Through the Window - Chapter 1 (youngsters:adventure, 1647 words) [1/2] show all parts
Author: Walt	Updated: Apr 23 2013	Views/Reads: 9800/2920	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Jerry is a young student who finds and travels through a window into the past. Chapter 1 fnds Jerry commiting himself to the adventure as a class project.

Chapter 1	Opening bow 

Young Anthony Gerald ‘Jerry' Paul Breckenheimer was sitting in the third
row from the back of the classroom in Mr Shingler's history class. As 
usual, he was not paying much attention to Mr Shingler. He was looking 
out of the window beside him and thinking about other things: the game 
of pick-up baseball at noon hour; the upcoming vacation; the new girl 
in row three. There really was nothing to see out of the second story 
window from Jerry's position: Puffy white clouds in the sky; the odd 
pigeon or a crow flying by; or if he was lucky, an array of puffy 
clouds. He enjoyed imagining clouds as something else. That cloud 
looked like a horse, the one next to it a sheep – that sort of thing. 
His mom said he had an over-active imagination. His dad said he was a 
daydreamer and would amount to nothing if he did not buckle down and 
study. However, history was a bore with old ‘Shingles' standing up 
there mouthing off about some ancient history, as if he knew 
everything. 

“Breckenheimer! Are you sleeping again?” Shingles yelled. 

“No sir! I was thinking,” Jerry said, blinking his eyes and sitting up
straighter in his chair. The students snickered as if Jerry was the 
last one to be caught thinking during class. Jerry's face flushed red 
and he looked at his textbook which was upside down. Harry must have 
turned it around when Jerry was not looking. 

“As I was saying before Breckenheimer interrupted us with his snoring,
we are going to spend the last 12 days of the school year studying 
China. The Summer Olympics will be on television and I think we should 
know as much as possible about Chinese culture and their history so we 
can appreciate the pageantry during the opening and closing ceremonies 
of the games. Each day in this class, I want several students to give a 
five or ten-minute talk on some aspect of Chinese history. If you wish 
to speak for more than one day, you may select a theme and follow that 
theme. Any student who speaks for more than one day will earn up to ten 
additional marks on their year.” 

Jerry did some fast math, thought about his mother's Tai Chi classes and
shot his hand in the air. He needed a good mark to bring his class 
average up. 

“Breckenheimer, are you volunteering to do a theme?” 

“Yes sir, I am.” Jimmy Smith, two rows over, snickered and Jerry shot
him a glance that promised a cuff on the ear at recess. 

“Do you have topic in mind, Anthony?” 

“Uh, yes sir, Mr Shingler.” Jerry stalled for a minute as he got to his
feet. He had to make Tai Chi sound good or Shingles would dismiss the 
idea. “I would like to speak on the theme of the ancient art of Tai Chi 
and how it was woven into the daily lives of the Chinese people.” 

“Do you have a particular time period in mind, Gerald? After all, tai
jiquan has been practiced in China for about 8 centuries.” 

Holy crap, Jerry thought, Shingles knows something about Tai Chi. “Yes
sir, I thought I would focus on the late nineteenth century.” Jerry 
swallowed. 

“How many sessions can I mark you down for, Breckenheimer?” 

“Uh, I'll do all 12, sir!” Jerry blurted out. He meant to say two. 

“Admirable, Anthony. Will you need any A/V equipment or have you thought
that far ahead?” 

“I think I will do it in story-book format, sir. I may use a few props
but I will bring my own.” Oh, my God, Jerry thought – I better sit down 
and shut up before I dig myself a deeper hole. 

Jerry sat and looked out the window, hoping for some inspiration.
Several of the girls were volunteering to do themes, but none of the 
other boys offered. Most of them were too into sports and they had 
team-play time at the end of the school term. The last two weeks in 


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