Jay Dixon
The English Teacher Chronicles is divided into three “miniseries,” each written during a particular year of school. The “miniseries” are subdivided into several short stories. The first, written in the seventh grade, involves an English teacher, who is actually an alien from a distant planet, and her attempts to take over the world. The second, written in the tenth grade, involves an English class’s field trip to Iraq going horribly wrong. The third group of short stories, written in the twelfth grade, involves an English class attempting to travel through time to the Renaissance era, but ending up in 1945 Germany. The significance of these short stories is that the characters are all real people- classmates and teachers of the author.
I have been writing for entertainment since the fifth grade. In 2002, at the age of fourteen, I wrote and published my first novel, The Curse. Between the time that I first began writing and the publication of The Curse, I have written several unpublished short stories. Since the novel’s publication, I have continued to write short stories for entertainment. The English Teacher Chronicles is my second published book.
Meanwhile, 500 feet above the ground, Old Noah and Stacie stood staring out over the landscape. They stood atop a giant, steel radio tower/missile silo in the middle of a valley somewhere outside Berlin. The cylindrical tower was hollow in the center, and five ten-foot missiles sat at the bottom, waiting to be launched. The tower also extended 50 feet horizontally at the top in both directions, and running down the side of the center shaft was an elevator.
Also at the top of the tower sat Young Noah, who was slowly waking up. Old Noah and Stacie stood over him and smiled. Young Noah shook the sleep from his eye and shuddered. The air was frigid, and the wind was fierce.
“Where are we?” he asked. “What happened? I remember you saying something about the path being laid out for us to traverse, and then I went blank.”
“Yeah, you passed out,” answered Old Noah. “I guess the shock from everything that happened was too much for you. Anyway, Stacie and I carried you all the way out here to this tower.”
“I’m still confused. How did you and Stacie end up back here in 1945 when I was about to commit suicide with Braun and Hitler?”
“You have, or will have, taken over the world,” Old Noah explained. “Mrs. Cook brought us to 1945 by mistake, and when she and the class went back to the present, they betrayed you and left you here. As a result, you have, or will have, sought your revenge by following the advice of your...our...father, Adolf Hitler and conquering the globe.”
“What ’chu talkin’ ’bout, Willis? I mean, Noah?” Young Noah queried.
“Don’t you get it, younger me? Didn’t you understand what our father was saying when he led us into that room to commit suicide? He had it planned out: He and Eva Braun would commit suicide, but not you. The reason was so that you could continue his quest for world domination. And that’s where this tower comes into play. As he led us into the room, Hitler spoke about how he had had this radio tower/missile silo built as a last resort. He wanted me to use this tower to broadcast a radio message across the country telling all Germans not to surrender under any circumstances. I would then launch these missiles across the planet to hit certain major cities: Washington, D.C., London, Moscow, New York, and Stalingrad. These missiles, according to Hitler, were powerful enough to wipe out an entire city.
“But, remember, I didn’t fully pay attention because I was too confused about what was going on at the time. Somehow Hitler and Braun must have known that I would chicken out and not commit suicide because they tried to kill me when I refused. I killed them and then tried to join the rest of the class, but they were gone. At that moment of betrayal I remembered what my father had said, and I knew what I had to do.
“I succeeded. The missiles destroyed their intended targets, the Axis Powers regained their morale, and we were able to fight back and defeat the Allies. Furthermore, I was named Supreme Fuhrer of the world! And, as expected, in 2004 at my current age, Mrs. Cook and her class returned. It was there that I met with Stacie and convinced her to join me.”
“The class had betrayed me as well,” said Stacie. “So I came with Old Noah back to this time so we could prevent Mrs. Cook and her class from stopping you. You and I have to ensure the success of Old Noah’s present, which is our future.”
“Whoa,” Young Noah moaned, “this is some crazy sh-”
“Yes, it is crazy,” Old Noah interrupted. “But it all makes perfect sense now. Our father has set up the board, and now we must make the first moves. Young Noah, you have the scar, and you have the eye patch. Now you must take the responsibility as I did- or am doing, or will do, or whatever- and accept our destiny.”
“But Hitler is not my father!” Young Noah declared.
“Of course he is. The family birthmark, remember?”
“But this pink mark on my arm isn’t a birthmark. It’s...something else... Anyway, I won’t do this. I believe that we control our destiny, and that we can change the future. I’ll never join you!”
Young Noah hopped onto his feet and shoved Old Noah and Stacie aside. They followed him as he jogged toward the edge of the tower. He stopped at the edge and gazed down at the land below. A sudden gust of wind almost made him fall off, but he recovered his balance. He looked back at Old Noah and Stacie as they crept closer to him.
“Don’t do it,” said Stacie. “We understand that this is a lot to handle, but the three of us can accomplish so much more.”
“Stacie, won’t you listen to yourself? You’ve gone mad, and so is Old Noah. He’s corrupted your mind, but I still believe in you, Stacie. I still see the good in you.” Young Noah took off his jacket and revealed a backpack with a parachute inside. He extended his hand toward Stacie. “Come with me, Stacie, and we will rejoin our classmates and put an end to Old Noah’s reign of terror.”
“No,” said Stacie. The wind blew her hair in front of her face majestically as she stared at Young Noah. “I can’t go back to our class after they’ve betrayed me. I have chosen my destiny: I will stay and help you- the old you- take over the world.”
“Stacie, please...”
“No!” Old Noah declared. He stepped in front of Stacie as if to shield her and added, “Young Noah, this is your last chance. If you do not accept your destiny and join us, I promise you will regret it.”
Old Noah inched his way closer to Young Noah. Soon he was within arms reach. Young Noah shook his head one final time and ultimately determined the fate of the world.
“You will die!” Old Noah shrieked.
He unsheathed his sword and swung at Young Noah, but he was too late. Young Noah did a back flip off the edge, and the blade of the sword missed him by an inch. Young Noah did a couple of somersaults as he free-fell, and then he opened his parachute. Once he touched down, he took off the backpack and ran away in what he hoped was the right direction. At the top of the tower, Old Noah and Stacie watched helplessly as the Fuhrer-to-be made his escape.
“Couldn’t we take the elevator down and go after him?” asked Stacie.
Old Noah was silent for a while. He stared at Young Noah until he was too far away to be seen, and then he finally answered: “Let him leave. He won’t last a day out there on his own. It is now up to you and me, young Stacie. Together we will succeed.”
