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“We’re at the halfway point,” Penny said. “But we’ll be discussing the ending at next week’s meeting. Maybe that would work better for you?”
“No. Now’s good.” He smiled, leaning forward. The kids looked back and forth between the adults, clearly confused on who was in charge.
“So, Jemma, are you enjoying the book?” Penny asked the girl across from Bash.
“I thought there would be dragons.”
“Fantasies don’t always have dragons,” Penny explained, taking a seat at the head of the large rectangular table.
“But they should,” Jemma argued and one boy nodded his head. “And this book is longer than the others.”
“And, there’s no pictures,” another boy complained. What a bunch of whiners. “And we’re getting more homework.”
Bash didn’t know what homework had to do with the book. A few other kids chimed in and complained about some history report they were working on, and the conversation deteriorated into which middle school was harder. Bash pulled the list of questions he’d prepared from his pocket before he pulled out his hair. This book club was a disaster.
“Do you think the author’s use of low fantasy works with the hero’s story, or should he have used high fantasy?” Bash asked, certain his simple question would get them back on task.
“The who and the what now?” the dragon-loving girl asked, while the rest of the kids looked around the room, obviously unsure how to answer the question. Penny cleared her throat, and everyone turned to her.
“Low fantasy books are set on earth and high fantasy books are set in another world. And the hero is who the story is about,” Penny explained. “So, in this book Ricky is our hero and it’s low fantasy since it starts on earth before he stumbles back in time to ancient Greece.”
“I bet if he’d fallen into a different time, there would have been dragons,” Jemma mumbled.
“Or knights. That would have been cool.” Two boys jumped up and pretended to wield swords in a duel. The other children laughed and cheered them on until Penny stepped between them, wielding her own invisible swords, and slayed them both. After prolonged and dramatic deaths, she stepped over their prone bodies, and the laughter in her eyes irritated Bash. This book club was a glorified playdate and a total waste of their time. Of his time. These children were clearly intelligent and if Penny was more organized, she could mold their intellect and not their theatrics.
“Dragons and knights would have been cool, but that’s not the time period Ricky landed in. Why do you think the author chose ancient Greece and not another universe?” Bash asked, ignoring his set questions, and hoping that going with the flow might get them into a meaningful discussion.
“’Cause he’s trying to teach us history?”
“Yeah, like the Magic Treehouse books,” another boy said, launching them into a heated debate about which story in that series was the best. Penny leaned back and listened as they shared their opinions and argued about why others were wrong. It was all good-natured and respectful, but Bash scanned his list, looking for a question to get them back on task.
“But what about this book?” he growled, leaning toward them and seeing the fate of VV Pub die in front of him. If VV Pub’s success depended on these readers, it was doomed, and he didn’t know how to save it.
That’s it , Penny thought, catching the looks on the kids’ faces. A few looked frightened by his outburst and the others looked uncertain. As if they’d broken a rule but had no clue what it was.
“Why don’t you guys discuss what Ricky grabbed before falling into the time trap and if you think he should have grabbed something else instead while I talk to Bash?” She stood and pointed to her office. From there, she could chew him out and monitor the kids. She didn’t care if they overheard.
Bash stood, glaring at her before saying, “I’m not sure I would have grabbed my stuffed bunny. Would you have, dragon-girl?” he asked, before following Penny into the office. If she wasn’t so irritated with him, she would have been impressed with the way he’d kick-started the conversation when the kids ignored her.
She stepped aside as Bash entered the room, shrinking it around them. Penny tilted her head to look at him. At five foot nine, she wasn’t used to physically lifting her head to meet a man’s eyes. The anger and frustration she saw in his, took her by surprise, as did the aura surrounding him. She felt like she’d kicked a hornet’s nest.
Penny partially closed the door and looked at the children before turning toward Bash. “What the hell is your problem?” she hissed.
“That isn’t a book club. It’s a goat rodeo.” Penny didn’t know what a goat rodeo was, but she was sure it was insulting. “It’s a free for all with no structure. You’d get more discussion if you had a prepared list of questions.” He shook the paper under her nose, and she grabbed it from him, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder. It landed perfectly in the garbage can, exactly where it belonged.
“We don’t do formal questions. It’s a collaborative effort and I guide them based on their mood.”
“No shit,” he said, sounding disillusioned and disappointed, which was fine by her. She felt better knowing he wouldn’t be back, but she didn’t want him thinking poorly about the kids. They were a great group, and she’d known most of them since they were toddlers, coming to weekly story time. “Normally, we discuss the book and their opinions, but your showing up unannounced threw them for a loop.”
“Opinions.” He snorted. “Everyone has one, and most of them are wrong. What about their observations of the book? What they’re learning? Without making them dig deeper, you’re wasting their time.”
“Enjoying a book on its surface level isn’t a waste of time and neither is discussing it with other people. But since we’re wasting your time, leave.” She jerked the door open and heard a small thud as it bounced off his boot. Probably custom made in New York City, she thought, sitting down at the table, and taking a deep breath before exhaling quickly as Bash returned to his seat. Dammit.
Penny forced a smile on her face. She didn’t want Bash to ruin the book club for them. “So, what’s the verdict? Was Ricky right in grabbing his stuffed bunny, or should he have grabbed his backpack with his school supplies?” It didn’t surprise her they all agreed that he should have taken the backpack, but once they got further into the story, they saw that the backpack, filled with modern tools, wouldn’t have helped him and may have put him in more danger.
“What do you think, Bash? Bunny or backpack?” Ava asked quietly, taking Penny by surprise. Ava was the sponge in this group, soaking everything up and rarely sharing or asking a direct question. Bash rubbed his jaw, and his blue eyes locked on hers before he smiled slowly and leaned toward Ava as if he was going to share a secret. “For the book, I’m team bunny, but with the TV show”—he shook his head—“man, I’d love that backpack. Which do you think is better, the books or the show?”
Ava admitted she liked the book, but Jemma took offense because the actor was so cute and then the discussion devolved into tween silliness. Penny kept the smile frozen on her face as she glared at Bash. He’d derailed them on purpose because she’d told him to butt out and mind his own business. Bash laughed at something Javal said and then they were all talking about the book again, jumping from one scene to another. As Penny tuned into the conversation, it became apparent that Bash had read, or most likely listened to, the story, and his ridiculous list of pretentious questions was his, not something he’d found on the internet. Penny didn’t know what to make of his effort.
