That sounded exciting enough, so Raul agreed. In the yard was a beetle just like the ones she had seen from the air, only now it was clearly not a beetle at all: it was a something Emma and her mum rolled off to school in, with Raul following.
On the way, he noticed that most people passed him by without a second look, but there were a few children who screamed, or got scared or who were very happy to see him, as the case might be.
In front of the school, Emma jumped out of the rolling beetle, waved frantically to her Mum and turned to Raul:
“I have to go into this building now, because classes are starting. You’ll see what I’m talking about… Go back that way, into the yard. In that little corner there are two windows; they are the windows of my classroom. If you look in, you will be able to see what we do there all day long. You might even learn something from the curriculum. I’ll come out to see you at lunch break.” Emma laughed and disappeared through the big gate.” “As soon as Raul’s head appeared at the window, panic broke out in the classroom. The children were screaming, laughing or shouting:
“There’s a dragon at the window! Miss! Teacher! There’s a dragon!”
Some, however, just blinked stupidly or gawped uncomprehendingly. As Raul did back before he ducked his head in shock. He hadn’t expected his presence to cause such an upheaval. After all, he didn’t even exist. Or did he?
Suddenly, amidst all the noise, the window opened and a lovely woman’s face appeared. She looked a bit like Emma’s Mum, only even prettier, and she was smiling. The teacher looked Raul straight in the eye, with the screaming children all packed behind her.
“Look at that! A real dragon! What are you doing here?”
“I came with Emma.”
“Come and join us if you’d like to! Today I wanted to tell the children about the cave people, and in a sense, you’re very much like them. So at least I shall have some help with the lessons.”
The teacher opened the window wide. Raul squeezed through with great difficulty. Most of the children were still buzzing with amazement, but some had retreated to the back of the room and continued to observe the situation from there. They had no idea what was happening, because they could not see Raul at all.
“Introduce yourself to the class!” the teacher asked Raul when the buzz had died down a bit.” ““My name is Raul. I’m of the Scottish Highland tribe of dragons, living at the Glass Peak of the Rocky Mountains, where there’s nothing but glass and peaks. They’re a bit like those tall buildings here in your area, with the two-legged creatures going in and out of the bottom. Everything here is very new to me; I’ve never even seen a human before. I’m a little embarrassed, so excuse me if I’m not making a lot of sense,” he said, all in one breath.
“Miss! Please tell me what on earth is going on, because I can’t see any dragon at all!” said one of the little boys on the back row.
“And there are no such things as dragons!” cried a little girl next to him.
A huge argument ensued. Someone shouted that dragons were real, and that he could indeed see Raul, but he looked very different from what he had previously imagined. One little girl kept screaming that she was going to pee herself because she was so scared. Another one calmly explained to her best mate that there was nothing to fear, because dragons would not hurt you unless you poked them with a fiery torch.
The teacher’s voice cut through the hubbub.
“The thing is, children, that only those who believe in the existence of fairy tale creatures can see them.”” “Raul was baffled. What does it even mean to be a ‘fairy tale creature’? Could he be one of those? But he didn’t even have time to think about it because one of the little boys, who had been curled up in the corner, suddenly jumped up, ran to the door, pushed it open and disappeared down the corridor, sobbing.
“Gabriel! Where are you going?” The teacher shouted after him, but Gabriel had fled the school in terror. The janitor at the gate tried to block his path, but the boy slipped past him and ran on. Of course, the teacher followed him, but by the time she got to the end of the corridor, Gabriel was gone.
Mayhem ensued.
Raul thought for a moment, pushed himself out of the window, and circled around the building in a flash. The teacher was already calling for Gabriel in the street by then.
“I’ll go after him; I can see where he ran off to more easily from the air!” Raul thought to himself, as he spread his wings and disappeared from view behind a building.
“Miss! Raul will find Gabriel, won’t he?” Emma asked the teacher anxiously, for the more courageous children had all run out into the street with their teacher.
“I really hope so. In the meantime, I need to call Gabriel’s parents.”” “Raul looked around the area, but all he saw were beetles rolling around and other people walking, but Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. Some little children screamed as he passed over them, but he ignored them for the time being. He was focused on finding the little boy.
His route led past a park with a playground in the middle: this was where the teacher used to take the children for PE classes. In the playground there was a small house with big windows.
Sobs could be heard coming from it.
Raul rapidly slowed down and turned back to get a closer look at the source of the sound. And how good it was that he did, for Gabriel was tucked away inside, sniffling away to himself as he hid from the little dragon. He had been so terrified that he had chosen, for the first time in his life, to run alone through the streets to seek shelter in his favourite place.
“No! Please, don’t hurt me! Leave me alone dragon!” he screamed when he saw Raul from the window.
“I won’t hurt you… I came here because everyone is looking for you. I just want to help.”
“Don’t help me, just go away! You’re not even real!”
Raul walked over to the house.