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The Chalk Girl By Elizabeth Johann (Amir, 4th grade)
Prologue
In the little town of Summersville, located just a highway north of Saint Louis, there was a cottage. In their lived the Jacobson family, consisting of Mr. Jacobson, Mrs. Jacobson, their son Louis, and his sister Maya. Mr. Jacobson was a plumber and often had to travel long distances to Saint Louis and other neighboring towns. Mrs. Jacobson had no actual profession; she was a cleaning lady. Since the Depression had hit the village hard, almost all the women in the town lost their jobs including Mrs. Jacobson. Mrs. Jacobson now cooked, cleaned, took care of the children when they were dreadfully ill, and did whatever needed doing around the house. Louis occasionally went to the nearby forest to hunt for deer and turkey and studied hard for massive tests filled with equations at the school he attended, while Maya cleaned the ashes from the fireplace, washed the dishes, went to the market and watched the baby, Georgia, while her mother was out.
One usual day, Mr. Jacobson came home from work, wet, dusty, and grumpy as usual. With the mail in his hand, he slumped down on a vacant chair. “I made some strawberry pie tonight for dinner! All from the garden, filling and all! Would you like some?” “Oh bother!” Mr. Jacobson said in somewhat of a harsh tone. Mrs. Jacobson resumed sweeping up grime with the mop.
Maya, being the valiant child, approached her father and asked: “How was work today Daddy?” Mr. Jacobson did not reply, but put a letter on the table. The address read:
307 Park berry Drive Summersville MI 50678 Maya stared for what seemed hours and hours at the letter with unlimited curiosity. She glanced up at her father, who was grumbling, “Insane man, he is, sick in the head…” Who was this mystery man, sick in the head, Maya thought? Where had her father gotten the letter? With all these questions in her mind Maya, not hesitant for even a second, trotted up the two flights of stairs that led to her room. Once there, she got the letter opener Uncle Peter had gotten her four Christmases ago. Now you might wonder why she didn’t tear up the letter as she usually did. Well, (and this might sound strange) it had a stamp with a picture of an eye on it.
After the envelope had been opened, a soggy paper was pulled out of it that read Dear Lady, Recommendations had been sent out to the address below and guess what, you’re accepted! Dangerous challenges you’ll face here and some of them mean harm. Don’t ponder or worry, sit up straight and life is good.
With Luck, The Eye School Girls INC.
3567 Broadway Avenue St. Louis MI 04268 "Blue in the face, white in the Blood"
Maya stared for a few moments at the letter in awe. But then, realizing she had gotten no farther than when she had started, slumped over and began contemplating the information. A footnote caught her eye that read:
Term Starts November 2nd Suddenly it all became clear. Her parents were dumping her at some dilapidated place that no one in Summersville had ever heard of! Marching cross-eyed to her bed it suddenly all made sense! The day when her parents had given her the silent treatment for breaking an “expensive” plate and acted very out of the ordinary they had been mailing the recommendation latter pretending it was by someone else! Her eyes fluttered. It seemed like a dream.
However when she woke up an hour later and dinner was announced the situation had turned out no better than it was an hour ago. After a long persuasive argument with her parents, she stomped up to bed letting the world sense her fury in the air. Her alarm clock rang at exactly 4 a.m. and she started packing for the mysterious trip to visit The Eye, the dilapidated building which they called School Girls Incorporated, the contest, the blackboards, the train, St. Louis, and the chalk.
The train station was fairly busy, though its business was not unlike other days. Arriving at platform 13 at approximately 6 o’clock, she found the train to the School Girls Incorporated, referred to as The Lion. At 6:30 a.m., Maya found that The Lion was far from being a misnomer. Its giant claw-like wheels reached out, as if stalking its prey, and roared again and again. The bumpiness of the track made her dizzy. She was so nauseated when the trolley serving breakfast came by that she didn’t ask for a morsel of food. There was a strange person on the train who with no notice walked up and sat next to Maya. “Hello, hello what a wonderful day it is! Ah!” he said with a tangy voice. “Yes.” Maya replied very slow and boringly. “I am The Eye!” The Eye introduced in the same tone. “So you’re the headmaster this whole Shebang,” Maya replied with very small interest, rolling her eyes. “Yes, Darling, C’est Moi! “Great.” “Darling, remember this. The wise man looks to the future not the past! Au Revoir! The Eye strolled out in to the passage.
Chapter 1
Night came and Maya slept. Nightmares danced around her mind with the Eye babbling in endless French and his one eye looking down at her. The train’s endless roar reached the golden arch and at eight in the morning, all passengers were woken and told to grab their suitcases and report to 6639 Lyon Drive, where The Eye would be waiting for the girls. Grasping her suitcases and thinking about the chaos in the rear of the train, Maya watched the train pull out of the station, leaving a thick trail of smoke behind it, before going out of the train station herself to be welcomed by the streets of Saint Louis. Gazing at the map she had gotten from the cashier at the train station, she found Lyon Drive, and according to the map it would take her approximately thirty minutes to walk there. Hoisting her bags she veered off to the left to begin her trip to 6639 Lyon Drive. The streets were full of the kind that have a pipe and play harmonicas and tap dance. A worn hat rests at the beggar’s feet, indicating they would like to be paid for their talent. Checking her money bag, Maya dropped a coin at the person she thought was the most talented before turning the street corner where 6639 Lyon Drive awaited Maya. Being a massive stone building 334 stories tall, 6639 Lyon Drive had a banner that read the motto, “Blue in the Face, White in the Blood” and under this disturbing sentence it had a caption in smaller letters that read “School Girls Inc.” After stopping to catch her breath from running up the stairs, she went through the glass doors. A stern voice told her, “You’re late! Sit down! Line up to see the Eye!” “My favorite person…” Maya murmured to the lady who had put on too much lipstick that morning. After she was finished with her lecture, she simply added, “Floor 267 and for our students safety we encourage our students to take the stairs as if a fire started you would not get out of the elevator. Tell the Eye it was Ms. Jose’s` instructions.” With one last momentary look at Maya, Ms. Jose` disappeared into another room. Following the signs that read STAIRS, she finally reached the notice that said 1st floor and climbed the endless stairs until the 50th floor where she paused on a bench to catch her breath and then continued to the 267th floor where a door read The Office of the Eye. Heaving a sigh, Maya anxiously knocked on the Eye’s office door. For a moment there was no sound was then a raspy voice that ordered vexingly: “C’est Moi, the Eye!” the voice said approaching the doorway. “What is your vont les affaries? Is there any emergency?” Maya, not knowing what vont les affaries meant replied in a simple and uninterested tone, “Maya Jacobson, School Girls Inc. Saint Louis. Ms. Jose` sent me up here.” “Of Course!” the Eye exclaimed, opening the door, “Come in!” The Eye’s office was a sight that Maya thought she would never see. Pictures and painting of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World decorated the ivy colored walls. The maple desk was in the center and it had an aged rocker behind it. Bookshelves covered the extra space. A chair was in the southwest corner and it held pencils and paper. Next to it a lone wooden brace were in the corner. There was a thump behind Maya. She rapidly realized that the Eye had fallen down. Maya lunged for the wooden brace in the corner. Grabbing it by the heel-shaped part, Maya took on a trot like walk as she moved closer and closer to The Eye. As the bristly floor tickled her knees The Eye croaked: “Maya, zee cane and zee brace on zee left leg!” Maya lifted The Eye’s velvet cape. In doing this, she let out a high-pitched scream. No disfigured leg lay under the velvet cape. Instead, there was no leg at all, just an empty pant leg. When the epidermis finally became visible, it was a smeared blood ring. Trying to get as far as she could from the leg and The Eye, Maya hit her back on the wooden desk. “Put zee brace on!” The Eye cried. With mammoth force, Maya pushed the wooden brace to The Eye who grabbed it triumphantly, slipped it on and secured the metal straps. Maya walked over to the south wall of the room and grabbed the can with two gargoyles on both ends. Handing it to The Eye, he asked for her assistance to get off the floor. Hitting a gargoyles head on the floor, while holding the other one, The Eye wobbled unsteadily to his desk. Once seated in his rocking chair, he went through a number of assorted papers. Taking out a mountainous phone book, he muttered some French words and ran his finger against the dusty pages and after about ten disturbing minutes, The Eye dropped the phone book carelessly and picked up the receiver. Dialing a few numbers he ordered: “Asséner-vous.” Maya seeing his elongated finger directed at the chair, sat down anxiously in the purple chair. “Ms. Jose, moi has Maya Jacobson in my office. Pourquoi est Maya dans mon office? Maya shivered at the sound of the word condemn. The Eye talked a long part of the conversation in French and kept murmuring faintly to himself. At one point he opened the drawer and took out a pen and wrote notes, possibly of what Ms. Jose was saying. Even studying the Seven Wonders of the World posters did not calm her. After about half-an-hour into the conversation, she took to staring in space. The Eye after an hour and ten minutes put down the receiver into its proper place. “You brought a lunch I assume?” The Eye questioned. “Yes,” Maya replied, “but it is downstairs.” “Go get it,” The Eye ordered, “and then our first lesson will commence.” After retreating down the 267 flights of stairs, Maya grabbed her lunch and hastily climbed up the stairs. Knocking on the door The Eye asked the vont les affaires question again and Maya gave the answer. The door swung open. A few minutes later, the Eye moved a spare desk and a chair over to the corner of the room where he required Maya to sit. While she was taking out her hunk of bread and a five-cent apple she had bought from a veteran of war on her way to Lyon Drive, the Eye took out a bundle of live escargot and wiped his sweaty hands on a napkin. Then he spoke: “The premier jour of a student is always an introduction to the realm of teaching. See Miss Jacobson School Girls Inc. is dedicated to finding voluntary teachers for the poor children out in the universe who cannot find any education. To become a teacher, your heart has to be in that profession. Yours however is not. So for your un jour I am going to teach you a lesson to respect your profession and never be late! Come to the window for our first lesson.” Maya gradually made her way to the window. The Eye put a cardboard box on the windowsill. He escorted Maya over to it and placed her cardboard box. Rotating the box until it was at a perfect angle, The Eye pulled the flaps so she could not see what was going on. There was a slight push and the Eye said, “Au Revoir, Maya,” and before she could blink she was hurling though the air like bird, thought gravity-less world and then, with great force the box landed on the street. A car honked its horn. Maya sprang out of the cardboard box, and then grabbed it before apologizing to the driver of the Model T a few times. Crossing the street, she ran in a westerly direction. Not knowing where she was headed, Maya climbed up the first set of stairs she saw. Taking a seat on the banister, her eyes fell upon the city of Saint Louis. The arch was on the horizon and the circle shaped Science Center was clearly visible. The Mississippi was like a snake winding though the flowering city with the skyscrapers stretching as high as the stars into the night. “Get off!” a gruff voice belched from behind her. Sure enough, the tall janitor that had a hook like nose was behind her. Considering the fact that the rest of the stairs were blocked off, Maya leaped from the banister to the top of a Model T. Holding on to the metal bar in front of her, she awkwardly hitched a ride until a flag pole was close enough in reach so she could seize it. Maya climbed upward until she could feel the fabric of the flag. A slimy hand grabbed her by the ankle. She glimpsed down. It was The Eye, his one eye glinting in the sunset. “Bonjour, Maya. Your doom has arrived.” Maya in one moment tore the flag off the pole; her grasp let go of the pole. She tied both of her feet around the pole. Her hands sweated as she tied the flag around The Eye’s neck. The Eye, meanwhile was delivering a few blows to Maya’s face; excessive amounts of blood were coming out of her cheek. After succeeding in tying the flag around The Eye’s neck, she untangled one of her legs from the flag pole, and, when his only eye was exposed Maya kicked The Eye’s face multiple times. It is here that The Eye began his descent. His hands flung from the flag pole and he hit a brick wall his Eye fell out. Maya’s feet lost their support and she went toppling down. Blood oozed from his split open head and he let out a scream of pain. Meanwhile, Maya got closer and closer to the ground. The Eye let out a final scream of pain and everything went black in both The Eye’s and Maya’s minds. Maya could hear an introduction of someone that was called an “ugly ducking” and once flew in a plane piloted by Amelia Earhart, but she was too tired to even think about her victory. What mattered was something all humans feel, whether on the eve of a holiday or in a moment of triumph. Maya felt the feeling of the wide open door people on this Earth call home and the warmth of love. When Maya awoke she found herself in the trunk of a car. Out of the back window she saw a sign that read: WITCHA 198 MILES NORTH TOPEKA 154 MILES WEST KANSAS CITY 78 MILES SOUTH SAINT LOUIS 52 MILES EAST Finally, a man appeared in the car. He did not seem to notice that Maya was in the trunk. After nosily munching a granola bar he turned to Maya. The man had no hair on his head and wore a silk black robe. Slippers covered his feet. He carried a black satchel with beads decorating the exterior of the bag. “Who…” Maya began to question but the man silenced her. “No time to explain,” the man said in a quiet voice. “All of School Girls Inc. is on our tail. Just so you know I am Kliwiledghet.” Then, he followed the northern facing arrow to Topeka. It was a long nauseating drive. The car lurched over the endless bumps in the road. Kliwiledghet, in the driver’s seat was very nervous eating granola bar after granola bar. The car hit a few trees, and it almost fell into a pothole. Also, the sun was beating down on them making them very hot and sticky. The car was nearly out of gas when they turned into Exit 1, the last exit in Missouri. “What are you doing, Kliwiledghet!” Maya screamed. “Topeka’s that way!” she said this sentence pointing at the sign that was still in view that read: WELCOME TO KA NAS. To this Kliwiledghet replied: “I have a secret entrance to Topeka.” Maya’s jaw dropped and she stammered “But…but….” It was true. Kliwiledghet was heading for the grass. Once on the grass the car span and spun and twisted and turned every which way. Granola bars flooded the isles of the car, Kliwiledghet’s satchel fell out the open window, and a can of soda hit Maya. Maya could see a hotel up ahead and she calculated that if the car were to go at this same speed it would hit several bumpers of other Model T’s, knocking them over and eventually it would slam into a wall. Maya was right. The car knocked down several Model T’s and slammed into the west wall with such force that the car broke when it hit the west wall. “Come on; let’s go exploring…shall we?” Maya and Kliwiledghet were sitting on the bed and had just awoken from a nap. The rest of the afternoon had been a nightmare. The hotel staff had forced Kliwiledghet to disassemble the car and put its parts in a paper bag. The paper bag now sat in the corner of the hotel room. “All right, but just nothing with cars…okay. “ The two set off down the corridor together. All of the other doors were closed. At the end of the corridor Kliwiledghet and Maya turned left where they came to another hallway of doors. This time though it had a door at the end. Maya had a strange feeling there was something in there that they were looking for. “Kliwiledghet, let’s explore in here,” Maya whispered before she raced ahead of him and turned the knob. She looked behind her to see if Kliwiledghet was coming, but he had somehow disappeared, as he was not there. Maya looked ahead of her. Inside the room there was a glass table draped in purple curtains. There was nothing else in the room. Maya had another strange feeling. She knew something was missing. And she thought she knew what it was. This room was used to house the Eye’s glass eye. That was what they were seeking. |