Moose Street by Anne Mazer

Author:Anne Mazer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781453293867
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

Blue Sky, No Rocket

On the day the astronauts went into space Lena and her classmates had art class. Miss Woodhead was the art teacher at Moose Street School. She was neither young nor old, neither ugly nor pretty. She was medium height, medium weight, medium age. Each week Miss Woodhead handed out paper and crayons to the class. They drew. Sometimes they painted.

“We are going to draw rockets today,” Miss Woodhead announced. “We are going to draw the astronauts going into space.”

Danette waved her hand. “I saw the rocket on television this morning, Miss Woodhead.”

“So did I!” called Stewart Pine.

“Raise your hand,” said Miss Woodhead. “Don’t speak out of turn.”

Mary Catherine said, “We saw pictures in a magazine.”

“Very good,” said the teacher. She handed everyone a large white sheet of paper and a set of crayons.

“Now I want you all to draw pictures of the rocket,” she instructed the class. “Then we will put them up on the walls.”

Lena looked at the paper. She looked at the crayons. She looked at Miss Woodhead, who was sitting at her desk making notes on a piece of paper.

When Lena was home, sitting at the kitchen table, she drew black snowflakes, green tulips, and blue leaves. She made red skies and orange grass. She drew giant people and tiny houses and floating castles with invisible princesses.

But at school it was pumpkins and turkeys, pilgrims and witches in the fall.

In the winter it was snowmen, snowflakes, sleds, stars, and Christmas trees.

Skies were always blue. Grass was always green. Flowers were always red and yellow. Children always smiled. And no one ever colored out of the lines.

Now Lena looked around at what the other boys and girls were doing.

Danette was drawing a fat silver rocket with plump smiling astronauts waving to the people below.

Stewart was drawing a skinny gray rocket that looked like a bullet with a huge jet of flame at its base.

Nancy’s rocket was as big as the page.

For a moment Lena hesitated. Then she picked up her crayon and began to sketch the outline of a woman’s head. She drew long black curls, then large blue eyes. The woman was carrying a book and wore high heels. The rocket could come later, Lena thought. Now she wanted to draw people.

Soon Lena had forgotten about the classroom, had forgotten about Miss Woodhead. Nothing existed except the page that she filled with people, who each had a separate name and personality. They were walking along a road with their heads tilted at odd angles, looking at something that was not on the page, something far away and in the sky.

“Time to put down your crayons,” called Miss Woodhead.

Lena slowly looked up from her picture.

“What’s that?” asked Mary Catherine, looking at Lena’s paper.

Mary Catherine had drawn a watery sky and a bright sun. Catherine Mary had drawn a night sky full of pointed yellow stars. They had both drawn sleek, streamlined rockets.

“Where are your astronauts?” asked Catherine Mary.

“You’re going to get in trouble,” Mary Catherine said.

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