The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

An unexpected discovery

Ferry loved May the most. It was the most beautiful month of the year. The sun was not too shy, yet not too daring. There were flowers everywhere. And the foliage of the trees was still young and fresh. The air was vibrating from birds singing, insects buzzing, and people chatting.

Every once in a while, Ferry walked on May's street. Sometimes, he stopped in front of the flower shop. He felt dizzy because of the fragrances of plants and flowers coming from inside. And if he saw May, the day couldn't get any better.

The school was almost over. Ferry proved to be a good, hard-working student. Even without the magical help, he did his best to study. With Ben's help, Math proved to be not that difficult. Miss Summer, their teacher, always encouraged him every time he was answering correctly. In the end, the first year Ferry spent out of his home was a great one. And adventurous, too.

That morning, he brought Miss Summer the first buds of peonies from his mother's garden. They were pink, spreading the scent of a garden after the rain. At their sight, Miss Summer smiled with all her heart. Just like her students, she seemed to enjoy the summer with the scent of the holiday that was getting closer.

"Our first class is Math," she said, and a general sigh could be heard all over the classroom. "But I thought it was such a lovely day and probably your mind is somewhere else. Thinking about the holiday, maybe? I know I am," she said, smiling. "That is why I thought about a special project which would suit you better on such a beautiful day. And to make it even funnier, you will work as a team. The assignment is calledThe way I see summer."

The classroom resounded with applause and cheers. Then, Miss Summer assigned the teams. Matilda was to make a team with Danny Stevens, the bully. Ferry smiled, hearing her sniffing next to him with disapproval. Ben's pair was Cecilia, Miss Popularity, who also objected, unhappy with her project partner. Ferry kept his fingers crossed so that Miss Summer would pair him with May. Unfortunately, Miss Summer decided May should make a team with Amelia Tray, their freckled classmate, who was always forgetting doing her homework. Ferry thought Miss Summer probably had a good reason to choose such unexpected partners.

When Miss Summer said his name and the one of his teammate, he thought he heard it wrong. He asked her to tell him again, and he found out ─ he was to make a team with Billy Pride.

Miss Summer smiled at everyone, but no one smiled back at her. Because no one was happy with their assigned partner.

They had two weeks to finish the assignment. Whether a composition, a mock-up or a model, each pair had to do its best. The winning team was to get a set of books as a prize. Truth be told, the prize was not very appealing. What child would have spent the summer holiday reading? Miss Summer, although kind and generous, was firm ─ the ones who would not complete their assignment were to spend the whole holiday in school, taking part in cleaning and repairs that needed to be done.

Some teams began working on the project the next day. Unfortunately, Ferry was not one of them.

"If you think I'll have to see your face every day for two weeks, you must be out of your mind," Billy hissed in his ear during the break. "I don't need a prize, and I'm definitely not going to spend the summer cleaning the school. My father will take care so that this stupid project won't ruin my holiday," he said before storming out the classroom's door.

Now, that worried Ferry. He knew how stubborn Billy could be. No matter how much he loved school, he wouldn't want to spend the summer holiday polishing the school's floors. For he was sure Billy would not be the one to be punished.

Things weren't doing any better with the other teams.

"You can't imagine how difficult it is to work with Celia," Ben complained one morning on their way to school. "That girl is impossible. She expects me to do things only the way she wants."