May Bell flits down the stairs and perches herself at the breakfast table. Her father is in the middle of a telling a humorous story and at its conclusion her mother gives in to laughing, which the girl, though she didn't understand it, is given to the expression of mirth as she's swept away with her parents laughter.
After which, they all dig into their morning meal and with its conclusion the man of the house gives his family each a kiss as he bids them goodbye and starts off for work. Unlike yesterday, he's not so nervous and so is his usual self. They wish him a good day and he returns the sentiment, then he shuts the door and is gone. Now there's only the girl and the woman of the house.
"Go, get ready," the woman addressed her daughter as she clears the table. "We have someplace to be."
May Bell hurries off while her mother deposits the dishes into the sink. Soon, they're both seated in the family's minivan and pulling away from the driveway.
"Where are we going?" the girl asks, excited for the venture.
"I have a meeting with the local homeschool affiliation," her mother returns as she focuses on her driving.
"Ah, fill, awfill, awful," May Bell tries again and again to pronounce the complex word while scrunching her face as though the sounds are difficult to leave her mouth.
Her mother chortles. "Awe-fill-e-a-shun," she spells it out phonetically as she signals a turn. "It's a group of mothers just like me who have charming children, just like you, that they tutor at home." She gives May Bell a squeeze while keeping her eyes forward.
They arrive at a local school building dedicated to Doctor Senfil, a local celebrity of sorts, and pull into the parking lot which is half full at this moment. Once parked they gather their few materials and proceed inside via the main entrance which is watched over by a security guard who has them step through a metal detector.
A necessary precaution given the state of society, even in institutions that cater specifically to the more elementary grades. A few metal based objects are placed into a simple, plastic receptacle that is then inspected and returned once the machine has determined no other metallic objects are on the person of mother and child.
Thus cleared, the duo walk down a short hallway full of doors and open one of them to find themselves in an expansive room with many chairs and a large table in its center. May Bell's mother joins the other women seated at the large table while May Bell herself goes to the far corner where she sees a few kids playing.
There's a diverse array of toys to choose from and the other children are busying themselves with a great many of them. But the little girl is still very shy, despite her interactions with Liza, and stands for several moments as she eyes the scene. None of the others seem to notice her as they carry on in their play.
May Bell looks about, there's still a toy not being played with, but it's on the other side of the play area. She summons her courage and traverses what feels like a mile under the harshest of suns despite no one looking her way which then makes it feel as though a freezing blizzard. Somehow, she is able to complete the journey under these harshest of conditions and takes hold of the neglected box.
She rattles her treasure and is delighted to hear the contents jump all over the place. She then takes the perilous trek once again to find herself a simple table off to the side. She sits herself down, pops off the lid and dumps the contents all over the surface. It's her favorite kind of toy knock off building blocks. The kind that aren't branded so they don't cost an arm and a leg.
She even has some of her own at home in a big box that was sealed and stashed away when her room was packed up to be renovated. She's been looking all over for it, but all the boxes look the same and are really heavy. She asked her parents for assistance, but neither have the time, nor can they remember where they put it.
None of that, however, affects the here and now so she shrugs it off and sets to work. She builds a small bridge as best she can using grey, white and black blocks. She rummages about the box, but there are no preformed people inside. As such, she has to create two rudimentary models from scratch.
As best she can, she reconstructs the environment from her dream. Using a great many of the blocks, so many in fact that she has to scrimp on some details for lack of resources, she sculpts the river and the trees and the smoke swirling all around, even though she has to use multiple colors for the depiction, so some imagination is required.
"What's that?" May Bell hears over her shoulder.
She turns her head and finds a girl about her age looking over her shoulder with a curious expression on her face.
May Bell casts her eyes to the floor. "It's," she starts as she's being overwhelmed by her shyness. "Something I dreamed." She turns back around and tries as hard as she can to ignore the pair of eyes upon her.
The other girl sits down and cradles her head atop her hands which she sets on the table. She views the model as best she can. She inches her finger closer to one of the models. It's all black and falling into some flattened blue ones, as well there are red blocks jutting upward from it.
"What's that?" the spectator asks, specifying the red blocks.
"Blood," May Bell responds simply and tries like mad to focus only on the task at hand.
"Really!" the girl exclaims as she scoots her chair nearer to the artist.
For several moments neither say anything.
"Was it a scary dream?" the girl breaks in and keeps from looking directly at the sculptor as she has intuited that makes her uncomfortable.
"At first," May Bell admits and with each word uttered slowly overcomes her shyness. "But then it turned out really wonderful."
"What happened?" the girl pries, her curiosity piqued.
May Bell explains the details as best she can, trying not to make the scary part sound too scary, while her audience of one listens all the while with growing interest. The story presses on the incredible, but she still hangs onto every word.
"Did that all really happen?" she asks at its conclusion and has taken to building her own model with the left over peices.
"Yep," May Bell replies and continues her activity. "It all happened just like that."
"Wow," the girl breathes and lays her head nearer as she angles her eyes upward, splitting her attention between creator and creation. "I wish I had dreams like that. All I ever dream about, that is what I can remember, are long, empty beaches. Really boring. "
May Bell smiles. She isn't willing to divulge anything about the bell or that it hadn't quite been a simple dream. She can tell that though the girl is interested, she probably wouldn't believe all that. So she sticks to explaining it as being nothing more than a very vivid dream.
The meeting is not long in its duration and it is about this time that they decide to wrap up so that dinner can be prepared by those that need to do so. These matrons and a couple patrons, wait, that's not right, patriarchs, yes that's it, call for their offspring who mostly comply without issue, mostly.
May Bell's mother seats herself in the van and notes her child settling inside. "I noticed you talking to another little girl," she speaks up as she turns out of the parking lot.
May Bell smiles and draws into herself as she turns red. The driver as well is glad and stifles a chuckle. It's always a concern with parents, that home schooling their child will stunt their social development, so it's good to see her daughter spending time with other children. It is, after all, the primary reason for joining these groups.
Even though her mother is always happy for any information or advice she can receive on the matter, it's her child's development that's her primary concern. She knows well enough how shy her little girl is, but she's not as concerned as others have told her she should be. She knows her baby well enough and feels that she has the right to develop how she decides, not how others decide for her.
The two do not return home right away, but rather, make a trip to the supermarket. They gather the items from a carefully compiled list while avoiding the most superfluous ones that are so heavily advertised so as to override the logic centers of the brain and appeal directly to the lizard side of it, which only works part of the time.
Soon, their shopping cart is full and they make their way to the check-out with the rest of the cattle who are herded into the metal, plastic and rubber enclosures, all so they can expend an entire weeks salary on a few days worth of groceries. All so just a few can live like fat cats, cashing in on the blood sweat and tears of… I mean what a wonderful system.
Their goods in hand the duo make their way back to the van and are careful about how they load up the transport. After which, they carefully drive back home so as not to upset the more fragile items. A trip that takes twice as long, but immediately pays off when they extract the food stuffs still sound in body, if not mind.
All is soon in its place and there is a place for all with a simple treat of a large, fresh baked, chocolate chunk cookie with bits of coconut. It's just the right size to be split sixty-forty between the industrious workers, the lion share going to the adult. These the two enjoy with a large glass of milk to wash it all down.
Not that May Bell was less deserving of the larger section, but her mother wishes to keep her from indulging too much in sugar. Ah yes, sugar. A substance so addictive that illicit drugs do all they can to catch up to it. And yet, it has spread all across the globe and is acceted in polite society in quantities that would shut down heavier animals. But I digress.
The rest of the day, May Bell spends helping her mother. There are boxes to unpack, some of which are so heavy it requires their combined strength, much to her dismay, as she is not a particularly strong child. So much so, physical activity is one of her least enjoyable activities, but she hasn't much choice in the matter.
However, she does find the box containing her building blocks and she would have played with them then and there, but she has work to do. Although, for a moment, she contemplates taking the box and dealing with the consequences. Just as she's about to make a mad dash with them, she hears the front door open.
Her father has returned from work and is raring to go on dinner. The trio quickly alight into the kitchen and whip up some magic using the fresh ingredients recently purchased that very night. Meats, vegetables, cheeses, spices and sauces, all whipped up and together and separate to create an incredible flavor profile that certainly tantalizes all the taste buds.
It is more satisfying than any of them expected and everyone takes seconds, despite what diet they may be following, or what their particular doctor is likely to say come their next checkup. Further, the conversation that is had is so energizing and electrifying that even the child of the group holds interest.
So what is it they are talking that so enthralls everyone? Do you really want me to hold up the story and explain something better left to the individual imagination of the one person reading this? Fine. Her father watched a video about dragons and their real world origins across the globe and was dying to share it.
May Bell is about to jump in when she sees the sun setting and all other interests leave her. She thanks her parents for dinner and hurries upstairs where she prepares for bed and waits for them to tuck her in bid her goodnight. She rings her bell and hops under the cover while her parents are not far behind to tuck her in.
The evening ritual proceeds more smoothly than the night before as the two adults are not as shocked by their offspring's compliance. They choose not to look this gifthorse in the mouth as they had done the previous evening. Instead, the duo carry on reading and singing to their charge till they have exhausted themselves and bid her goodnight.