Arachnid (part two)

After new Biology teacher, Miss Arachne, arrived at Ambrose´s school, the boy struggled with her lessons albeit other children loved them. He failed every exam about insects, the only subject new teachers seems interested in. To make his grades better, he got a task to hand in an essay about spiders. But Ambrose is still not comfortable with Miss Arachne´s teaching, not only because of the theme, but the woman herself is weird... Was there really a spider hanging from her ear lobe?

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Ambrose´s friends were eager to help him with his project. 

 "It would be great to find spider´s brood and study them from the foreground!", Bridgit said excitedly, but Ambrose hated the idea.

 "Where can we find spiders when it´s so cold?", Spencer asked.

 Irvin clapped his hands. "I know! There´s a lot of them close to my place! I have no idea how they survive on this temperature, but they look healthy to me!"

 "I´m not very hyped about that, guys..."

 "C´mon", Adam was reassuring him, "that´s the best way for you to do this. Besides, perhaps you´ll finally realize how stupid your behavior was and how Miss Hotie is actually a really good teacher."

 Everybody´s eyes gleamed with admiration. They reminded Ambrose of Mrs. Catfish. "Guys? What have you been smoking, eh?" His joke didn´t get to them.

 "She´ll really pretty, actually", noticed Helen, the last thing Ambrose expected her to say.

 "She´s not boring like other older teachers", said Irvin, "and ske knows so much about spiders..."

 "Spiders are interesting", added Jonas, "there are over forty thousand known species of them. All in different colors, different sizes..."

 "Allright!" Ambrose yelled just to make them stop. "We´ll go check Irvin´s spiders!"

 They turned towards him. "Let´s go right now", their voices united.

 Ambrose was at a total loss. 

 Once again, but now not three, but seven of them, went through bushes and thorns, complaining and cursing until they reached safe road where no cars drove on Saturdays. Seven couples of eyes searched low grass on the lawns around country houses, seeking incredible spiders of winter. Ambrose secretly prayed that they´ll find none.

 "There!", Bridgit screamed excitedly. "I saw them, a bunch of them, look!"

 They followed the direction of her finger. Jonas kneeled down and went through grass with his hands. 

 A dozen spiders run as if coming out of the ground. They climbed on blades of grass, jumped on Jonas´ hands or ran away from their sight. Ambrose almost laughed. They we´re so tiny even he wasn´t troubled by their appearance.

 "They say smallest beings are the most resistant", said Jonas knowingly while he gazed at two little spiders on his hand. "Guess this guys somehow manage to keep themselves warm in the ground or something, doe I never hear of spiders living underground."

 "Then they are a good choice for my research", concluded Ambrose. He slowly kneeled next to Jonas and took his phone out to take a photo of spiders they captured. They looked like two dots in the picture, so he tried taking another one, but this time zoomed. He focused camera and...

 "Wait", he muttered. Something was out of order. Spiders seemed black, but now that he saw them in a closer view... He zoomed a bit more... "Guys", his hands started to shiver, "look at this." He waved to Jonas to get rid of spiders. They gathered around him to look at his photos.

 Zoomed, it was visible that spiders had green spots all over them. More than that, their eyes were green and sparkled like glass each time a spider blinked. On top of this strangeness, they had something on their slender legs, some kind of extensions that looked quite sharp. Like nails.

 "That´s silly", Helen blowed his suspicions away, "insects don´t have nails! They may have shells or make cocoons which consist of same material as nails..."

 "But it sure is weird", Adam interrupted her. "Never saw a spider like that. Anyone else?"

 They shook their heads. Meanwhile, Irvin separated himself from the group. He was looking at something specific a few paces away. 

 "Did you find something?", Spencer asked him.

 He barely nodded. Then he limply waved them to follow him and started running. They hurried up after him, though they had no idea where were they going, and something was telling them that Irvin doesn´t know neither.

 They stopped in amazement when they reached an old house with damaged facade, rotten window frames and a roof with holes in it.

 "It´s Miss Arachne´s house!", declared Helen. Expression of utter surprise crossed faces of those who weren´t informed about it before. 

 "The door is open", Ambrose noticed.

 The same thought traveled through mind of every child, but no one was willing to say it out loud. However, Irvin continued advancing. 

 "What the Hell are you playing at?", Adam asked.

 Irvin showed with his hands. On the ground there was a thin path through the grass which led straight to the house entrance. One after another, in line, spiders followed it. Thousands of them, every single one decisively marching towards teacher´s home.

 "Wow, you don´t think she actually managed to train spiders to do this, do you?", asked Helen.

 All of a sudden, all of their incredible admiration for Biology teacher disintegrated. It was obvious that everyone was scared of what they we´re seeing, but Irvin persisted in following spiders, "This is a mistery that must not remain unsolved", he declared. He sounded so sure and grown-up that they couldn´t not admire him and when kids admire someone, they follow his lead.

 "Okay, I´m officially losing it, right?"

 But Bridgit wasn´t going insane. Or they we´re all crazy. The house was covered in spiderweb. Every corner, holes in broken stairs, the base of a torn sofa, opened lockers... Spiderweb was everywhere.

 Ambrose almost fainted. Spiderweb. Fine. But not just spiderweb and not just tiny spiders covered with green spots, but monstrously big and hairy ones, spiders with tiny bodies and horribly long legs, red ones and yellow ones with fat, round bellies. They were running around, resting on their webs and stretching their legs as if calling their visitors to come closer. Some were enjoying a feast. 

 "Let´s. Get. Out." Ambrose was happy to hear Spencer recommend it before he got really sick.

 They we´re about to leave, but in front of them little spiders from grass formed a boundary-like line.

 "Cross it, damn it!", said Adam, but didn´t move forward.

 Other small spiders emerged and climbed on the ones in line, then more and more of them. Children stepped back while little spiders we´re building a wall of their bodies in front of them. Taller and taller, taller than Ambrose whose head was above all the other kids´, all the way do the top of the door... They finally stopped.

 Ambrose almost threw up, but he managed to keep it inside.

 Patting behind their backs. 

 Spiders gathered, so different, yet in unison like an army. Was it only his imagination or we´re they getting ready to jump on them? Do spiders eat flesh? They feed on flies, so they might actually...

 Irvin screamed. It wasn´t a scream of fright, but war scream. Nobody noticed, but he had taken a stick before spiders surrounded them, a stick which probably used to be leg of a chair. He brandished it into wall made of little spiders. The attack separated them and they spilled on the floor like balls. Then he started maniacally jumping on them, treading and smashing them. As if frighten by the scene of their smaller cousins being slaughtered, other spiders fled scattering around the house, escaping through windows or retreating in many holes in the walls. Irvin´s violent steps left greenish discharge which reminded Ambrose of late blackberries falling to the ground.

 "Let´s go!" Irvin killed them all, forgetting every be-merciful-and-respect-insects lesson they´ve been taught this year in Biology. At this point, no one felt like being weaping over spiders´ deaths.

 They run through woods, Irvin following although his house was in the other direction. They paused when they reached center of their quart, enough far away to convince them that spiders won´t come and revenge their deceased.

 "That was insane!"

 "We weren´t seen by anyone, right?", Spences was worried.

 "No way", Jonas said. "If we we´re seen, we´d have heard screams. That thing would scare anyone to death!"

 "Irvin, good job", Helen slapped his shoulder. "Who knows what would happen if you didn´t react."

 "I have a few ideas", said Ambrose, still agitated by his nightmare becoming reality.

 Members of Amrose´s spider-hunting group sat on the edges of their chairs on Monday in their classroom. Holding their breaths in expectations, they waited for Miss Arachne to appear. If those spiders they fought in her home were her pets, they were sure to notice despair or sadness on her. Ambrose tried to imagine her usually smoothly combed her in a messy edition, tight clothing put the wrong way, seducive walking turned curvature. And what if she saw them, or someone else for that matter and revealed her the identities of the killers of her lovely pets?

 "Where´s Miss Arachne?"

 Instead of Biology teacher, at the door of the classroom stood principal, middle-aged man with grayish hair, fake grin on his face always wearing two sizes to small tuxedo. "Good morning, pupils. I´m terribly sorry to inform you that there´s been an accident. Something happened to our beloved Miss Arachne and she won´t be teaching in our school anymore."

 Seven kids exchanged intrigued looks, but everyone else was too upset to notice what passed between them.

 "What happened?"

 "She found her babies dead and checked herself in an asylum", Ambrose thought.

 "Nothing for you to care about", answered principal. He was nervously stretching his collar which made Ambrose suspicious. He was hiding something from them. "Anyway, since it is not possible for school to replace Miss Arachne sooner that in a month or so, you are free of Biology classes for the time being." The ecstasy that would have overcome children if any of their other classes were canceled failed to present itself. They missed Miss Arachne already.

 "What was that about?", asked Bridgit when the group of seven gathered outside.

 "She probably ran away", suggested Irvin. "Went to relatives. Left town for good. I imagine those spiders really were some sort of her trained bodyguard-pets and, knowing her, their... hmm... unfortunate end must have affected her badly."

 "Then why didn´t principal just tell us that she left?" Helen bent her head questioningly. "There´s no reason to keep it a secret."

 "Let´s go to her place again", Ambrose couldn´t believe his own voice. "Look for clues."

 "Wow, wow, man", Adam stepped back. "I liked her, like, a lot, she was the best teacher ever and hot as a model, but I don´t want to mess with this anymore. Saddened by the death of her creepy pets or not, I´m not sorry for what we... Irvin, actually, did. They were gonna kill us! Right?"

 The group stirred and muttered. The things didn´t escalate as much as to be sure that the spiders wanted to hurt them, but they sure didn´t seem very friendly. On the other hand, they were the intruders. Miss Arachne´s crazy supernatural SF insects could have just been protecting their home. Scaring of enemies.

 "You guys don´t have to go", said Irvin. "I´ll pass there on my way home anyway. I´ll tell you if there´s anything to see tomorrow."

 However, Irvin didn´t wait as long as he said he would. Just a few minutes after he arrived home, Ambrose received a text message on his mobile phone. EMERGENCY MEETING, PARK texted Bridgit. He was reluctant to go. All taken into account, he was simply relieved that creepy teacher was gone and, as long as he was asked, he did not care at all what happened to her. In the end he decided to answer the call for meeting just because of a sense of solidarity he felt toward friends with whom he shared crazy-spider adventure.

 Adam was late. They waited for him for half an hour and almost gave up, but he came after all. 

 Everyone´s focus was on Irvin.

 "Blood." He stopped, waiting for the word to sink into their minds. "On the doorstep. Blood as if a person or a big animal was slaughtered."

 "On the doorstep?" Helen repeated with eyes wide opened. "You mean where we, hmm, you..."

 "Yes", he interrupted her. "Where I killed little green-spotted spiders. I couldn´t get closer because house is surrounded with police tape. My parents claimed to be ignorant about what happened there, except that there was some kind of an incident, but I know younger kid who lives close by and whose mom is a cop. I asked him about it and he conveyed me what he heard at home. Apparently, blood belongs to a person. A killed person."

 "Murder!" Spencer covered her mouth with her hands.

 "Wait a second", said Jonas, "you say a person, but did you find out who it was?"

 "Yeah, and how much can we trust this toddler?", added Adam.

 "He´s not a toddler, he´s nine years old", Irvin objected. "And I trust him enough to believe that he heard what he heard. This kid is a pro spy, trust me, and he´s mother is a chatterbox number one. Besides, how else would you explain stain of blood?"

 "For that matter, how can we trust you that you saw real blood? You might be making it all up." Adam awoke Irvin´s rage and the two boys we´re ready to grab at each other, but Ambrose took a stand between them.

 "Shut up, both of you", he said. "Adam, why in Heavens name would Irvin lie? I believe him and so do others. So stop being an idiot and pull yourself together!"

 "He also said that his mother mentioned her body", Irvin continued as if he hasn´t just slipped a fight. 

 "A woman", whispered Jonas. "We all think the same thing, right? It couldn´t have been anyone besides..."

 "Miss Arachne", they joined in common conclusion.

 "I killed her", Irvin´s voice echoed after a few moments of silence. Nobody contradicted him. "Arachne. As in arachnophobia."

 "Fear of spiders", said Jonas.

 Five kids who were unaware of this linguistic connection stared at the two smart boys in awe. 

 "I thought about it before, but considered it a mere coincident", said Jonas. "I even thought that her surname encouraged her to get into the whole love-insects campaign."

 "Was she a witch?", asked Spencer with a voice of a scared little girl.

 "Nah", Helen waved her hand and Ambrose was amazed by her patience and coolness. She was the bravest and the most cold-headed one among them. "She wasn´t human, alright, unless we all had some mushroom-hallucinations and Irvin in fact killed a teacher in front of our eyes while we were seeing spiders. But not a witch, no, just..."

 "Metamorph", suggested Jonas. "You know, someone who can change shape..."

 "We know that!" Adam sounded offended.

 "What now?", asked Bridgit.

 "Nothing", answered Irvin, so sure in what he was declaring that no one dared interrupt him. "Not a word about it to parents, police or anyone else. Let it remain an unsolved murder. They wouldn´t believe us anyway and if they decided that we were a bunch of insane kids who killed their teacher because they saw spiders instead of her, self-defense wouldn´t serve us as an excuse. Forget what happened." Pause. Then: "Remember that when we were there, those we´re spiders and they were in an attack mode. We defended ourselves. We had no choice."

 Meeting finished with those words.

 Months passed. Ambrose had a new Biology teacher now. He was a young professor, just came out of college. He lacked authority, but was quite nice, and concluded that there´s no need to rewind lessons about insects because the have already dedicated so much time to them. It suited Ambrose perfectly.

 Spring was ending and school year with it. Remembering how it was, Ambrose was content. The group of seven stuck together after Miss Arachne... left. His grades improved and his average grade was solid. Things really have changed, but remained simple enough for an eleven-year-old decisive to stay a child for some time still.

 He was eating a sandwich oa a bench in front of school, waiting for one of his friends to come out. He didn´t look at two slices of bread with cheese between them, but gazed at blue sky and sunset. He lowered his eyelids just in time.

 Spider the size of his thumb was leisurely resting on his meal. It had fat brown round body and fine legs covered in short, light-colored hair. He was big enough for Ambrose to see his tiny black eyes and front handles quite alike pincers.

 He was on the verge of screaming and throwing his sandwich away, but he stopped himself and remained calm. Suddenly, a memory came to his mind, a memory he tried hard to push down his brain and forget, but it was to memorable to destroy. Black spiders with green dots, Miss Arachne, "You´re just a spoiled little brat who can´t appreciate the beauty of small, hard-working and fascinating beasts!" .

 In winter it seemed like she was insulting him because he couldn´t get used to her way of teaching, but now that he thought better about it, the insult wasn´t strictly directed at him. It was about every person who kills a spider when he sees one just because they make them feel a bit uncomfortable. And now that he thought about it, this little guy was in no position to make Ambrose feel uncomfortable. He was probably just as scared as boy whose sandwich he was sitting on, if not even more.

 Ambrose lowered sandwich to the ground. He bit his lip, then forced himself to give spider a little push with his free hand. Spider jumped from bread and went into a run, but stopped once and turned toward Ambrose as if sending him nonverbal thanks for sparing his life.

 "No big deal, buddy", said Ambrose who never imagined that he´d be able to call spider anything else but little freaky monster. "Of you go now."

 Spider went away, following his unknown path full of wonders. 

 "Hey, what´s up?"

 "Nothing", Ambrose answered when his friends arrived. He picked up his bag and went after them. Then he realized that he was still holding his sandwich. Last summer, if any bug, even the smallest one, touched his food, he´d have gotten rid of it right away. Now he shrugged his shoulders, teared off a few crumbs of bread where spider was situated and ate the rest of it. 

 He finally understood what Miss Arachne´s lessons were all about.

THE END

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Written by Arijana G. aka Anachronism in August 2021.