Seeds of Time
Page 18
“His tree-stump shelter just got pulled off the beach by the tide,” said Darrell, feeling unaccountably sad.
Professor Myrtle Tooth’s eyes pierced through the gloom of the cave. “Time passes,” she said quietly. “And sad things happen. But life does find a way of marching on.”
Darrell looked at her, puzzled. “What did you want to talk to me about, Professor Tooth?”
The principal smiled. “Did you have a good summer here, Darrell?”
Darrell nodded. “I’m very sorry it’s over,” she said, sadly.
“Darrell, one thing you should have learned this summer is that things are not always as they appear.”
“Well,” said Darrell slowly, “I did learn that. But how did you know ...?”
Professor Tooth laughed. “You would be surprised what can be learned by running an — unusual — school such as this one.” She paused. “I have some news for you, Darrell, although I am not completely sure what you will think of it.”
Darrell waited.
“Our school has been granted a small accredited extension. We will be accepting a few new students in the fall.”
Darrell looked surprised. “Accepting new students...? You mean you’ll run classes like any normal school?”
Professor Tooth shook her head with a smile. “You, of all people Darrell, should know that Eagle Glen is not like any normal school. But yes, we will continue to operate as an Alternative School.”
“The Eagle Glen Alternative School.” Darrell turned the words over on her tongue. “I kind of like the sound of that,” she said. “And it sure beats the sound of my old school.”
Professor Tooth stood up. “I thought it might. I believe your friends Kate and Brodie may have already been given the news.” She stepped to the entrance of the cave.
“I am considering a new class,” she added, with the trace of a smile, “on the history of life during the Renaissance. Michelangelo, da Vinci, Shakespeare, Christopher Wren. Such an interesting era.” Her smile broadened, and her eyes gleamed in the light of the flash. “If you will forgive me a slight misquotation, there are many more seeds of time yet to be sown, Darrell. And now,” she clicked off her flashlight, “it is time for me to move away from spelunking and toward a bit of paperwork.” She turned to leave.
“Professor Tooth?”
“Yes, my dear?”
“Do you remember that lesson where you asked us what we would change from the past if we could?” Darrell cleared her throat. “Do you think it is possible to change things that have happened in the past? To make things turn out better, somehow? Or to stop something terrible from happening?”
Myrtle Tooth’s eyes glinted in the light from Darrell’s flash, but her expression was sad. “I know that terrible things happen in this world every day, Darrell. And I know that some people have the will to keep the bad from overpowering the good. In that way, they bring about change. But I couldn’t tell you how it happens, or why. It just does.” She paused and smiled. “When you know the right people.”
She turned and slid through the crevice and out of the cave.
Darrell stared out the cave opening for a long time after Professor Tooth had walked away. Her thoughts were in a jumble. How much did Professor Tooth know about this cave and what had happened here? The way she had touched the blackened glyph, as if she knew just where it could be found on the cave wall ...
A slow, strange smile began to spread across her face. She looked at Delaney.
“My mother is going to be so surprised that I want to come back here to go to school in the fall that she won’t even notice if I bring home a dog.” She ruffled his fur fondly. “I’ve got a friend, Norton, that I think you might like to meet, Delaney.” She paused and picked up her things.
“Come on, boy. Let’s go home.” Darrell smiled her best Mona Lisa smile and, rubbing the bump on her head, followed Delaney’s gently wagging tail out onto the beach.