CHILD'S PLAY, quentin beck

I. VENETIAN DREAMS

Josephine Colby had often dreamt of visiting Italy. She longed to go to Venice, in particular. The beautiful city, filled with canals and, most likely, thousands of tourists, was all the way up on her list of places she wanted to go to. Josephine secretly hoped to visit the city one day with her lover. Unfortunately for her, she did not have the money for a plane ticket and a hotel room. Nor did she have a lover to take with her. Perhaps one day, when she has saved up enough money. Easier said than done, though, especially on a teacher's salary.

When Midtown High, School of Science and Technology, announced that there would be a Europe trip coming up soon, Josephine was the very first teacher who volunteered to chaperone. Along with Roger Harrington and Julius Dell, both science teachers, she was given the opportunity to spend two weeks traveling from European country to European country.

'Listen up, everyone,' Josephine announced, looking at the group of roughly twenty students in front of her. She, somewhat impatiently, waited for them all to be quiet and listen to her. 'Let's do a quick headcount. When you hear your name, please come up here and get your boarding pass from Mr. Dell. After that, you all have thirty minutes to get something to eat and then we'll meet each other at gate 13A. Make sure you're on time or we will leave without you.'

Barely anyone was really listening to her. 'Alright. First up, Betty Brant,' she called out the first name. As soon as the young, blonde girl had been given her boarding pass, Josephine said the next name. 'Brad Davis.'

The list was quickly coming to an end. Only one name left. 'Peter Parker,' she said out loud. Josephine folded the piece of paper and put it back in the pocket of her jacket. When she looked up, she didn't see anyone standing in front of her. Peter Parker was nowhere to be seen. 'Does anyone know where Pe-.'

'I'm here, sorry!' Peter Parker raised his hand as he made his way to the three teachers. 'I got held up back there,' he said while pointing at the security checkpoint.

Josephine gave him a small smile, letting him know that it was no problem. 'That's alright. Mr. Dell has your boarding pass,' she told him. 'You still have half an hour to wander around or get some food. After that, meet us all at gate 13A. Don't be late again.'

'I'll be on time,' he promised, right before he walked away with his friend, Ned.

While Roger and Julius were discussing some new scientific breakthrough, Josephine was scanning through her pocket edition 'Italian Phrases for Dummies'. After all, you can't go on a vacation unprepared. It might even come in handy, since the other two teachers spoke no word Italian. Perhaps one of her students happened to be fluent in the foreign language.

Josephine put her book back in her carry-on as soon as she noticed the first few students coming back. The other two teachers seemed to notice them as well, considering they quickly stopped talking about all things science. Roger struck up a conversation with two of the students, all three of them seeming equally excited. For the trip, not the eleven-hour flight.

The idea of spending eleven hours trapped in a metal box miles above the ocean didn't sit well with Josephine either. She wasn't scared of flying. It's just that her students were some of the most dramatic people she had ever met and she had never spent such a long period of time with them before.

Two hours in. None of the students have realized that there might be people on this airplane who didn't appreciate the constant shouting and chatter about who their favorite Avenger is. Despite the many warnings from all three teachers. Josephine had nearly reached the point of giving up, but she still had hope that they would all get tired soon and hopefully spend the rest of the flight asleep.

'Miss Colby, what do you think, Thor or the Hulk? Who would win in a fight?'

Another student interjected before she could even think about a response. 'Thor, of course! Have you seen him? He's made of muscles,' he said. 'Oh, right, I gotta raise my hand before I speak. What do you think, Miss Colby?'

Josephine chuckled. 'You know what, I have to agree with you and not just because of the muscles. He is a god, isn't he?'

'Maybe. But he's no Spider-Man,' Flash added to the conversation. 'Spider-Man shows that you don't need to be from another planet or be a giant to be a superhero.' Ned and Peter, who were sitting nearby, laughed quietly. Flash glared at them before continuing. 'He's a friend to our city, and I admire the dude. Besides, he did save our lives. Remember when we were in Washington?'

'You're absolutely right, Flash,' Josephine said. She noticed Peter looking at her while she talked to Flash, as if he had something to say but didn't know how to. 'Let's just hope nothing like that happens the next few weeks, since I don't think Europe has that many superheroes.'

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Chapter one has finally been published. If you liked it, please vote and let me know what you think so far. I would really appreciate it!