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fotka bez triedy je nová časť seriálu Klub veľkých omylov, pripravená ako dvojjazyčný detský príbeh v slovenčine aj angličtine.
fotka bez triedy: začína sa príbeh
V triede 3.B to ráno voňalo lakom na vlasy, čistými tričkami a troškou nervozity.
„Prosím, nikto si teraz neleje džús na rukáv,“ povedala pani učiteľka Benková a upravila si tmavozelený sveter. „O desať minút máme spoločnú fotografiu.“
Adam si narovnal červenú mikinu a postavil sa pred lavicu ako kapitán lode.
„Výborne! Keď príde fotograf, zoradíme sa podľa výšky, potom podľa— vlastne najprv podľa toho, kto má najčistejšie topánky. Nie, podľa abecedy. Alebo urobíme tvar blesku!“
Ela sa spod okrúhlych fialových okuliarov pozrela na jeho tenisky.
„Tvar blesku je vhodný, ak nás fotí meteorológ.“
Samo si opatrne uhladil žlté tričko pod modrou košeľou.
„A čo ak fotograf zachytí blesk?“ spýtal sa. „Mám sa zatváriť prekvapene už vopred?“
Skôr než mu niekto stihol odpovedať, pri dverách sa objavil pán s veľkým čiernym kufríkom a fotoaparátom na krku.
„Dobré ráno. Prišiel som na 3.B,“ povedal fotograf.
Pani učiteľka sa usmiala, no potom sa obzrela po miestnosti. Jej úsmev sa zmenšil len o malý kúsok.
V triede stáli Adam, Ela, Samo, pani učiteľka a prázdne lavice.
„Kde je zvyšok?“ zašepkal Adam.
Na háčikoch viselo pár búnd. Na zemi ležala zabudnutá pastelka. Pri okne sa kývala záclona. Ale deti nikde.
„Pred chvíľou tu boli,“ povedala pani učiteľka pokojne. „Niekto išiel po hrebeň, niekto vraj na toaletu, niekto hľadať stratenú menovku… A teraz máme približne sedem minút.“
Fotograf sa pozrel na hodinky.
„Potom idem fotiť druhákov,“ dodal milo.
Na Adamovej tvári sa objavil výraz, ktorý Ela poznala. Bol to výraz človeka, ktorý práve dostal nápad rýchlejší než vlastné nohy.
„Klub veľkých omylov zasahuje!“ vyhlásil. „Rozdelíme školu na štyri pátracie zóny. Zóna A: chodby. Zóna B: jedáleň. Zóna C: všetky tajné miesta. Zóna D: miesta, ktoré ešte nepoznáme, ale určite existujú!“
„To nie sú zóny,“ povedala Ela. „To je panika s písmenami.“
Na najbližšej lavici ležal pokrčený lístok. Dievča ho zdvihlo. Bolo na ňom nakreslené malé koliesko s čiarkou navrchu a pod ním stálo: VŠETCI SEM, KEĎ ZAZVONÍ.
„Aha,“ povedal Samo. „Musíme nájsť zvonček.“
„Najprv nájdeme triedu,“ vyhlásil Adam. „Teda deti. Teda zvonček s deťmi. Ela, ty choď ku knižnici, alebo do jedálne, ak knižnica nebude mať deti. Samo, ty…“
„Hľadám tých, čo nechcú byť nájdení,“ doplnil Samo rozhodne.
A skôr než Adam stihol opraviť vlastnú vetu, kučeravý chlapec vyštartoval po chodbe.
„To som nepovedal!“ zavolal za ním Adam.
„Povedal si skoro!“ ozvalo sa spoza rohu.
Ela si ešte raz prečítala lístok.
„Tá čiarka hore možno nie je šípka,“ zamrmlala. „A možno ani neukazuje na sever, juhozápad alebo šatňu.“
Adam už mieril ku schodom.
„Dobre, pátranie začína! Ja zoberiem horné poschodie, ty dolné, a keď sa stretneme v strede, budeme mať polovicu triedy! Alebo len stred.“
Chodby boli plné zvláštnych odpovedí. Adam zakričal: „Nina!“ a spoza dverí výtvarnej výchovy vyšla pani kuchárka s miskou jabĺk.
„Nina tu nie je,“ povedala. „Ale našla som jej gumičku do vlasov.“
„To je stopa!“ potešil sa Adam.
„To je gumička,“ opravila ho Ela, ktorá práve dobehla za ním.
Medzitým Samo nakukol do kancelárie. Veľmi vážne si kľakol k stolu pani zástupkyne a pozrel pod neho.
„Prepáčte,“ povedal. „Nevideli ste školský zvonček?“
„Nie ten na prestávku?“ spýtala sa pani zástupkyňa.
„Ak vie zvolať našu triedu, beriem ho.“
Pri jedálni našiel kovový zvonček pri výdajnom okienku. Lenže ten zazvonil vždy, keď boli hotové knedle.
„Tento by mohol fungovať,“ uznal Samo. „Ale asi by prišli aj piataci.“
Pri telocvični zase objavil veľký nástenný zvonček. Natiahol sa k nemu, no vtom za ním zadýchane pribehli Adam s Elou.
„Nie ten!“ povedala Ela. „Ak zazvoníš na celý rozvrh, budeme mať namiesto triednej fotky školský pochod.“
Chlapec stiahol ruku.
„Takže zvonček musí byť menší?“
„A náš,“ povedala Ela.
Keď sa veci začnú meniť
Znovu vytiahla pokrčený lístok. Teraz ho podržala proti svetlu pri okne. Koliesko s čiarkou nebola šípka. Bol to malý zvonček.
„To je symbol,“ povedala. „Nie smer.“
Adam sa zastavil tak prudko, až mu tenisky zaškrípali.
„Čiže odkaz nehovorí, kam šli. Hovorí, že čakajú, kým zazvoní.“
„A kde čakajú?“ spýtal sa Samo.
Ela ukázala na podlahu.
Medzi dlaždicami ležali drobné kúsky papiera. Jeden mal ružový roh, druhý modrý pásik. Vyzerali ako odstrihnuté časti triednych menoviek.
„Niekto ich cestou strácal,“ povedala.
„Mapa pokladu!“ vyhŕkol Adam.
„Poklad má zvyčajne menej čiarok od lepidla,“ odvetila Ela.
Papierové stopy viedli popri nástenke, cez tichú chodbu a napokon ku knižnici. Adam otvoril dvere tak opatrne, akoby vo vnútri spal medveď.
Namiesto medveďa tam sedelo šesť spolužiakov. Boli zoradení pri dlhom stole, ruky mali na kolenách a chrbty vystreté ako pravítka.
„Čo tu robíte?“ zašepkal Adam.
Nina zdvihla prst.
„Čakáme na fotku.“
„V knižnici?“
„Tomáš povedal, že na fotografii treba sedieť rovno a nehýbať sa,“ vysvetlila Nina. „Tak sme si našli tiché miesto na cvičenie.“
Tomáš prikývol.
„A potom niekto povedal, že máme počkať, kým zazvoní.“
Samo sa potešene usmial.
„Takže som mal pravdu so zvončekom!“
„Mal si pravdu v tvare,“ povedala Ela. „Len nie v budove.“
Zvyšné deti sa rozosmiali, no knihovníčka si položila prst na pery. Smiech sa preto zmenil na tiché fučanie a trasúce ramená.
Práve vtedy sa vo dverách objavila pani učiteľka Benková. Nevyzerala nahnevane. Skôr ako niekto, kto už chvíľu sleduje detektívku a čaká, či hrdinovia nájdu správny kľúč.
„Máme štyri minúty,“ povedala.
Adam zbledol.
„Len štyri? To je menej než päť!“
„Výborný postreh,“ prikývla pani učiteľka. Potom pozrela na lístok v Eliných rukách. „Spomínate si, ako sa vaša trieda zvoláva, keď sa po výlete rozbehne ku všetkým lavičkám naraz?“
Deti sa na seba pozreli.
„Máme signál,“ povedala Nina.
„Dokonca tri,“ dodal Tomáš. „Zvonček, mávanie a veta.“
Adamovi sa oči rozžiarili.
„Áno! Malý triedny zvonček je v skrinke pri mape!“
„Pri mape, nie pod ňou?“ overil si Samo.
„Pri nej,“ povedala Ela. „Vďaka za presnosť. Teraz bež.“
O chvíľu už stáli na chodbe pred knižnicou. Samo držal malý mosadzný zvonček, ktorý našiel presne tam, kde Ela povedala. Adam mával oboma rukami nad hlavou, akoby sa snažil pristáť s lietadlom.
„Pripravení?“ spýtal sa.
„Nie príliš hlasno pri knižnici,“ upozornila Ela.
„Tak budem hlasný len primerane.“
Samo zazvonil. Cink-cink-cink!
Adam urobil veľké kruhy rukami.
Ela sa nadýchla a pokojne zavolala: „Pozor, 3.B! Kto príde posledný, ten vysvetlí, prečo je posledný!“
To bola ich triedna veta. Vznikla kedysi po tom, ako sa pri návrate z ihriska všetci naraz stratili za kríkmi, hoci kríky boli len dva.
Najprv sa nič nestalo.
Potom sa spoza schodov ozvalo: „To znie ako alarm na desiatu!“
Nasledoval smiech. Z telocvične vybehol Jurko s prezuvkami v rukách. Od šatní prišla Lea, ktorá si ešte zapínala sveter. Z chodby pri jedálni sa vynorili dvaja spolužiaci s úplne čistými rukami a veľmi mokrými rukávmi.
„My sme si mysleli, že fotka je až po umytí!“ volali.
„Je aj pred umytím!“ odpovedal Adam. „Teda je teraz!“
Cink-cink-cink!
Smiech sa rozliehal školou a deti prichádzali zo všetkých strán. Niektoré niesli knihy, iné hrebeň, jedna spolužiačka si stále držala papierovú menovku, aby jej neuletela. Samo každému ukazoval zvonček, akoby našiel vzácny poklad.
Pred nástenkou už čakal fotograf. Keď uvidel veselý roj tretiakov, urobil krok dozadu.
„Tak toto je 3.B?“ spýtal sa.
„Väčšinou,“ povedala pani učiteľka Benková.
Adam sa ešte pokúsil veliť: „Malí dopredu, vysokí dozadu, modrí bokom, nie, nie modrí, ale—“
Ela mu položila ruku na rukáv.
„Pozri.“
Všetci boli trochu pomiešaní. Nina stála vedľa Tomáša, hoci sa zvyčajne preťahovali o miesto pri okne. Jurko držal knihu, Lea hrebeň a Samo zvonček. No nikto už nechýbal.
Dôležitý okamih
„Nie sú v správnom poradí,“ povedala Ela ticho. Potom sa usmiala. „Ale sú na správnom mieste spolu.“
Fotograf zdvihol fotoaparát.
„Úsmev!“
Vtom Samovi zvonček znovu cinkol, lebo mu vykĺzol z ruky.
Celá trieda vyprskla smiechom.
Cvak!
Fotografia bola hotová.
Neskôr sedeli Adam, Ela a Samo pri svojej lavici. Klubový zošit ležal medzi nimi otvorený. Adam držal ceruzku, Ela mu diktovala a Samo kontroloval, či je zvonček bezpečne položený mimo zošita.
„Napíš,“ povedala Ela, „Keď sa trieda stratí…“
„…hľadaj aj smiechom,“ doplnil Samo.
Adam vetu zapísal veľkými písmenami. Potom pod ňu nakreslil malý zvonček, ktorý vyzeral trochu ako zemiak s uškom.
Pani učiteľka Benková sa pri nich na chvíľu zastavila.
„Tá fotka nebude úplne uhladená,“ povedala.
„To nevadí,“ odvetil Adam. „Aspoň bude pravdivá.“
Na chodbe sa práve ozvalo tiché cinknutie. Samo rýchlo zdvihol hlavu.
„To bol môj zvonček?“
„Nie,“ povedala Ela. „To bol niečí príbor v jedálni.“
Chlapec chvíľu počúval.
„Dobre. Ale keby sa trieda zasa stratila, som pripravený.“
Pokračovanie nabudúce…
The Big Mistake Club, part 8: The Class Photo Without the Class
The Story Begins
That morning, Class 3.B smelled of hair spray, clean T-shirts, and a little bit of nerves.
“Please, nobody pour juice on a sleeve right now,” said Miss Benková, adjusting her dark green sweater. “In ten minutes, we have our class photo.”
Adam straightened his red hoodie and stood in front of the desk like a ship captain.
“Great! When the photographer comes, we line up by height, then by— actually first by who has the cleanest shoes. No, by the alphabet. Or we make a lightning shape!”
Ela looked at his sneakers through her round purple glasses.
“A lightning shape is useful if a weather reporter is taking the picture.”
Samo carefully smoothed his yellow T-shirt under his blue shirt.
“What if the photographer catches lightning?” he asked. “Should I look surprised already?”
Before anyone could answer, a man appeared at the door with a big black case and a camera around his neck.
“Good morning. I’m here for 3.B,” said the photographer.
Miss Benková smiled, but then she looked around the room. Her smile got a little smaller.
In the classroom stood Adam, Ela, Samo, the teacher, and a row of empty desks.
“Where is everyone else?” Adam whispered.
A few jackets hung on the hooks. A lost crayon lay on the floor. The curtain by the window moved a little. But the children were nowhere.
“They were here a moment ago,” said Miss Benková calmly. “Someone went for a comb, someone said they were going to the toilet, someone was looking for a missing name tag… And now we have about seven minutes.”
The photographer looked at his watch.
“Then I’ll go and take the second graders,” he said kindly.
A certain look came onto Adam’s face. Ela knew it well. It was the look of someone who had just got an idea faster than his own feet.
“The Big Mistake Club is here!” he announced. “We split the school into four search zones. Zone A: the corridors. Zone B: the dining hall. Zone C: all secret places. Zone D: places we don’t know yet, but they definitely exist!”
“That’s not zones,” said Ela. “That’s panic with letters.”
On the nearest desk lay a crumpled note. The girl picked it up. On it was a small circle with a line on top, and below it said: EVERYONE HERE WHEN THE BELL RINGS.
“Oh,” said Samo. “We need to find the bell.”
“First we find the class,” Adam said. “I mean the children. I mean the bell with the children. Ela, you go to the library, or the dining hall if the library doesn’t have children. Samo, you…”
“I’m looking for the ones who do not want to be found,” Samo finished firmly.
And before Adam could fix his own sentence, the curly-haired boy ran down the corridor.
“I didn’t say that!” Adam called after him.
“You almost did!” came the voice from around the corner.
Ela looked at the note again.
“That line on top may not be an arrow,” she muttered. “And maybe it doesn’t point to north, southwest, or the cloakroom either.”
Adam was already heading for the stairs.
“Okay, the search begins! I’ll take the upper floor, you take the lower floor, and when we meet in the middle, we’ll have half the class! Or just the middle.”
The corridors were full of strange answers. Adam shouted, “Nina!” and the school cook came out from behind the art room door with a bowl of apples.
“Nina is not here,” she said. “But I found her hair tie.”
When Things Start to Change
“That’s a clue!” Adam said happily.
“That’s a hair tie,” Ela corrected him, catching up with him.
Meanwhile, Samo peeked into the office. He knelt very seriously by the deputy head’s desk and looked under it.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Have you seen the school bell?”
“The one for break time?” asked the deputy head.
“If it can call our class, I’ll take it.”
Near the dining hall, he found a metal bell by the serving hatch. But that bell rang every time the dumplings were ready.
“This might work,” Samo said. “But then the fifth graders might come too.”
By the gym, he found a big wall bell. He reached toward it, but then Adam and Ela ran up, out of breath.
“Not that one!” Ela said. “If you ring the whole timetable, we’ll get a school parade instead of a class photo.”
The boy pulled his hand back.
“So the bell has to be smaller?”
“And ours,” said Ela.
She took out the crumpled note again. Now she held it up to the light by the window. The circle with the line was not an arrow. It was a tiny bell.
“It’s a symbol,” she said. “Not a direction.”
Adam stopped so suddenly that his sneakers squeaked.
“So the note doesn’t say where they went. It says they are waiting until it rings.”
“And where are they waiting?” asked Samo.
Ela pointed to the floor.
Between the tiles lay tiny pieces of paper. One had a pink corner, another a blue stripe. They looked like cut-off parts of class name tags.
“Someone lost them on the way,” she said.
“A treasure map!” Adam burst out.
“Treasure usually has fewer glue marks,” Ela replied.
The paper trail led past the notice board, through a quiet corridor, and finally to the library. Adam opened the door as carefully as if a bear were sleeping inside.
Instead of a bear, six classmates were sitting there. They were lined up by a long table, hands on their knees, backs straight like rulers.
“What are you doing here?” Adam whispered.
Nina raised a finger.
“We’re waiting for the photo.”
“In the library?”
“Tomáš said you need to sit straight and not move for the photo,” Nina explained. “So we found a quiet place to practice.”
Tomáš nodded.
“And then someone said we should wait until the bell rings.”
Samo smiled with relief.
“So I was right about the bell!”
“You were right about the shape,” Ela said. “Just not the building.”
The other children laughed, but the librarian put a finger to her lips. The laughter turned into quiet snorts and shaking shoulders.
Just then Miss Benková appeared in the doorway. She did not look angry. She looked more like someone who had been watching a detective story and waiting to see if the heroes would find the right key.
“We have four minutes,” she said.
Adam went pale.
“Only four? That’s less than five!”
“Excellent observation,” the teacher said with a nod. Then she looked at the note in Ela’s hands. “Do you remember how your class calls everyone when they run from the trip straight to all the benches at once?”
The children looked at each other.
“We have a signal,” said Nina.
“Actually three,” added Tomáš. “The bell, waving, and a sentence.”
Adam’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! The little class bell is in the cupboard by the map!”
“By it, not under it?” Samo checked.
“By it,” said Ela. “Thank you for being precise. Now run.”
Soon they were standing in the corridor outside the library. Samo was holding the small brass bell he had found exactly where Ela had said. Adam was waving both arms over his head, as if he were trying to land an airplane.
An Important Moment
“Ready?” he asked.
“Not too loud near the library,” Ela warned.
“Then I’ll be loud only in a proper way.”
Samo rang the bell. Ding-ding-ding!
Adam made big circles with his arms.
Ela took a breath and called calmly, “Attention, 3.B! Whoever comes last will explain why they are last!”
That was their class sentence. It had been born long ago after everyone got lost behind the bushes on the way back from the playground, even though there had only been two bushes.
At first, nothing happened.
Then a voice came from behind the stairs. “That sounds like a snack alarm!”
After that, laughter followed. Jurko ran out of the gym with his indoor shoes in his hands. Lea came from the cloakroom while still buttoning her sweater. From the corridor near the dining hall, two classmates appeared with very clean hands and very wet sleeves.
“We thought the photo was after washing!” they called.
“It is before washing too!” Adam answered. “I mean, it is now!”
Ding-ding-ding!
Laughter filled the school, and children came from all sides. Some carried books, others a comb, and one girl was still holding her paper name tag so it would not fly away. Samo showed the bell to everyone as if he had found a rare treasure.
The photographer was already waiting by the notice board. When he saw the happy swarm of third graders, he took a step back.
“So this is 3.B?” he asked.
“Mostly,” said Miss Benková.
Adam tried to give orders again. “Small ones in front, tall ones in back, blue ones to the side, no, not blue, but—”
Ela put her hand on his sleeve.
“Look.”
Everyone was a little mixed up. Nina was standing next to Tomáš, even though they usually fought for the window seat. Jurko held a book, Lea held a comb, and Samo held the bell. But nobody was missing now.
“They are not in the right order,” Ela said softly. Then she smiled. “But they are in the right place together.”
The photographer raised his camera.
“Smile!”
Just then Samo’s bell rang again, because it slipped from his hand.
The whole class burst out laughing.
Click!
The photo was done.
Later, Adam, Ela, and Samo sat at their desk. The club notebook lay open between them. Adam held the pencil, Ela dictated, and Samo checked that the bell was safely placed away from the notebook.
“Write,” said Ela, “When the class is lost…”
“…find them with laughter too,” Samo finished.
Adam wrote the sentence in big letters. Then he drew a small bell under it. It looked a little like a potato with a handle.
Miss Benková stopped by them for a moment.
“That photo won’t be perfectly neat,” she said.
“That’s okay,” Adam replied. “At least it will be true.”
A soft ding sounded in the corridor just then. Samo quickly lifted his head.
“Was that my bell?”
“No,” said Ela. “That was someone’s cutlery in the dining hall.”
The boy listened for a moment.
“Okay. But if the class gets lost again, I’m ready.”
To be continued…