Karyn found herself walking into a classroom that looked vaguely familiar. It wasn't a class in her high school. The paint colors were wrong, and the windows were too big. But she somehow recognized it. It wasn't until she looked over at the laminated plywood-and-plastic desks that she realized where she must be: her old elementary school. But it seemed different somehow. Bigger.
While Karyn stood in the doorway, students bustled past her and sat down at the juvenile desks. There were five rows of ten desks, but when everyone had entered only a few desks were occupied in each row. Going with the flow, Karyn chose a seat in an area of desks that seemed empty, and looked around.
The other kids weren't her classmates. Not her current ones, anyway. But soon names started to attach to faces. Ian, Courtney, Jessica B, Jessica M, Aaron, Jeff, Jessica R. All kids that Karyn remembered from elementary school, but were districted for different middle and high schools than her. But they were all high school age, like her. Everyone had at least one empty desk on either side of them.
Then the teacher walked in. She looked familiar, too. Straight blond hair to her shoulders. Makeup a little too thick. Conservative black sweater with charcoal grey pants. It was Mrs. Atlee from 3rd grade, but... older.
Mrs. Atlee smiled a wide, slightly too red, smile and opened her mouth to start talking, but stopped as one last student entered the room. Karyn recognized Jen, but she wasn't sure where from. She certainly didn't fit in the same category as the rest of the classmates. And she was wearing a cheerleader's outfit, which was odd because it had the elementary school colors and logo.
Mrs. Atlee waited patiently as Jen apologized for being late and sat down right next to Karyn, making them the only two students who had someone directly next to them.
Mrs. Atlee began again, "It's so nice to see you all again. You've all turned into such mature adults. Isn't it cool that I got certified to teach high school?"
Jen leaned over and whispered to Karyn, "It's going to be just like old times. Remember when we snuck in glitter makeup and covered our desks in it?"
Karyn didn't remember, but suddenly her desk and Jen's were both glittering with a superficial sheen.
"Miss Black, Miss Gibson," Mrs. Atlee said, "Are you girls paying attention?"
Both nodded and grunted in the affirmative, but Karyn became confused. "Miss Gibson?" Was Jen related to Jon? Now that she thought about it, Karyn could see some of Jon's features in Jen.
As if from Karyn's will, Jon then entered the classroom, but Mrs. Atlee turned to him and said, "Young man, I think you're in the wrong room." He shrugged and left.
Before Karyn could think about it, Jen turned to her again and said, "hey, remember that Halloween when we both came in with giant matching butterfly wings on?"
"Girls," Mrs. Atlee said, "Do I have to separate you two?"
Both shook their heads and grunted in the negative.
Karyn was trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but Jen was almost literally bouncing out of her seat. After a few minutes, she said to Karyn, "oh, I know why this doesn't feel right," and a moment later Sarah McMillan walked into the classroom, wearing a cheerleading outfit identical to Jen's.
Mrs. Atlee looked over at her and said, "Miss McMillan, you're late. Go take your seat."
Sarah sat right behind Jen, who was elated. The two girls started giggling and passing notes to each other. Karyn just tried to ignore them, but after a few minutes, Mrs. Atlee got frustrated.
"That's it, I'm separating you three," the teacher glared in their direction. " Each of you pick a corner."
"But I didn't do anything!" Karyn protested.
"Karyn, I'm always separating you three, you kids work like a team."
Karyn got up, pouting in disgust like the 9 year-old she'd been the last time she saw Mrs. Atlee, and packed her desk to move. It was only as she'd finished, as the world started to lose its brightness and fade to brown, that she noticed that she was now wearing a cheerleader's outfit identical to Jen and Sarah's.
