Calliope wasn’t sure who was more excited: her, or her students. Today was the day they were taking a field trip to the library. To some, it may hardly seem like an exciting field trip, but Calliope was always looking for new books for her students and always pushing reading inside and outside of her classroom. She was a strong believer that reading was crucial in a child’s development. Giving them exposure to a real library with more books than she could offer was exciting to her, and even to her students. They were excited to get their very own library cards and browse the shelves and shelves of books, more books than they had ever seen in their little school. More adventures than they could possibly imagine.
They followed her energetically as they made the walk into town. Calliope didn’t bother scold them when they drifted out of their straight line until they got into town. The streets were hardly busy compared to the city, but she made sure every child walked one by one down the side walk, hand in hand so they would not stray. They chatted happily, jumping up and down eagerly as they reached the library.
“Remember,” Calliope said, turning to them and placing a finger on her lips. “We need to be quiet in the library. The library is a quiet place so people can read and learn without distractions.”
The children put their own fingers to their lips, mimicking their teacher in understanding.
“We must use our whisper voices when we go inside,” Calliope continued. “And no running. We do what the librarians say, understand?”
They nodded quickly, practically holding their breaths in anticipation. They followed Calliope as she walked up the steps and opened the door. The children pooled into the library, looking around them in awe as Calliope herded them towards the front desk. She looked up at the woman behind the counter and smiled.
“Hi,” she whispered. “I’m Calliope.” She hesitated. “Miss Callie. These are my elementary students. We’re here on a little field trip to get our own library cards and check out some new books. I told Myrtle we would be coming by.”
The tinkling of the library doorbell brought Mara out of her book. Looking up, she saw a woman with long black hair and blue eyes (a Galway girl, perhaps!), followed by a kid - wait, two kids - three? Oh, a whole group. Myrtle had mentioned something about a class coming in, but she didn’t know any of the details.
She smiled appreciatively at the woman - Miss Callie - as she began to speak in a whisper. It wasn’t really necessary, since the library was largely vacant, but she followed along for the sake of the kids. Kids - she wasn’t sure if she liked them. She knew she liked her own kids - her siblings, that is - but Mara didn’t have much experience with others.
“Hi, uh - “ Truth be told, she hadn’t given much thought to how she wanted to be addressed in the adult world, either. “Miss Mara.” She held out her hand for a quick shake before turning to address the kids in the most enthusiastic whisper she could muster.
“Hi, everyone! I’m so glad you’re here. Just some reminders - no food or drink, so we can protect the books, and try to be quiet so people can concentrate. Although, you’re already doing a fantastic job of that, which is great.” Mara had gathered over the years that kids liked positive reinforcement - she hoped that applied here.
Leaning over to Ms. Callie, she said, “Do you want to have half get registered and half look at books and then switch, or … ?”
The children practically bounced with excitement, white toothed smiles on their faces as they listened to Miss Mara. Clearly they were happy to hear that they had been doing a good job so far.
“That sounds easiest,” Calliope said.
A little girl with round glasses and straight, brown hair raised her hand.
“Yes, Annabell,” Calliope said quickly.
“Do you use the Dewy Decimal System?” she asked eagerly.
In the middle of flipping through a thick file of the library’s expense records, Myrtle stiffened. Something about the library’s atmosphere had changed; she could hear murmurs of excitement drifting under her office door, as if a lot of people had just arrived at the front desk. A lot of young people.
“Bugger,” she swore, dropping the file and squinting at the calendar pinned beside her desk. Yep, there it was: ‘Elementary school field trip, w/ teacher Calliope Adenell’, scribbled under today’s date. She’d completely forgotten about it.
With a moan of irritation, Myrtle slid down in her seat until her eyes became level with the surface of the desk. Its warped wood wasn’t very interesting to look at, but she’d rather stare morosely at it than go meet a gaggle of children. Could she get away with hiding out here in her office until they all left? Would Mara be able to handle them all on her own? How long did it even take the average fourth grader to check out a book?
She contemplated the issue for a minute or two, but then wiggled upright again and sighed. Kids were annoying, but they could also be voracious readers. When Myrtle had first met her, Calliope had mentioned her class hadn’t been to the Clearwell Library before - this was a perfect opportunity to turn some of her students into lifelong library patrons.
Reluctantly, Myrtle exited her office and peered around the sorting area’s doorway. About a dozen children stood with Calliope at the front desk, squirming with excitement as Mara told them the rules of the library. Huh - Myrtle had been expecting more than that. The elementary school must be smaller than she imagined it to be.
“Do you use the Dewey Decimal System?” asked a little girl at the front of the group, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Well, this was as good a cue as any to introduce herself. “Yes, we do,” Myrtle answered, coming forward to join Mara behind the desk. “I wish we didn’t though - I prefer Library of Congress.”
She gave the girl a transient smile, then turned to Calliope. “Hi, Calliope - this is your squad, I take it?”
