Reading, Writing & Rithmetic by L. A. Keller

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This month’s super short story is about a child who doesn’t want the school year to end. I considered the different ways I could approach this and why being in school is preferred to summer break. I ran through a list of possibilities in my head. Is there abuse in the home? Is the only time the child gets a meal at school? Sadly, that is a problem for many children. Does the child have no siblings for company and as a result will be lonely for the summer? 

After considering all the negatives, I decided to focus on a happy reason someone would not want the school year to end.  And so here is my short story, titled, “Reading, Writing and Rithmetic”.

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Three more minutes left before summer break. Jolene bit her lip as she watched the clock tick the seconds down for the end of the day. Her hands clutched the book she had been speed reading. It would need to be turned into the library before she left, and she still had twenty pages to go.

Her favorite character was clinging to life, literally on the edge of a cliff and Jolene refused to go home until she knew the heroine survived. Jolene knew her mom would be waiting curbside for her to rush out the door, cheering with all the other kids in her class. Sure, she was happy she wouldn’t have to do homework. She especially hated math and history, but she could sit in her English class all day and never be bored.

Jolene surreptitiously flipped the page on the novel. Mr. Grainger was a stickler about multiplication tables, and he drilled the importance of them into his students with a vengeance. A gasp slipped from her mouth when her favorite character of all time slipped from the ledge and was now hanging by her fingertips.  Sitting straighter in her chair, she peeked around Billy Connors sizable back to see if the teacher noticed anything but even Mr. Grainger appeared ready for the school year to end.

The bell rang and cheers could be heard throughout the school.  The boys and girls in front of her leapt from their chairs and everyone rushed to the exits. School was out for three glorious months and no one wanted to stay behind, except Jolene.

She waited for her classroom to clear and read as she walked on autopilot to the library. She knew the librarian, Mrs. May would wait for her. They had a special bond – a different kind than Jolene shared with her mother.

“I love books more than air,” Mrs. May would say when she handed Jolene new titles to read. “This one was one of my favorites when I was your age.”

Jolene stopped outside the library door and inhaled the scent of her book for one last time. She was sure, in all her life, there would be nothing better that turning the last page and wishing it wouldn’t end. 
Happy Trails,

Leslie


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