.
The rabbit jumped when she hard a loud slap snap into her ears from very close nearby; the rest of the class had gone silent.
”It's not that funny, guys,” the rat barked. “So she's off by one day, big deal; heck, today just started, so you can kinda count it.”
The rabbit saw her posture change from behind as she leaned back and folded her arms.
”Sheesh.”
”Okay, let's all just take a breath,” the raccoon said, calmly. “I know you guys are all eager for the school year to end, but bear with me for just a couple more weeks, okay?”
The class murmured their response.
”Now, I thought it would be fun to talk about the number thirteen for a bit. Can anyone tell me something they know about the number thirteen? Ket.”
”It's a prime number,” the tiger said, “and, it's also called a 'baker's dozen.'”
The teacher smiled, and the other students began settling in for yet another day of school, so close to the end of the year.
* * *
There were a few seconds of commotion against silence before the music started up again; shouts, squeals, and the squeaking of soles upon the scuffed tile echoed about the gym.
Then the twang of a banjo started, and some kids groaned as they recognized the song. “'F't had'n been f'Cotton-Eyed Joe, I'da been marri'd long time 'go...”
The irritating song only made the kids louder, as they commenced with their Free-Day in the gym. Occasionally one of the coaches tweeted their whistle at a rough-housing group of boys.
Justin had been hanging out in the corner, with a couple other friends. He talked with Panda while the bear doodled some pictures, but his eye was kept on a girl nearby.
His friends often teased him about his crushes. Since Christmas, he had tried to confess to two girls. He chickened out on the first one, and the second one said she was grossed out at the thought of kissing a boy, and just when he was about to say he had yet to kiss a girl.
But he was determined to find a girl before the summer. That way, he could hang out with her all through the break. Plus, he felt like his chances were slim when he got to middle school, where there were football and basketball players.
The object of his affection at the moment was Candice, a chubby guinea-pig girl with dark brown hair in a braided pony-tail. He thought long and hard about her, because she looked cute, but his brother always made fun of fat girls.
But, she was jump-roping right now, so she was exercising, right?
”Justin and Candice, sittin' in a tree...” Tommy chanted.
”Shut up,” the hamster grumbled.
Panda watched as one of the coaches set a few things down on the table right outside the office. One item was a small blue towel. The bear used his pencil to tap the hamster on the arm. “Hey,” he pointed to the table. “I bet when she's done jump-roping, she'll be all sweaty. Try to break the ice by giving her that towel.”
The hamster looked between the towel and his crush, and bit his bottom lip. “Panda, you're a genius,” he said.
The bear smiled, “I try,” he replied, and continued doodling.
Justin waited a moment or two, before getting up. He tried to walk casually, like he was going to another station, but losing interest because of the line or whatever.
He approached the small table. The towel looked a bit frumpled, but he was so nervous he didn't pay much attention to that. He snagged it quickly, and it clipped a skinny, yellow can that started to wobble. He held it still, to keep it from falling and drawing attention.
He started to walk away. His heart leapt when the coaches blew the whistle.
“Okay, guys, start putting stuff away.”
With a shiver of relief, Justin headed over to the group of jump-roping girls as they slowed, and began bundling up their ropes in disappointment. He approached Candice from the side. “Um... Hey,” he said.
The guinea-pig glanced at him. “...Hey?” She said.
”You're... a really good jumper-roper,” he said, starting to feel his cheeks warm. He clenched the towel tightly.
She smiled, coiling her jump-rope. “Thanks,” she said. “What's that?” She asked, pointing to the towel.
”Oh, uh,” the hamster held it up. “I... brought it for you. In case you wanted to... wipe any sweat out of your eyes, or something...”
”Where'd you get it from?”
”It's mine,” he blurted, “Um... I mean, I was gonna use it for wiping sweat off, but I uh... My knee hurts cuz I landed hard jumping from really high the other day, so I took it easy.”
”Thanks,” she said, holding out her hand. When she took the towel, she opened it and started to bring it to her face, before her nose wrinkled. “It... smells a little funny...”
”Um... Th-That's, just cuz... Cuz of my brother. He uses that deodorant spray stuff, so it kinda gets into everything,” he explained.
”Ugh, I hate that stuff.” She said, dabbing the towel on her brow, temples, cheeks, and nose.
”Yeah, me too,” he agreed, taking the towel back. “Um... I can take your jump-rope for you, if you want.”
She smiled, “Sure,” she agreed, holding it out to him.
Smiling with a blush, he took it, and she skipped off to sit in her row. He stood, dazed for a second, before heading over to the pegs where the jump-ropes were hung.
”Hey,” Coach Hicks barked, catching the hamster's attention. “Whatchya got that for?”
”Um... I... I was just gonna wipe off the jump-ropes,” he explained, motioning to wipe the one in his hand.
”Gimme that,” she said, holding out her hand. “That's not for you, I dunno how you got ahold of that.”
The boy handed the towel over, and the coach folded it, taking it to the chain-link cubicle that was their office.
Justin made his way to the spot where he was supposed to sit. After a few moments, the bell rang. The kids began filing out of the gym, heading back to class in their lines.
As he entered the hall, Justin's hands started to tingle. He rubbed them together, feeling nervous and suddenly a little cold from the air-conditioning.
He was already thinking about recess, and trying to plan on what he would say to her. Or maybe he should wait until Monday? But that only gave him eleven days to let her know he liked her; or twelve, if he was going by Cathy's math.
He passed into the classroom, sitting at his desk next to Ms. Hupp's.
She looked over to him with a smile. ”Are you okay, Justin?” She asked.
”Huh?” He questioned, looking at her blankly.
”Your face looks a little red.”
”I'm... I'm okay.” He muttered, his hands feeling numb. He rubbed them together some more; he must be really nervous if Ms. Hupp noticed his face being red. He tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm down.
The hamster watched the other kids enter the room. His eyes followed Emeral as she came in, sitting at her desk two rows away from his, same spot.
He didn't even tell his friends about how he had a crush on her at the beginning of the year. Especially once he saw how Ritzer was talking to her. He didn't want anything to do with that.
Maybe his friends were right. Maybe he was hopeless, and read too many stories about heroes saving damsels in distress.
”C'mon, c'mon, we gotta get your feet wet on exponents,” their teacher said, ushering the stragglers to get to their desks and shutting the door.
The hamster was excited. He was one of the few of the class that actually liked math, and he was looking forward to learning about exponents. He knew it was a little number that sometimes appeared above a regular number, but he always wanted to know what it meant.
He reached into his desk, and found his pencil. But, when he touched it, a sting shot up his fingers. He pulled back, and looked at his palm. It looked normal, but the ache of the sting was still ebbing. He didn't see any paper-cuts, but that's almost what it felt like.
He touched his fingers together, and felt the sting again, this time followed by a bit of burning. He tried the same thing with another finger, and it felt the same.
The bell rang. “Get out your books and open them to page four-nineteen,” Ms. Hupp instructed, as she headed to her desk.
Justin hopped up from his, and went to the back of the desks, to walk around to his teacher. “Um... Ms. Hupp?” He asked.
She sat in her chair and looked to the hamster. “What is it, Justin?”
”My... My hands hurt... Can I got see the nurse?”
”Lemme see?” She asked, and he held up his hands. “They look fine to me.”
”But... they hurt,” he said, and now the stinging was happening even without touching anything.
”Okay, just gimme a second to write the slip,” she pulled open a drawer and tore off a nurse's pass.
Justin looked about, nervously meeting eyes with a few students, including Panda. He looked back when he heard his teacher set her pen down.
”Here you go,” she said, holding the slip out to the hamster.
”Um... I...” He tried to curl his fingers, but the stinging made him reluctant. “I don't think I can hold it... My hands hurt too much,” he said.
Ms. Hupp half-rolled her eyes, disguising it with a lean to the boy's left to peek around him. “Emmy?”
The tigress looked up. “Yes?”
”Can you come here, please?”
The tigress set her colored-pencils down, and approached her teacher's desk. “Am I in trouble?” She asked.
”Of course not,” the teacher said with a chuckle. “Can you take Justin to see the nurse, please?” She requested, proffering the pass to the girl.
”Sure,” the tigress said. “C'mon,” she motioned to the hamster. She led him behind the desks to the door, glancing back as she opened it and let him through.
”Th—Thanks,” he said, when she quietly shut the door behind them.
”No problem, gets me out of some math,” she smiled.
He gave a meek smile in return.
”So, what's wrong?” She asked, as their footsteps tapped softly on the tiles.
”My hands hurt,” he said, keeping them held up in front of him.
”Like... how?” She asked.
”I dunno,” he said, “it's like... they sting, like a bad sunburn,” he tried to describe.
”Hmm,” the tigress thought, reaching for the handle to the nurse's door. “Well, I'm sure the nurse'll—”
As soon as the door was cracked open, they were met with the squealing sobs of someone inside.
”One sec,” the tigress said, and opened the door enough to squeak in. “Mrs. Panesia—”
”Little busy right now,” the nurse said loudly amidst the sobbing and sound of splattering water. “Can it—Oh, Emmy,” she changed her tone as she saw the tigress.
”I've got a classmate that needs help, um...” The tigress looked at the guinea-pig girl that was standing on the stool, leaning over the eye-wash station.
”Come in, and if it's not an emergency just sit for a sec, okay?”
The tigress opened the door again and motioned for the hamster to enter.
Justin shuffled in as the tigress shut the door behind them, dreading what he was walking in on as he listened to the sobbing and grunting from within.
”Okay, sit here,” Emeral instructed to the hamster, pulling out the chair. “I'm just gonna go back and let Ms. Hupp know that—”
”Candice?” The hamster said, meekly.
The tigress paused. “You know her?”
”Um... K-Kinda...” He said, sitting down. “What's... what's she doing?”
”It burns!” The girl squealed with a ribbed voice, making the boy wince.
”...It burns...” The tigress muttered.
”Honey, I need you to relax, keep your eyes open,” the nurse instructed amidst the girls panicking sobs, “the water has to wash your eyeballs, otherwise it's just gonna keep burning.”
Emeral looked to the hamster. “Hey!” She said, in a way that sounded aggressive, and startled the boy. “Did you touch anything out-of-the-ordinary in the last few minutes?” She asked him.
He looked up at the tigress, nervously. “I... Uh... I...”
”That stupid towel!” The girl sobbed, evidently thinking the question was meant for her.
The tigress saw the boy's face pulse at the mention of the towel. She pursed her lips. “C'mon,” she said, holding onto the boy's shoulder to coax him to stand. She led him into the bathroom, after knocking, and guided him to the sink. She turned the cold water on, and had him put his hands into the stream.
”Keep your hands under the water,” the tigress instructed. “Don't move or touch anything until the nurse says otherwise,” she finished. “I'll be right back.”
The boy nodded, and gulped.
”Mrs. Panesia,” Emeral spoke up, heading to the nurse. “I've got Justin running his hands in cool water,” she reported. “Is there a way to call the coaches or something?”
”Um... Yes,” the nurse turned slightly, “pick up the phone and dial zero-four-nine-six.”
”Okay,” she started to reach for the phone, then pulled back. “One sec,” she said to herself, and went over to the sink beneath the medicine cabinets. Drawing from the quizzing she had given her mother in preparation for the certification exam, she washed her hands and arms in case she had gotten anything on them.
Now cleaned, she went to the phone.
”Hello?” Coach Roberts's voice came through the receiver.
”Hey, Coach, this is Emeral from Ms. Hupp's class; I'm calling from the nurse's office,” she said, in a quick and even voice.
”Okay... Uh... What's going on?” The coach asked, a little slowly.
”Is there... I've got a classmate, and there's another girl from another class in the office, with similar symptoms,” she said, as clearly but as quickly as she could; “and the girl said something about a towel. Do you know of a towel?”
”A towel...? Uh... Well, I see a towel here. It's the one we use for cleaning and stuff.”
”What's it look like?” She asked, and after she was told, she repeated: “It's a small, blue towel?”
”Yes!” The girl said, her sobbing having quieted enough she could overhear the conversation. “It was blue! I rubbed it on my face, and now it burns!”
”Okay, thanks, Coach.”
”What's happening?”
”Mrs. Panesia will explain later, but I gotta go,” the tigress said, clicking the tab in on the cradle before setting the phone down into it. “Okay, there's a towel that was used for cleaning in the gym, so it definitely looks like they both touched it and got some chemical burn or something.”
”He told me it was his towel!”
”Sh, honey, just keep your eyes open and breathe,” the nurse told the girl, calmly.
”How much longer?” The girl sobbed.
”At least ten more minutes,” the nurse told her, then turned to the tigress.
”They need a change of clothes, right?” The tigress asked, anticipating the nurse's instructions.
The nurse sighed. “Yes, but right now I need you to check on your classmate. Use the door-stop to keep the door open,” she pointed with her gaze at the small wedge against the cabinet.
Emeral did so, propping the door open and walking in. “You still washing?”
The boy's breath hitched while he nodded, and the mirror betrayed his face as some tears trickled down his cheeks.
”Your hands still burn?”
The hamster nodded again.
”Same as before, or any better?”
”I think... it's... a little... better,” he replied, between sheepish breaths.
”Well, you've got about a baker's-dozen minutes left, at least.” The tigress folded her arms, leaning on the wall. She let out a huff, and muttered under her breath, “It's deja vu all over again...”
