Week 21

                Brian sat at his desk, silently taking note of his fellow classmates. Most of them were present, but that one girl… Flos, was it? She was still missing. Brian chuckled. She would always show up at the last second, just early enough to be on time and just late enough to annoy the teacher. Sure enough, a slightly disheveled girl burst into the classroom only seconds before the bell. The teacher gave her a miffed look before beginning class.

                The hours ticked by slowly, and Brian soon grew tired of his classes. Glancing around the room, he searched for something more interesting than the algorithm for solving equations. His eyes lighted upon Flos, who seemed to be in another world entirely. Flos, what an odd name, Brian mused to himself. On the first day of class, she had said it was Latin for something. Flower, probably.

                The bell rang again, interrupting Brian’s thoughts. Shuffling beside his classmates, he joined the mob heading down to the cafeteria. He sat next to his friends, but he was in just the right position to see that Flos girl. She had a few other girls around her, and they chatted as she ate a large salad. Vegetarian, Brian thought. She’s a picture perfect hipster. Bobby started telling another ridiculous story, and Brian’s attention was diverted.

                At the end of the school day was biology. On this particular day Ms. Malonne decided to switch the students’ lab partners and handed everyone the new list of partners. Brian quickly scanned the paper for his name. Group 7: Brian Hamerbee and Flos Bellisman. Somewhat bemused, Brian took his seat next to Flos. They exchanged hellos before Ms. Malonne called for attention. The lab project for today would be a test of plant growth. Each group would grow a marigold using different methods. Except one group. One lucky group would be the control and so would grow their plant under normal conditions. Brian sighed unhappily as Ms. Malonne chose his group for this most important task.

                Brian turned to face his partner, but she had already disappeared to gather the project supplies. In fact, she completed nearly the entire project single-handedly. All Brian had to do was fill out the worksheets. As the bell rang to end the school day, Brian decided to talk to Flos, but she had already slipped out of the classroom. He caught up with her outside near the bus stop.

                “Uh, hey Flos,” Brian stumbled, “are you waiting for the bus?”

                Flos shook her head. “No, I always walk home.”

                Brian struggled to find a solution. “I- uh- I mean- do you want me to walk with you?” The words surprised even himself.

                Flos seemed pensive for a moment, then smiled. “Sure, I guess I could use a walking partner.” She laughed as she started down the sidewalk, Brian hastening to walk beside her.

                After evening his pace, Brian tried to chat. “So… nice weather today.”

                “Yes,” replied Flos, “it’s a nice day for spring. Though if it were summer, it’d be too cold.”

                “Uh, yeah, I guess it would be,” Brian chuckled. This is going to be a long walk. “So Flos, where do you live exactly?”

                Flos seemed surprised by the question. “Oh, um, near the edge of town. I usually take a shortcut through the woods.”

                Finally, a conversation! “You don’t mind all the bugs and stuff?”

                “No, I’ve always liked nature. I wish more people did.” Flos sighed.

                Brian shrugged. “Yeah, I guess that would solve a lot of the world’s problems.” Think, Brian, think. “I’ve always enjoyed camping.”

                “Oh me too!” Flos smiled.

                The two chatted throughout the seemingly endless walk to Flos’s house. Eventually Flos stopped before a woodsy patch at the edge of town. She turned to Brian. “Well, this is my stop. Thanks for walking with me. It was nice getting to chat with you.”

                Brian smiled. “My pleasure. You sure you don’t want me to walk the rest of the way?”

                “Oh no,” cried Flos, “I can make it back on my own just fine. Besides, the woods are confusing since there aren’t any real paths and all…”

                “Okay, well, see you tomorrow!” Brian waved

                “See you!” Flos waved back before wandering off into the woods.

                Brian stood around and shuffled his feet for a minute. It was a long way back to his home. His house was on the other end of town, and he normally took the bus. Brian sighed. Maybe he could borrow the phone at Flos’s house and call his parents to pick him up. They would be mad of course, but it would be better than walking all the way across town. Brian started into the woods.

    “Hey Flos!” he yelled. “Can I borrow your phone?” No answer, and Flos was nowhere to be seen. Brian noticed some footprints amid the waves of plants. Perhaps they were Flos’s footprints. He decided to follow them. After wandering through the forest for a time, Brian stumbled upon a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was Flora. Finally, Brian thought, I can ask to use her phone. Yet he stopped suddenly. Flora seemed… different. In the light she appeared almost green, and she was definitely wearing another dress. She had flowers woven into her hair, and leaves were practically sprouting from her limbs. Brian hesitated, “Uh, Flora?”

    The girl turned and gasped. Before Brian could say anything, she ran off into the forest. “Flora, wait!” Brian called after her. But it was too late. She had run off. On his long walk home Brian pondered what he had seen. Flora had resembled something from a storybook. A forest sprite, that’s what it was. She looked just like a forest sprite.

    Brian never did see Flora again, but he did get an A+ on his lab project. When handing back the grades, Ms. Malonne said she had never seen a marigold grow so well.