"Good morning," she said. "Are you ready to go to school, Baartock?"
Baartock wasn't sure about that, so he didn't say anything. He had almost forgotten about school. That was part of his first day, but not the important part. He had forgotten about Mrs. Jackson saying she would see them in the morning.
Mrs. Jackson opened the car doors, and when Baartock and his mother got in, she showed them how to fasten their seat belts. Mrs. Jackson explained that while she was a good driver, some other drivers weren't, and that they were probably safer wearing the seat belts. His mother listened carefully to what Mrs. Jackson was saying. She didn't seem to mind being in a car, until Mrs. Jackson started the engine. Whinnurf Slinurp was a troll, so she wasn't about to get scared, but she did grip the edge of the seat very firmly. When Mrs. Jackson asked if she was all right, she just closed her eyes tightly and said "Go." But as they drove toward town, Baartock's mother finally opened her eyes to see where they were going.
This time Baartock watched out the window as they drove into town. There were lots of buildings like the old empty house that he knew. There were humans walking and lots of cars, and some big cars called trucks. Some of them came right at them, but they always just missed Mrs. Jackson's car.
He was learning a lot about humans. Mrs. Jackson had been talking almost all the time while she had been driving. He learned about streets, and blocks, which were between streets, and about houses and stores. Only he hadn't seen a single bridge. Suddenly he said, "School that way," and pointed.
"Yes, you're right, Baartock. The school is that way. You certainly do know just where you are. But we've got to go some place else first. We're almost there."
In just a few blocks, Mrs. Jackson turned the car into a driveway and parked in a space in front of a brick building. She showed them how to unbuckle the seat belts. Baartock practiced putting his on and taking it off, while she walked around to open the doors. There was a sign on the front of the building, 'Public Health Services', but that didn't mean much to Baartock. As they walked to the house, he asked about it.
"I'll tell you about it in just a minute," Mrs. Jackson said.
Baartock didn't know what a minute was, but he decided to wait and see what this house was. And if there were any children here. He had been thinking about Jason, and wanted to race him again. He was sure that he could run faster, even though Jason was a little bigger.
Inside there was a woman at a desk, who looked up as they came in. She seemed surprised when she looked up at Baartock's mother, but she didn't look scared. "Nurse Dodge is expecting you, Mrs. Jackson," she said. "You can go right in."