Worms, Necklaces, and Hair Dye

A Chapter by Pawprints

I could feel the clock. I could feel it taunting me, hands not ticking just for the sake of my annoyance. I scowled to the front of the room where our teacher was talking about bio-degratable materials or something else that had to do with RIchard Marx standing at the front of the class and sweating his butt off.

"N-n-now," he started, wringing his hands. "T-t-to underss-t-tand the process in w-which w-worms--" I tuned him out and started doodling. I had nothing against Richard besides the fact that he couldn't talk in from of a crowd. Or in front of anyone. Period. But I really didn't need to hear the delicate system in which worms ate stuff and then disgorged it into our soil. Or did they disgorge it? Was disgorging the same thing as dejection? Which side of the worm was the face anyway? Did worms have faces?

I stared at my doodle for a second in confused revolution. I probably shouldn't draw when I'm thinking of stuff like that.

"Sadie?" My head shot up to our teacher, Mrs. Needles. She was a tiny old woman who needed to sit on a telephone book to be able to see over her desk. I'm pretty sure she was around when I picked up that blasted lamp, but I couldn't be sure. She wore her weight in jewelry, particularly necklaces that jangled down at her waist up to her chin, so, for all we know, she couldn't be wearing a shirt.

I dropped my pencil before I could doodle that.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Would you care to come up here and list materials that we use every day that are hazardous to our health?" I blinked. How did we get from worms to this?

"Um, sure." I got up, a little shaky and stumbled to the front of the classroom. I had a nasty habit of needing to twist my legs into some sort of hiking knot ever time I was under pressure, which wasn't very helpful for walking.

"Most of what we use every day, down to what we eat," I started, thinking of the cafeteria food, "Contains chemicals and plastics that have long term effects such as various cancers. What we wear may not harm us, but it is made with certain dies and materials that pollute the environment." My eyes traveled around the room, seeing if I could embarrass anyone. When you have to do the same report thousands of times, you learn to have a little bit of fun. "Tiffany Clark?" I asked. The blonde cheerleader took a second to process that I'd said her name. "Would you please come and be my model?"

Apparently she could detect that something wasn't right, but she didn't seem to pinpoint it. Like most cheerleaders, she was tall, pretty, wore the uniform and nothing else.

"As you can see, Tiffany is wearing makeup. Makeup contains led, which eventually can lead to death. Oh, and hair dye. Ladies, need I say more? And lastly--"

The bell rang and Tiffany bolted, slamming out of the classroom in every other person's pursuit. I smirked and grabbed my books, feeling Ms. Needles glare on my back.

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