Ket winced as he heard the alarm go off. For a second, a wave of panic washed over him as he tried to get his bearings; but in the next he recalled where he was.
”Okay, whatever you did not finish is homework,” said their teacher, who thankfully either did not notice or ignored that he had fallen asleep.
There were twenty-two more days of school to go until the end of the year, and they were getting longer and longer. Without the stresses of any more exams or stupid and boring tests, and no holidays in the final stretch, there was little to latch onto that would help the time pass quickly.
Ms. Hupp stepped out from behind her desk, and then uncharacteristically went to the rocking-chair right in front of it. She smiled as she saw over a dozen little ears perk up, for last time she had sat here they had read a picture-book like they were in first grade.
”Come gather 'round,” she said, patting her lap.
Excitedly, the class scooted desks aside and hurriedly stomped to get a good spot close to the chair.
The raccoon liked to see the small rainbow of heads sitting in front of her; though, it made her feel like an old grandma in a way. Maybe the year after next, she would teach a lower grade level, so she could sit in a comfortable rocking-chair more often.
She held up her hand. “I have a couple of important things to talk about before the end of the day.” She said. “Anyone wanna guess what they are?”
”Field trip!” Said Emeral, raising her hand up. When she saw her teacher's expression, she lowered it. “I'm just kidding,” she muttered, chuckling along with some of the other kids.
”Actually, you're right,” their teacher replied, watching as they looked to one another excitedly. “Mrs. Rinder, Mr. Wiggin, and I, talked to some of the third-grade teachers. We've decided to have a joint field-trip to the zoo.”
She let the kids' excitement bubble a little, as she reached onto her desk to grab a folder that was on top of a small pile of them. She opened it up, pulled out a stack of papers, and handed it to Tabitha, sitting to her left.
”We'll be going next Monday—a week from today—and we'll be there all day. So, you will want to bring a good lunch, and if you want you can bring some binoculars or a camera.”
”What if... we can't go?”
Ms. Hupp looked toward from where the question came from. The rabbit was a little hard to spot with her ears swiveled back, sitting on the brim of the rainbow behind most of the other class. “Hm... Well,” she closed the folder and opened it in thought. “If your parents don't sign the form for whatever reason, I think you will spend the day in the library, and eat lunch with the fourth-graders. But, I'll have to make sure.” She looked about as they continued passing the submission forms around. “Any other questions?”
”We're going with the third-graders?”
She nodded. “Yes. We haven't quite worked it out, yet, but we think it would be fun to have groups of third- and fifth-graders together. You guys would be able to show off how mature and responsible you are by helping the younger kids learn things about animals.”
”What day is it on?”
The raccoon inwardly sighed. “Next Monday, a week from today,” she repeated. “Anything else?” The papers came back to her from the right. She held them up. “Did anyone not get one?” Just as she lowered them, Lyza raised her hand.
”Um... I didn't,” she said.
Ms. Hupp singled a piece of paper out, leaning forward to hand it to one of the kids in the crowd so that it could make its way back.
”Okay, so that was one thing,” said Ms. Hupp. “Can anyone guess the other thing?”
”Another picture-book?”
She shook her head.
There were some murmurs of disappointment.
”What happens around this time of year?” She hinted.
Kimberly took in a breath. “Oh! End-of-year party?”
Ms. Hupp chuckled. “Okay, yes, but not what I was thinking.”
The kids started to chew on lips and put hands under chins, thinking.
”Field trip.” Said Emeral, again, as a joke.
Some of the kids chuckled.
”Okay... Ket, Ritzer; you two should know what I'm talking about.”
The class looked to the lion and the tiger, both sitting on opposite sides of the rainbow.
”Mar'g't.” Ritzer said, with a folded-arm shrug.
The raccoon smiled. “That's right,” she said, reaching for another folder. “Friday the twenty-seventh is the Fifth-Grade Market Day.”
Rini covered her muzzle. “Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about that!” She exclaimed.
The other kids had similar reactions. It was fairly common for them to get so bogged down with the RSBTs that they forgot about the annual market, especially since for every grade up until then it had only been a one-day experience each year.
”What's... Market Day?” Asked Panda.
Ms. Hupp opened the folder she had, and began handing some papers to Tabitha. “Why don't you explain it, Rini?”
The rat raised up on her knees. “Me? Um...” She looked up in thought. “So like, every year, kinder-to-fourth come into the fifth-grade hall, and the desks and tables are all lined up different,” she said, gesturing to their desks. “The fifth-graders make all these hand-craft things, and you just walk around and buy stuff you like. I think... I mean, the fifth-graders get the money, right?”
Ms. Hupp nodded. “Yup. It's just like you said. On the last Friday, when you come in, the desks will be arranged so there's sort of pathway that other people can walk around. You'll each have a spot where you set up a little shop, and you can try to sell something that you make. And yes,” she looked to Rini, “you do get to keep your money... Except, well... Let's go through the papers.”
For the next while, Ms. Hupp went over the point of the Market Day theme. The kids were to come up with something to make, and sell. They were to figure out what the cost of the supplies would be, and use an allowance from their parents to purchase the supplies. They would then need to figure out what to sell the product at so that they could pay their allowance back, and maybe make some extra money for themselves.
”...And, yes; this is for a grade,” Ms. Hupp added, as a final statement.
The kids began to groan.
”So if we don't make any money we fail?” Asked one of the boys.
”Oh, no,” the teacher corrected. “If you participate in the market but don't sell well—and it happens—you may need to work out some chores with your parents to pay back the allowance. But, if you don't want to be a seller, you will just need to do some extra worksheets and another exam.”
There was another groan at the mention of a test.
”What if... we can't think of anything to make?” Asked the rabbit in the back.
”Well, if you have a hard time coming up with something on your own, I'll be happy to help brainstorm ideas, or maybe your mom or dad will have an idea for you.—Rini?”
”Can we work in partners?” The rat asked, lowering down when her name had been called.
Ms. Hupp shook her head. “I'm sorry, but this isn't a group project. Everyone has to do their own product, with their own allowance. That means you two, also,” she said, looking at the twins.
Rini looked down in a bit of disappointment. “What happens if two people make the same thing?”
The teacher smiled. “Then may the better salesperson win,” she replied.
The kids murmured to one another, flipping through the stapled pages to see what they had to do for their grade.
”Ket, Ritzer?”
The tiger looked up.
”Yes'm?” The lion said.
”You two have to do something different this year, got it?”
”Aww whut? Y'lemme do the same las' year...”
”Well, this year I want you to do something new.”
The lion stood up in a huff, and started walking to his desk.
”It's snack-time now, so if you have any more questions, just ask me at my desk.”
The rainbow broke as the kids started to stand and stretch. They made their way to their desks and backpacks, putting their sheets away and getting their snacks.
Lyza set the sheets down on her desk, and plopped into her seat. She had stopped bringing a snack, since Kval got her home quickly enough; she could eat when she got home.
She looked at the Market Day packet, stuck between a rock and a hard place. She didn't want to take another exam, for she had lost her studying spark after the RSBTs had concluded. But, she also did not really care to come up with an idea to sell. She didn't even like Market Day. It was noisy and chaotic. She remembered having to put tissue paper in her ears, and shuffling around to keep her feet from getting stepped on.
”Hey.”
She looked up.
Rini was sitting at her desk, twisted about to face the rabbit.
“...What?” She asked.
”There... any reason you can't go to the zoo?”
The rabbit wrinkled her nose. “What's it to you?”
The rat bit into the chewy-granola bar she had opened. “Just bein' nosy.” She replied.
Lyza looked down, sliding the Market Day packet aside to look at the submission form for the field trip. “We'll be there all day,” she replied. “My brother picks me up during his school day. I don't want to stress him out if the bus breaks down and I'm late getting back, and he has to wait for me, or something.”
Rini finished chewing her bite. “I'll take you home.” She said. She knew the rabbit would not like the offer, and the expression she was given confirmed it. “The library would be boring,” she remarked.
”I don't plan on being in the library,” the rabbit replied.
”Then I'll tell Ms. Hupp you're playing hooky, if that's what you're thinking about doing.” The way Lyza's brow twitched told Rini she had struck. “It'll be fun,” she said. “You don't even have to come over to my house or anything; we'll drop you off.” She bit into her snack again. “J'oss th'ng abou'et,” she said with her mouth full.
Lyza felt surrounded by boulders.
