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Show 13 FOUR The Bonneville High School bell rang for first period at an ungodly 7:45 A.M., catching Parker still at his locker. TEACHERS, YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE! the PA system blared. A HEAD COUNT IS REQUIRED BY THE DISTRICT TODAY. TAKE CAREFUL ROLL . . . ATTENTION, TEACHERS . . . Ah, yes, Parker thought, hurrying on to class, nothing changes. Mrs. Simpson arrived just as he did, unlocked the door of 112 and walked in ahead of the students gathered there. The taller guys, as usual, took over the back row, among them Big Jock John, who had already exchanged diplomatic smiles and nods with the teacher. Parker claimed a seat in the center of the rear for himself. Briefly, he caught Amy's eye. Cool Amy, aristocrat. She swung around in her seat to face the front of the room. Undersized Jeffrey Glotz, several seats ahead, started drumming out periddles on his desk. Looking around nervously, he produced a loud "ssssh" that went largely unnoticed. Mrs. Simpson stashed her purse in a cupboard, emptied her briefcase. Moving around in front of her desk, she braced the standard blue roll book against the belt buckle of her skirt and waited. "May we begin class?" she said at last, and the hubbub subsided. Parker wondered how old she was. Thirty? Thirty-two? He wouldn't give her a "10" rat/ 'but she knew how to dress, he could see that. She also had a certain fresh, wind-blown look about her that put her on their side. Which was, of course, the side of flow. With high school seniors, rigid was out, spontaneous was i£. Especially in this class which was the creative core of the school. Mrs. Simpson took a deep breath and smiled. "Answering 'here' to roll call is a tedious business, isn't it?" There were murmurs. "You said it!" someone agreed. "Today," she went on, "would you acknowledge your name with a word or a phrase, one that has emotional connotations for you?" "Like what?" From Jeff Glotz. "I'm thinking of associations. If you called my name, for example, I might say 'German shepherds.' They scare me. Amy, here, who's |