Ben the Dragonborn Read Free Page B

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    “Well?” Ben asked when Denzel was silent for an uncharacteristically long time. 
    “She knew. Miss Templeton knew I was there.  She looked right at me, and that’s when I just about fell.”
    “What were they doing?”
    “Just sitting around; but someone, I don’t know who, was dressed up as a mermaid.  Great costume.  Greenish skin, blond spiked hair with green tips.  The eyes had no whites. The tail was amazing.”
    “Weird!”  Ben said.  “We might be right.  It is a role playing game.  I wonder what world is supposed to have mermaids.  I wonder if they assign you a character or you choose it for yourself.
    “I don't care, I just want in. We need to find out what it takes to join,” Denzel stated.  
    The two boys hung around the castle.  When the meeting ended, they managed to catch Allison just before she entered the girls’ dormitory.                 “Allison,” Denzel said.  “What were you all doing up there?”  Allison stared at him for a moment, then shook her head, and ran up the stairs.  Denzel started to follow, but Ben grabbed his arm.  “You want to have detention till you graduate?  Going into the girls’ dorm is one way to make that happen.”  

3 Time For Tea
     
     
    In the morning, Ben ate early and headed for the swimming pool for his extra lesson with Phil Tanner.  The lessons were still not going well.  This one was no exception. Ben did not feel comfortable in the pool even when his feet were able to touch bottom. Phil Tanner was waiting for Ben when he left the dressing room. 
    “I’ve called Miss Templeton, Ben. She wants to see you today after your last class.  I told Miss Templeton there is little hope that you will learn to swim.  I’m really sorry about that."
    "It's not your fault.  I have always hated the water.  I don't care if I ever learn to swim," Ben stated.  
    "I care and your dad cares. He is going to be very disappointed,” Phil Tanner stated.  He paused a moment and then continued, "Your dad and I were roommates.  He has been my best friend for over twenty years. I don't know how to tell him that I couldn't teach his son to swim.” 
    Later in the day, Ben walked slowly towards the castle and up the stairs to the reception area on the third floor.  Mrs. Topp, the school secretary, sat near the stairs.  On one side of her was the door to the great hall and on the other side was the door into Mariah Templeton’s office and residence.  Ben had been on the third floor twice. The first time was when his father brought him to the school. They had climbed the stairs together and Mariah Templeton had come out of her office to welcome him. Then, a week into the school term there was a gathering for students and teachers in the great hall to which everyone was invited.  Mariah Templeton spoke to the students.  She spoke of the students as chosen ones who would bring light to dark worlds.  Ben laughed at her words, until his father had glared at him.  Later when he had tried to tell his father how strange Mariah Templeton was his father had been unwilling to listen.  
    Ben’s father had come back to the school a month later.  Andrew Taylor told Ben that he was going away on business, but expected to be back within six to eight weeks.  Eight months had passed and his father had not yet returned.  The end of the school year was coming and Ben wondered if his father would return in time to take him home. 
    Andrew Taylor had often gone away on business when Ben was a boy.  His grandmother used to take care of him until his father returned, but now his grandmother was dead.  Ben wasn't sure where he would end up this summer, but more importantly he was worried about what had happened to his father.
    “Miss Templeton wants to see me,” Ben announced to Mrs. Topp.
    Mrs. Topp pushed a button and spoke into an intercom, “Ben Taylor to see you, Miss Templeton.”
    “Good!  Send him right in,”