>>5295328>>5295337>>5295357The hum of activity fills the air as the voices follow Cici back inside, the door of one additional classroom now open to reveal Mr. Martin up at the board. The dwarf has a look of satisfaction on his face as he appears to be throwing up a list of nations for his small class to memorize. Meanwhile, across the hall from where Cici is headed, Melody stands at her own board beside Mama’s friend Mina, the lamia bowing to the class to a chorus of “Hi, Ms. Mina!” that is significantly reduced in volume as Ms. Willow closes the door behind the last trailing student.
“Now then class,” she says brightly, wasting no time in calling the room to order. “Let’s begin where we left off yesterday!”
Loose leaf paper and pencils appear on desks as Ms. Willow begins neatly writing out a series of basic algebraic equations on her board, the left-hand margin quickly filling from top to bottom before she begins calling on the class for volunteers. In response, Cici, Hannah, and Richard’s hands aren’t far behind, but that seems to be all that she’s going to get, Danny seeming to shrink into himself at the mere thought of standing up before the class and Katy engrossed in what the voices realize to be a detailed sketch of a caterpillar.
“Come now,” the teacher scolds the class, gently rapping on her podium. “We can’t always have the same volunteers do everything. It’s not exactly fair to them, and it’s denying yourself an opportunity to improve!”
She looks to the voices in their hovering form beseechingly.
> What to do?> Let Cici and the others volunteer.> Try to encourage another student to come up. Who? 