By Jenny Fulton

The mighty Zoe approached the looming, ominous castle with a great sense of foreboding growing ever stronger in her spirit…

“Oof! Zoe! Look out! You nearly ran right into me!”

Walking with a steady confidence, the youngest, greatest fairy magician warrior avoided every obstacle in her path. All too soon, she stood gazing up at the impossible iron gates through which she knew she must enter…

“Move!”

“Hurry up, Zoe! You’re going to be late for class.”

Recognizing a new sense of urgency, the youngest, greatest fairy magician warrior uttered the magic words, opened the door, and ran at the speed of lightening to the room where the stern, demanding instructor of magicians resided – waiting as usual to reprimand and scold the youngest, greatest fairy magician at every possible opportunity…~

“Zoe Allen! How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t run in the hallways!”

“Sorry, Mrs. Alderson. I was just…”

“You were just what? Don’t you ever stop to think about what you’re doing? Now get to class – and try to put something in that head of yours by paying attention to what’s going on.”

“Yes, Mrs. Alderson.”

With a renewed – yet cautious – urgency, the youngest, greatest fairy magician warrior continued on at a fast pace, being careful not to run and once again bring down the wrath of the all-powerful Enforcer-of-all-things-within-the-realm-of-the-dark-castle. Success was within reach…and then rang the Bell-of-Doom, signaling the death of free-time to anyone not safely within the confines of their predetermined destinations…

“Late again, Zoe? Don’t you ever think about what time it is? You know that I’ll have to take away five minutes of your recess again. Maybe we can use that time to figure out a plan to get you to class on time. Now go put your things away. For the rest of you 4th graders…”

The youngest, greatest fairy magician warrior floated over to the coat closet, waved her magic wand, and watched her things fly tidily to their places in perfect order. She then floated back to her seat and gazed up at the daily math problems – her first challenge of the learning day, but one she could breeze through easily – a secret code she would use to unlock the secrets of the evil elf, Dargon and so save all the earth from the darkness of stupidity. With a confident smile, she…

“Zoe! At least pick up your pencil and try to do the problems. You should know how to do them by now – we’ve been practicing these for the last couple of days.”

_ _ _

At lunchtime in the teacher’s lounge:

“Emily, I don’t know what to do about that girl. It’s as though I try and I try to fill that head of hers, but nothing stays in there.”

“Don’t be discouraged, Nora. I know it’s difficult having Zoe in your class, but you have to remember children learn at different speeds. Zoe may just be one of those who thinks and learns at a slower rate.”

_ _ _

After lunch during Social Studies:

The youngest, greatest fairy magician warrior intently studied the location and geography of each location on the map. When the evil elf Dargon attacked, she would be prepared with a brilliant defense due to her superior knowledge of the land and people of that nation. Success was within sight as she picked up her pencil and began sketching out her highly developed plans…

“Zoe…!”

_ _ _

*Image by Tarishart from Pixabay