The Trajectory of Dreams by Nicole Wolverton

Author:Nicole Wolverton [Wolverton, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bitingduck Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Thirteen sets of eyes stared at me. The little girl I’d seen during Trina’s shift in the children’s section was twisted into a ball in the middle of the mat, curled up with a ratty brown teddy bear. The other kids fidgeted and squirmed.

I cleared my throat. My mouth slammed into the brightest, shiniest smile. A small boy sitting at my feet sucked in a gasp, and his chin trembled. His wail started as a thin, high-pitched hiss and crescendoed to a curling scream. The girl next to him covered her ears with her hands until the boy’s mother—or so I assumed—scooped him up and dragged him away.

The top of Mrs. Gerhardt’s head was just visible over the low wall separating the section from the wider part of the library. I left it to her to police the parents. There were more important things at hand, like finding my protégé.

“Today we’ll be reading Robby of the Rocket.” I held up the book. I hadn’t been sure if it was a good idea to show the kids a book about an orangutan manning the space shuttle, but Mrs. Gerhardt said it would be okay, that none of them would think a primate really had the ability to steer a spacecraft, but I wasn’t so sure about that. At the very least, any children I might identify as viable candidates for my training program would never been dumb enough to fall for something so preposterous.

I flipped the page and showed the illustration to the boys and girls. “Robby hooted at the stars. His smile was wide.”

The girl with the bear had fallen asleep. I continued to read, eyes falling on each kid on the floor. Five boys and eight girls. Well, four boys, not counting the boy who’d been carried out. If Zory had been around, he’d have likely commented on the total number of them. I could almost hear him: Thirteen is unlucky, Lela.

Ages were hard to determine. The book said it was for three to five year olds, but some of the children were tall. None of them seemed particularly bright. A girl in a purple sweater picked her nose. The boy to the other side of her had a wandering eye and his hand down his pants. No one paid close attention to the story, but at least they were quiet.

Erin scurried to the front of the room when I finished and clapped. “What an exciting story, Lela! I think it’s time for milk and cookies, don’t you?”

The children certainly perked up at the mention of the cookies. She whispered to me, “Twenty minutes for snacks, and then it’s nap time for these little monsters.”

I raised an eyebrow. The little boy who’d cried barreled back into the room and tripped over the edge of a mat, which sent him into hysterics again. “I have to consult with Mrs. Gerhardt on something,” I said. “You don’t need me to pass out snacks, right?”

Before she could answer I sprinted across the room and past the divider.

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