Another Pan by Daniel Nayeri Read Free Book Online Page B

students made some noncommittal sounds of agreement.
    “That’s a great idea, Marla,” said the professor, pulling out his lesson plan. “Why don’t you prepare a five-page paper on why young adults today are not given the kind of respect and freedom as those of the ancient Nile Delta? I recommend working with me at the Egyptian exhibit, where all of you can see documents from the reign of Ramses II, who was a ruler before he was a teenager.”
    “Are you kidding me?” said Marla, sitting up.
    “Of course not,” said the professor. “It’s well documented. I think you’ll also find some compelling research on children of peasant families, who didn’t have to go to school at all. In fact, they were allowed to work in the fields as early as six years of age.”
    “I mean about the five-page paper,” said Marla.
    “Well, it’ll be six pages with the bibliography, but, yes. You can present your findings to the class on Friday.”
    As Professor Darling was absentmindedly giving Marla an assignment, Wendy and John sank farther and farther in their seats. The others kids never really understood their dad. He was like the ultimate head-in-the-clouds, nose-in-the-books, good-intentions-but-terrible-attention-span kind of history nerd. And it wasn’t exactly doing wonders for them on the social front. It was even worse for John, who was accelerated into classes with his older sister. His dad may as well have spoon-fed him his lunches in the cafeteria.
    Marla rolled her eyes and shut her history book with an irritated clap. John ventured a glance her way, but she caught it and glared back. He gulped. Marla was the kind of rich kid who thought she was badass just because she dressed in black clothes and played guitar — never mind that
real
street kids couldn’t afford to go Goth in cashmere.
    “The items in this exhibit came from the British Museum,” said Professor Darling, clapping his hands, “and they’ve included artifacts dating from the late Coptic period all the way back to pre-Antiquity. I’m sure you all know how exciting it is to have the pieces from the world’s largest collection. I mean, we could be looking at undiscovered history here.”
    Here we go,
thought Wendy. Every time Professor Darling used the phrase
undiscovered history,
it meant he was about to start waxing poetic about humankind, oral traditions, myths, and the stories we tell one another around the fireplace. He loved the phrase because it was full of mystery. Anything could be discovered and join historical fact. Any impossibility could become possible. “Every fiction,” he’d say, “is a fact that hasn’t been proven yet.”
    “I’ll be needing as many volunteers as I can get to help catalog the pieces before the exhibit goes up.”
    Someone in the back said, “Oooh, where do I sign up?”
    Professor Darling didn’t seem to hear.
    “The theme I’ve proposed for the show is the
Five Legends
. That sounds cool, doesn’t it?”
    “Super cool,” said Marla, in a tone so sarcastic that even their father must have noticed.
    As always, he ignored it and went on with undiminished enthusiasm. “Some of the pieces we’ve acquired are fascinating. For example, we have in our exhibit several canopic jars used in Egyptian funereal rites. And we have a very old copy of the
Book of Gates,
which, I should add,
could
be a set of original bound papyri dating back thousands of years.” The professor’s eyes sparkled and he added, “Of course, that isn’t what the museum community believes, which is why they let us borrow it. . . . You know, the original
Book of Gates
is said to have magical powers.”
    The professor waved his fingers in the air, obviously trying to seem mysterious, or even interesting. He deflated in the silence that followed. “OK, well, no one has really suggested
magic,
but I’ve presented theories that mystical occurrences have surrounded this lost artifact. Personally, I believe the original book may be