The Error, by LittleMatt

Chapter 2
Chapter 2

Chapter Description: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tom walked into the office of Sunny Brook Elementary confident that he’d clear everything up and be on his way to Stone Ridge Junior High where he belonged. He went right up to the front desk and wasted no time getting to business “The bus dropped me off at the wrong place, I need to call somebody so I can get to the right school.”

   The secretary barely took her attention away from the parent she was speaking with “I’m talking with a grown-up dear, maybe you can review the rules while you wait for us to finish.” She directed his attention to a colorful poster on the back wall and went back to her business.

   Tom looked at the poster and gave a disgusted eye roll. It was a list of simple rules aimed at elementary school aged kids. “We let everybody have their turn” it read “We do not interrupt. We always speak politely and say ’Please’ and ’Thank you’.” Tom crossed his arms and waited impatiently. This was not a place he wanted to stay any longer than necessary. 

   Finally the interminable conversation ended and Tom strided up to the desk and launched straight into his story.

   The secretary put her hand to her chin and pondered the situation for a moment. “There’s never been a mistake like this before, this is a very well run district. What’s your name hon?”

   “Tom Welton.” he replied finally feeling like he was getting somewhere.

   “Oh yes, I have a Tommy Welton listed as starting in Mrs. Sanborn’s fifth grade class.” She said as though the answer to everything.

   “I’m not in the fifth grade and I like to be called Tom. Somebody made some sort of mistake.”

   “Is you mom’s name Karen?”

   “Yes.” Tom replied impatiently.

   “And are you going to Kiddie Town Daycare?”

   “Yes,” Tom groaned “But only because I’ve got to take the bus.”

   “Well that matches what this form says, I even have your mom’s signature with fifth grade checked off.” She said as though she was actually trying to talk him into this.

   “She probably just didn’t notice.” Tom said exasperated.

   “Well I’ve never seen a error on one of these forms before. Like I said things are very well run here, we don’t make mistakes like this.”  She caught attention of a tall kindly looking man walking through the office and pointed out Tom to him. “This child says he’s supposed to go to Stone Ridge but the bus dropped him off here and he’s listed as a student here.”

   The man pondered the situation for a second “Let’s go look this up on the computer,” he turned to Tom and said “We’ll be back in a minute son.” And the two went behind a door labeled “Mr. Lessen, Principal.”

   From behind the door Tom could hear bits of their conversation “He doesn’t look that old to me either, but do you think a kid would really tell a lie like that.”

   The scowl on his face deepened. Adults were always saying things like that. It was stupid, it was perfectly obvious he was a teenager. Maybe if his mother would let him buy the clothes he wanted things like this wouldn’t happen. As he sat there he made up his mind that after today he’d insist on being treated as grown-up as he really was.

   After a few minutes Tom was called into the office. He breathed a sigh of relief fully expecting that his true status had been verified and he would be back on his way to the school where he belonged.

   Mr. Lessen invited Tom to sit and explained the situation to him in a well practiced ’talking to a child’ tone, “Well Tommy it looks like everything checks out you’re officially a fifth grader. Are you sure you weren’t just trying to get out of school today?”

   “Yes I’m sure,” Tom said too exasperated to correct the principal on his name “I was done with the fifth grade two years ago. Call my mom and ask.”

   “I do intend to speak to your mother, but for now I want to report you to your classroom.”

   Tom shuffled along behind the secretary angrily wondering what sort of grown-up activities the teenagers at Stone Ridge were up to and not paying the slightest attention to her tour of the playground.  Finally they arrived at the door of Mrs. Sanborn’s class. “This is your classroom, now remember that you can always come to the office if you get sick or skin your knee or have an accident or if you just need to call your mom.”

   Tom groaned inwardly “Accident? Did this lady seriously think there was a chance he’d wet his pants?”

   “Oh, and I’ll make sure we get your uniform ready. You can stay dressed like that today but you’ll have to wear it from tomorrow on. Have fun”

   “Thank God, I’ll be out of here after they talk to mom.” Tom thought

   Tom walked inside the classroom and thought he’d gag on the cutesy decorations on the wall. The entire classroom was adorned with cartoon animals and various posters bore reminders of the class rules. Tom just reminded himself that this would be for today only and walked up to the desk to introduce himself.

   “My name is Tom and I...”

   “Oh Tommy, you must be the new boy. I hear you think you’re supposed to be going to Stone Ridge.”

   “I am. And I only like to be called Tom.”

   “Well I’m sure everything will get straightened out. We’ve already got a desk ready for you right over there.” Mrs. Sanborn pointed a desk with a name plate that read “Tommy” in the front row. “I guess we’ll have to change the name tag, but that should be good enough for now. All your books are already under your desk.”

   Tom sat down bitterly in his desk as Mrs. Sanborn called the class to order. “Class, we have a new student today. Can you all say ’hi’ to Tom.”

   Tom rolled his eyes as the assembled brats said “Hi Tom” in a juvenile sing-song unison.

   “Tom why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” Mrs. Sanborn invited.

   “First of all no matter what this thing on my desk says my name is Tom not Tommy. And I’m only here for today because somebody messed up, I’m supposed to be in junior high.” Tom explained in a loud defiant voice with his arms crossed tight. Tom did his best to ignore the doubting giggles and snickers as Mrs. Sanborn began class for the day.

   “Now everybody get out your science books and turn to page 75. Tom, since this is your first day I’ll give you first try at this question. What are the three basic types of wave function?”

   Tom blinked. “Wave function?”

   “Now come on try to remember” Mrs. Sanborn coaxed as all the other students shot their hands into the air, eager to answer.

   Tom sat and tried to remember ever hearing of such a thing. All around him the class grew more and more eager to answer, each straining to lift their hand higher than the others. “I don’t know” Tom finally admitted.

   Tom’s admission elicited one last round of excited hand waving and calls of “Pick me, pick me.”

   Mrs. Sanborn looked over the class for a moment “Alright Jessica, can you tell us what the basic types of wave function are.

   “A complex vector with finitely many components, a complex vector with infinitely many components, and a complex vector with one or more real variables.” Jessica said smiling proudly.

   “Very good Jessica. Now if you remember yesterday we were discussing one dimensional momentum space...”

   Tom stared slack jawed at the kids around him. Everybody in this room, he was convinced, was completely insane. He’d never heard any of this before. Something was very wrong with this town. He hoped that they wouldn’t be like this over at the junior high. He sat for the rest of time in complete incomprehension until his teacher announced that it was time for recess.

   He wandered out to the playground still in shock from the bizarre scene he’d just witnessed. He looked around and realized that everything in this place was for little kids. With nothing else to do he sat on a swing and stared despondently at the ground.

   As he sat a group of boys walked past him. One of them looked at him and asked “What’s the matter Tommy?”

   “My name’s Tom” he said with a little less conviction than before “and I’m fine, I just want to go the right school.”

   “You don’t even know basic quantum mechanics” scoffed the largest boy of the group “you should probably be in preschool or something.”

   With that Tom stood up to face him before noticing he was actually quite a bit bigger. “Come on Todd, leave him alone it’s just his first day at school” said one of the group.

   “Fine” said Todd “I guess we’ll just let the pouty baby pout on the swings.” and with that they left. Tom sat back down trying to look as dignified as he possibly could after a fifth grader had just stood up for him. All he wanted at this point was to get through this day with as little notice as possible.

   The rest of the day in class went much the same as the first. Tom had no idea what was going on, he just knew he wanted out of this place. Finally the last bell rang and he made a bee line for the office where he hoped he’d find that everything had been cleared up.

   Inside he found his mother speaking with the principal. “Hi sweety,” she greeted him “I have good news, Stone Ridge is going to let you transfer and all you have to do is pass one little test. Inside Tom told himself that what happened today was a fluke, he could pass any test they gave him with flying colors.

   Mr. Lessen gave him his test packet and a pencil and let Tom take the test in the privacy of his office. Tom opened the booklet and his heart sank. If anything this test was crazier than the stuff he’d heard in class today. All of it was completely alien to him. He did his best to struggle through, but all he could do was guess...

   Once again Tom found himself staring glumly out the the window of his mother’s car. Only this time he was officially a fifth grader again. In the back seat sat his brand new school uniform, a simple light blue collared shirt with the school logo emblazoned  on the front, a figure of child holding a teddy bear in one hand an adult’s hand in the other. Along with the shirt was a pair of slacks and a pair of shorts. Tom took some solace in the fact that he didn’t have to wear the even more babyish uniform of the lower grades. Still he knew everywhere he went he would be unmistakably identified as the grade school student he now was. And he was beginning to wonder if this really wasn’t the place he belonged after all.