The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles 1)

‘No,’ I say. ‘I slept right through it.’

She smiles. ‘It sounds like you’re flexible, Jenna—and have a sense of humor. That will take you far.’

I let her think what she wants.

She tells me that the three days a week we meet, teacher-collaborators will instruct on core subjects. State requirements are modified as much as possible to complement the ecosystems emphasis. This morning while she and I conference, Ethan is leading a discussion with the others on Walden. Apparently, literature is Ethan’s strength. Gabriel is teacher-collaborator for problem-solving and logic. Allys leads science and ethics. Dane leads art explorations. Rae fills in the holes.

‘Would you be interested in leading us in historical explorations? We’re just about to beg

in a discussion of Easter Island and the—’

‘Easter Island was settled approximately A.D.300 by the Rapa Nui. By A.D.1000 deforestation was under way to satisfy the islanders’ demand for moai construction. The loss of forest resulted in erosion, which in turn accelerated the rapid decline of trees on the island. By 1600, the failing resources of the island could no longer support the population, and as a result, cannibalism—’

I notice Rae’s peculiar expression, so I stop.

‘Uh, yes, I guess you do know your history,’ she says.

‘I’m familiar with Walden, too, if Ethan needs help.’ I’m more than familiar—I could recite it word for word, but I don’t tell her that. I’m startled at this revelation myself. Until she mentioned it, I had no recollection of Walden. I must have loved literature, too.

‘I see.’ She looks back at my questionnaire. I know what she is going to say before the words leave her mouth. Weaknesses? You have no weaknesses? It skips through me. Catches. Weakness. Please, Jenna. We need you. Why do I see Kara’s and Locke’s faces? They couldn’t have been my weaknesses. They feel more like my strengths.

‘And no weaknesses?’

‘I didn’t write them down.’

‘Would you like to share?’

Share?

I’m afraid.

I’m lost.

I have no friends. It keeps coming back to that. Why does it bother me so?

I have no friends.

Which weakness shall I tell her?

‘I walk funny,’ I say, and she is satisfied with that.

Morning collaborations continue until eleven. I correct Ethan twice in his evaluations of Walden. I want to be his friend. Friends help friends.

It is my second time that prompts him to raise his voice. ‘But it was his rejection of materialism and the Industrial Revolution that was the point of his move to Walden Pond and the strength of the entire—’

‘Not true,’ I tell him. ‘It was a private journey as much as a public one. He was searching for his personal essence as much as he was making a political statement.’

‘But—’

‘In his final conclusion he says, It is life near the bone where it is sweetest. And building on that he says, I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board.’

‘But what about—’

‘And of course, much earlier he plainly states, I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately … to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life … to—’

‘I get it,’ Ethan snaps.

Dane, Allys, and Gabriel stare at me. Ethan looks away. Rae is quickly flipping through Walden, running her fingers down the pages. Finally she raises her eyes to me, too.