Lewis Roth

“ He wanted to know if some of the other things were just as great as crayons, when Ms. Laurence came back in the office and gave him a box and some pads of paper.
"These are for you, Baartock," she said.
"You give me?" he asked. He hadn't expected someone to give him anything. He was embarrassed, because he didn't have anything to give her.
"Yes, I'm giving them to you. These are yours."
"We usually say "thank you" when someone gives us something," said Mrs. Jackson.
"Thank you," said Baartock. He thought about it and then decided that it was just the human way of giving things. ”

“ There was the playground. And the class. So many humans. Baartock had never seen that many humans. They were swinging, racing around, climbing, playing, and just standing. They were laughing and yelling and screaming. They were all having fun. Baartock was so interested, that he didn't see the woman coming over to them.
"Baartock, this is your teacher, Mrs. Stogbuchner," said Mrs. Jackson. "Mrs. Stogbuchner, this is Baartock. This is his first day, isn't it Baartock?" ”

“ Stogbuchner finished reading the story, Baartock asked, "Why boy not scare wolf?"
"Well, wolves are big mean, animals," she said, "and the boy was probably scared of this wolf."
"Wolf scare easy," said Baartock.
"You'd just yell at it and it would run away," said one of the girls.
"Wolf scare easy," said Baartock again. He'd never seen a wolf, because there weren't any around there. But his father had talked about them. They were just like foxes, only bigger. Most of the animals in the woods were very scared of humans and of trolls, and would usually run way. ”

“ Monday morning, Baartock was down by the side of the road, waiting anxiously for the school bus to arrive. When he had asked his mother what 'weekend' and 'Monday' were, she had explained that many people didn't work everyday, and took two days every week to do other things. While trolls like to work everyday until the job is done and then rest; humans like to take little rests every week, she told him. ”

“ See, right here, 'Baartock'." At the top of his cubby was a little card with marks on it. He thought they looked like the marks Mrs. Jackson had made on his pencil box. He looked at his box. The marks were just the same. "I fixed it for you while you were at lunch."
He remembered what Mrs. Jackson said that humans say when only one gives something. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome, Baartock. You shouldn't leave your things on the table, unless Mrs. Stogbuchner tells you to. It makes the room messy and you might lose something. ”

“ But other than that, young trolls never got colds or fevers or were ever sick.
"But if you never get sick," asked the nurse, "how do you know about being sick?"
"I see humans sick before," answered his mother. "Not same for trolls. Maybe break arm, break leg same as humans. There are troll ways to fix trolls. Trolls never get human sick."
Baartock didn't like to remember about breaking things. During the summer, when he was building his bridge, an arch stone had fallen on his hand and it broke two of his fingers. ”

“ Jason didn't really think it looked good, but he was enjoying teasing Janice.
"Oh! Mrs. Stogbuchner, can I move?" Janice asked looking up at the teacher.
"I think you should," she answered, "and let Baartock eat his lunch in peace." She picked up Janice's lunch tray and she and Janice went over to the other side of the cafeteria. Mrs. Jackson walked off too, and everyone started eating their lunches and talking again.
After they were gone, Jason asked, "You really eat that?"
"Good," said Baartock. "You try." He held out his sandwich to Jason. ”

“ Mrs. Jackson said. "No," said his mother. "You want to talk?"
"Baartock, I see you've been doing some school work. I think that's a very good," said Mrs. Stogbuchner, looking at the worksheets. Then she followed his mother and Mrs. Jackson into the cave.
Baartock thought about checking his bridge again, but it was nearly lunch time, and after lunch maybe his father could help him work on it. So he sat back down in the sun, and kept working on the papers. He could hear the adults' voices, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. ”

“ Jerry, a black-haired kid who had played tag, was getting off the next bus in front. He saw Baartock and came running over.
"Want to go to the playground?" he asked.
They went around the building to the playground. Jason was already there, and they raced a couple of times, then they went over and climbed on the jungle gym. They were just sitting at the top when the bell rang. A lot of the children ran to the building and went inside.
"That's only the first bell," said Jerry. "We've got lots of time." So they sat for a while longer, until Jason started to get down. ”

“ Baartock and his father kept yelling and running at them, the crowd turned and ran away from the bridge as fast as they could. All the humans kept on running until they were out of sight. Baartock and his father stopped at the end of the bridge and they turned and walked back, laughing, to his mother in the middle of the bridge. ”

“ Very soon after that, the bus pulled off the road into a parking lot, in front of a building much larger than the school Baartock was going to. The parking lot was filled with cars, and humans were walking to the building. There were six or seven big yellow school busses lined up in front of the building and lots of big kids were getting off.
"OK, high school, you students of higher education. Off!" called Mr. Barnes, as he pulled up really closely behind the last bus. All the big kids got out of their seats and came up to the front of the bus to get off. ”

“ The next morning, after his father had gone off, Baartock and his mother left the cave. They went through the woods toward the old empty house, the one Mr. Fennis had called the 'old Howard house'.
They were crossing the stream bed when Baartock saw a muddy pool he could splash in. He was just about to dive into it when his mother said "No!" When he caught up with her all she said was "Not today." It was puzzling to him. She always let him get muddy.
When they got to the empty house, there was a car in the driveway, and Mrs. Jackson was standing beside it. ”

“ When they got to the car, there was a problem trying to figure out where they were all to sit. Mrs. Jackson had to slide the front seat up, so the three trolls could sit in the back. If they hadn't been trolls, they wouldn't have been able to squeeze in. But trolls can bend to fit into tight places. Soon they were all inside and Mrs. Jackson was driving.
Baartock opened his lunch bag to get something to eat. His father had some too, but his mother said she wasn't hungry. Neither Mrs. Jackson or Mrs. Stogbuchner wanted any either. ”

“ Baartock and Mrs. Stogbuchner were the last ones out.
"Are you all right, Baartock? You didn't hurt yourself?" she asked.
"Not hurt," he said. The bell was still ringing, even though all the children in the school seemed to be lined up in the playground. "What you call this?"
"When the bell rings like that it is a fire alarm. If someone discovers a fire, they sound that bell. Then you are supposed to get out of the building as quickly and safely as possible. You aren't supposed to run or fall down. Then the firemen would come to put out the fire. It's called a fire drill." ”

“ Baartock sat in the back seat and didn't say anything. Mr. Fennis turned the car onto the driveway and started up the hill. This dirt road did go near his family's cave, but he never used it. Trolls almost never use roads unless there are bridges, and the bridges are to live under or hide under.
The driveway went up the hill, between the field and the woods. It didn't look as though a car had been on it for a long time. The grass growing in the middle was quite tall, and the bushes growing next to the road needed to be cut back. They scraped the side of the car as they went up the driveway. ”

“ Stogbuchner. "I'm sure you will enjoy it here."
"I'll come see that you get on the right bus to get home, Baartock," said Mrs. Jackson. "Why don't you go play. But, please behave yourself. I want to talk to Mrs. Stogbuchner for a moment."
Baartock started walking over to where the children were playing. He was thinking so many different things. It was his first day and he should be scaring people, and here were humans to scare. But there were just so many of them, all running and laughing and playing. Nobody was paying any attention to him. They weren't even looking at him. ”

“ Jackson.
"I'm sure that you did, but I would like telling about it anyway," said Nurse Dodge. To Baartock's mother she said, "I see most of the school children here and many of the adults too, and I try to keep them healthy. I give the shots that will keep them from getting sick. But I understand that Baartock has never been sick." "Yes," said his mother proudly. "Baartock never sick. Little trolls never get sick. Big trolls not get sick, too."
That wasn't really quite true. Many young trolls get sore throats when they first start to practice their screaming. ”

“ Jackson's car.
He was learning a lot about humans. Mrs. Jackson had been talking almost all the time while she had been driving. He learned about streets, and blocks, which were between streets, and about houses and stores. Only he hadn't seen a single bridge. Suddenly he said, "School that way," and pointed.
"Yes, you're right, Baartock. The school is that way. You certainly do know just where you are. But we've got to go some place else first. We're almost there."
In just a few blocks, Mrs. Jackson turned the car into a driveway and parked in a space in front of a brick building. ”

“ Trolls, being larger than most humans, have louder, deeper voices. Compared to the way trolls normally are, she was being very polite. These must be humans from the nearby village. She hadn't seen humans in quite a long time. She had almost forgotten how little and ugly humans were.
Mr. Fennis and Mrs. Jackson looked at Baartock's mother and then at each other. Mr. Fennis was ready to run away right now and forget the whole thing. He was wondering if Mrs. Jackson could run fast enough to keep up. ”

“ Riding in a car for the first time didn't seem to bother Baartock's father. Maybe it was because he was going to see the bridge, or maybe it just didn't bother him.
They did have to go the long way around, but eventually they got to where the bridge had been. There were lots of kids standing around and some adults too. There were big orange painted barrels blocking the road, so people wouldn't drive their cars too close. Mrs. Jackson had to park her car down the block. They got out of the car and went over to look. Baartock thought he saw Jason, but he wasn't sure. ”

“ Some kids make a circle and throw the ball at the kids in the middle. And if they hit you, you're out. You're fast, so you should be good at it."
Jason's saying that made Baartock feel really good. He had been unhappy ever since he had fallen over when the fire drill bell sounded. When he fell in the woods, there were always rocks or sharp sticks to land on and that hurt. ”

“ There isn't a new coin here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin to show him.
"These are the new coins," she said, showing him the ones she had. "Yours might look the same, but they're much older and worth much more. ”

“ The bell just went on ringing.
"Boys and girls. Line up at the back door," Mrs. Stogbuchner called to the laughing children. Mrs. Pangle rushed over to help Baartock up off the floor. He wasn't hurt, only surprised. And the bell just kept on ringing.
"Children!" Mrs. Stogbuchner had to shout. "Pay attention. This is a fire drill. Just leave everything and line up. Now! Mrs. Pangle, is he all right? Good. Then will you lead the class out onto the playground? ”

“ As soon as they were waiting quietly, she opened the door and led her class down the hall to the cafeteria. This was a big room that Baartock hadn't seen before. There were lots of tables and chairs and all along one side there were humans fixing food. The smell of food made him even hungrier. Baartock wanted to rush over and get something, but he had to stay in line. He had time to look around. He saw Mrs. Jackson talking to some other adults sitting at a table in the back of the room. ”

“ Blevis can take care of it. Would you get a new student kit for Baartock? There should still be some left in the supply room."
Ms. Laurence came out from behind her desk and went out the door. Mrs. Jackson said, "She's getting some things you'll need for school; tablets of paper, scissors, crayons, and pencils. When they're used up you can buy more from the school store. Mrs. Stogbuchner can tell you about it."
Baartock was about to ask what Mrs. Jackson was talking about, because there were so many words she used that he didn't know. She had talked about stores when he was in her car. ”

“ Mrs. Jackson had it all figured out now. Troll or not, this was another parent who had to be told about the importance of education, the state laws requiring school attendance, and all the other things about school. "All children are supposed to go to school," she said. "Baartock is supposed to go to school."
"Go school today," Baartock told his mother. ”

“ The holes, where the roots had been were filled with water. And there was still more water coming down the stream. He walked along the edge of water for a long way. Finally, near the driveway to the 'old Howard house', there was no more water covering the road. ”

“ It had been a long time since his breakfast bowl of porridge and some left-over acorns and toadstools from dinner.
"Yes. Hungry," he said.
Chapter 8
It wasn't quite time for lunch, when Mrs. Jackson and Baartock got to his classroom. Mrs. Stogbuchner was in the back of the room, reading to the class from a big storybook. The children had gathered their chairs in a circle around her, and had been listening to the story, until Baartock came in. Then there was a flurry of activity. Jason jumped up and brought a chair over, right next to his, for Baartock to sit on. ”