Another Kind of Dragon

Forty-two pairs of eyes locked onto the television set atop the black AV cart that had been wheeled into Mrs. Cleveland’s classroom. The room was crowded. Ms. LaScola’s neighboring class of second graders had walked over with their chairs to share the television, just as the other grade level classrooms in the school combined to do the same. It wasn’t every day that the entire school was viewing a program at the same exact time. 

Melanie’s stomach rumbled, eager for the salami and mayonnaise sandwich in her lunch box. The boy next to her smelled like sour Cheerios, and she wished for the millionth time that her friend Carrie could’ve been the one seated beside her. The room’s fluorescent lights were off, but the horizontal windows along the top of the interior wall glowed with the brightness of the hallway. She thought of her artwork on display outside in that corridor. Her lime green dragon with purple triangle spikes, although seemingly scary, held a copy of her favorite book, Charlotte’s Web, in his fat fingers. While she struggled to draw the smoke plumed bubble letters that boasted READ at the top of the poster, she was quite proud of both her spider and web drawing on the book’s cover. 

Melanie was remembering how much she cried when her beloved Charlotte died when the teachers began shushing everyone. It was 11:45 a.m. The shuttle was nearly ready to launch. It looked like one of those super fat pencils the kindergarteners used to practice their letters, all tall and pointed up to the vast sky above. Melanie imagined the seven crew members waiting inside, including Christa McAuliffe who was to be the first teacher to fly in space! Melanie did not want to be an astronaut like her, but she did think it would be breathtaking to fly through the clouds. She learned that part of the Space Shuttle Challenger’s mission was to study Halley’s Comet as it passed by the sun. How fun would it be to go where the stars and the planets danced with the sun and the moon?

As the Kennedy Space Station began its countdown, the entire school could be heard happily counting in unison: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Liftoff! Everyone in the school and across the world watched in amazement at the wonder of space technology. But 73 seconds into the launch, a huge plume of smoke and fire, much more ferocious than that of Melanie’s book dragon, trailed behind the shuttle as it broke apart in the sky. 

Melanie and her classmates saw the fuzzy white caterpillar-like puffs of smoke splinter into the blue as a large fireball fell rapidly. Something wasn’t right. The room went silent. Melanie looked to the teachers and saw tears streaming down their eyes. Something definitely wasn’t right. Before the adults turned off the television set, the kids heard the news correspondent give word of a confirmed explosion and reported that “contingency operations and recovery forces in downrange field” were in process. Big words for small kids. But there was no mistaking the word ‘explosion’ or seeing that shuttle rain down in a firestorm. 

Melanie thought of Charlotte’s words to Wilbur. About how she did not have enough silk in her spinnerets to lower herself to the ground at the end. She was done for. Melanie was pretty sure that the astronauts did not have enough silk either. It was a very sad day. She hoped that the brave crew of seven would forever dance with Halley’s Comet. And she hoped they would be remembered for generations to come just like Charlotte.