School Hedge Maze Outing
Jan. 7th, 2014 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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rix_scaedu's prompt to my January Bingo Prompt call.
Title: School Hedge Maze Outing
Warnings: Juvenile name calling
Length: 721 words
"Line up and join hands. We won't go in until everyone has joined hands." Miss Darby walked the length of her class and smiled at the way they quickly followed directions.
"Miss Darby, Danny's squeezing too hard!"
"Am not!"
"Daniel McClintock you've already had one warning, do you want to wait out here with the gardener?" Danny looked up in time to catch the poisonous look the gardener gave her and shook his head quickly. The school tours in January might bring the garden extra funds but clearly not enough for the gardener to relish watching a rambunctious boy for an hour. "Then hold on gently. Alright everyone, follow me."
With twenty kids following along like a line of ducklings Miss Darby gave another look to her map and entered the hedge maze. Walls of green barely a yard apart towered over them and soon blocked out the sounds of the city. Even the sun seemed to retreat and after they took the first few turns the pathway was as dimly lit as the winter twilight. Thankfully the first fountain appeared after only four turns just as the map had shown.
"Can anyone tell me who that is? No one? That's Mister Simak, his ranch Enoch's Valley became the old town district of our city."
"Ooh! My uncle tried to say some guy named Enoch used to own the whole town."
"Well Chloe, I heard he named the ranch after an old friend, but Mister Simak was who owned everything."
At the next fountain Jayden correctly identified the statue of Washington. The third fountain, a statue of a jackalope got giggles from most of the kids. Miss Darby had no dount that lunch money would disappear to pay for the plush ones in the gift shop. But that would be a while, looking at the map she saw they'd have to walk a twisting path almost as long as the entire journey so far to reach the last fountain.
Making sure everyone was holding hands again they slipped into the shade of the tall hedges again. For a short stretch branches stretched across overhead breaking up the sky until it seemed there were stars overhead. Turning the light came back and with it the sweet scent of flowers and voices in the distance. Someone, Darby thought to herself, must have worn entirely too much perfume in the previous group. But at the next turn, surrounded by countless flowers, they found the final fountain.
"Hey, he's got two faces! And a funny beard!"
"Yes Abby, he does doesn't he?" Miss Darby took a headcount and once sure everyone was there continued speaking, "Does anyone know what that statue shows? That's Janus, he was part of the Roman Pantheon, and the month of January is named for him."
"And that's it, next stop is lunch." With the cheers that announcement brought they held hands and walked the last few turns before exiting the maze not too far behind the previous group. She expected the kids to try and run to the cafe and gift shop, not Chloe's scream and Daniel's shout.
"Monster!"
A moment later someone in the group ahead screamed, "Monster!"
"Nuh-uh!" Daniel shouted, "You're the monster you flea-bag!"
"No, you are pancake face!"
"Daniel McClintock!"
"Nolan Ethlidge!"
"You apologize this instant!"
When she and the other teacher mirrored each others words, Miss Darby looked up to offer an apology of how own only to freeze at the sight. Up ahead the other teacher froze as well but for a still lashing tail. Slowly the other teacher turned her head to look at Darby's students, while she did the same with the other line of students. Dogs, she thought. No, dog people. Like in the story books.
"What... Who are you?" When they mirrored each others words again she found herself giggling. Somehow relieved by the sound of the other teacher's giggling. The kids seemed to recover faster then either of them.
"Fine, sorry. Fur-face isn't a monster."
"Yeah," the other boy called back, "sorry, you're not a monster, just ugly."
A shrill whistle stopped both boys before a fight could start, a tall slender figure walked up from the side. "Alright now, what's going... Not again!" The green haired man summed up Miss Darby's feelings in a single long suffering sigh.
rix_scaedu's prompt to my January Bingo Prompt call.Title: School Hedge Maze Outing
Warnings: Juvenile name calling
Length: 721 words
"Line up and join hands. We won't go in until everyone has joined hands." Miss Darby walked the length of her class and smiled at the way they quickly followed directions.
"Miss Darby, Danny's squeezing too hard!"
"Am not!"
"Daniel McClintock you've already had one warning, do you want to wait out here with the gardener?" Danny looked up in time to catch the poisonous look the gardener gave her and shook his head quickly. The school tours in January might bring the garden extra funds but clearly not enough for the gardener to relish watching a rambunctious boy for an hour. "Then hold on gently. Alright everyone, follow me."
With twenty kids following along like a line of ducklings Miss Darby gave another look to her map and entered the hedge maze. Walls of green barely a yard apart towered over them and soon blocked out the sounds of the city. Even the sun seemed to retreat and after they took the first few turns the pathway was as dimly lit as the winter twilight. Thankfully the first fountain appeared after only four turns just as the map had shown.
"Can anyone tell me who that is? No one? That's Mister Simak, his ranch Enoch's Valley became the old town district of our city."
"Ooh! My uncle tried to say some guy named Enoch used to own the whole town."
"Well Chloe, I heard he named the ranch after an old friend, but Mister Simak was who owned everything."
At the next fountain Jayden correctly identified the statue of Washington. The third fountain, a statue of a jackalope got giggles from most of the kids. Miss Darby had no dount that lunch money would disappear to pay for the plush ones in the gift shop. But that would be a while, looking at the map she saw they'd have to walk a twisting path almost as long as the entire journey so far to reach the last fountain.
Making sure everyone was holding hands again they slipped into the shade of the tall hedges again. For a short stretch branches stretched across overhead breaking up the sky until it seemed there were stars overhead. Turning the light came back and with it the sweet scent of flowers and voices in the distance. Someone, Darby thought to herself, must have worn entirely too much perfume in the previous group. But at the next turn, surrounded by countless flowers, they found the final fountain.
"Hey, he's got two faces! And a funny beard!"
"Yes Abby, he does doesn't he?" Miss Darby took a headcount and once sure everyone was there continued speaking, "Does anyone know what that statue shows? That's Janus, he was part of the Roman Pantheon, and the month of January is named for him."
"And that's it, next stop is lunch." With the cheers that announcement brought they held hands and walked the last few turns before exiting the maze not too far behind the previous group. She expected the kids to try and run to the cafe and gift shop, not Chloe's scream and Daniel's shout.
"Monster!"
A moment later someone in the group ahead screamed, "Monster!"
"Nuh-uh!" Daniel shouted, "You're the monster you flea-bag!"
"No, you are pancake face!"
"Daniel McClintock!"
"Nolan Ethlidge!"
"You apologize this instant!"
When she and the other teacher mirrored each others words, Miss Darby looked up to offer an apology of how own only to freeze at the sight. Up ahead the other teacher froze as well but for a still lashing tail. Slowly the other teacher turned her head to look at Darby's students, while she did the same with the other line of students. Dogs, she thought. No, dog people. Like in the story books.
"What... Who are you?" When they mirrored each others words again she found herself giggling. Somehow relieved by the sound of the other teacher's giggling. The kids seemed to recover faster then either of them.
"Fine, sorry. Fur-face isn't a monster."
"Yeah," the other boy called back, "sorry, you're not a monster, just ugly."
A shrill whistle stopped both boys before a fight could start, a tall slender figure walked up from the side. "Alright now, what's going... Not again!" The green haired man summed up Miss Darby's feelings in a single long suffering sigh.
