Allison was still on the nineteenth story.

The desks were arranged in clusters of four. Allison sat at a cluster with a girl named Virginia, a boy named Nick, and a boy named Ray.

But Virginia looked old enough to be her mother. And Nick looked like he should be in high school. Ray was a couple of years younger than Allison.

"Miss Zarves is a wonderful teacher," said Virginia in a singsong voice. "She\'s the nicest teacher I ever had."

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"She\'s the only teacher you ever had," said Nick.

"So? She\'s still nice," said Virginia. "I\'ve always gotten all A\'s."

"Aren\'t you a little old to be going to school?" Allison asked her.

"You\'re never to old to learn," said Virginia.

"No one ever leaves Miss Zarves\'s class," said Nick. "How long have you been here, Virginia?"

Virginia thought a moment. "Thirty-two wonderful years."

"I\'ve been here nine years," said Nick.

"But she always gives us good grades," said Virginia.

"That\'s true," Nick agreed. "I\'ve gotten all A\'s since I\'ve been here too."

"Me too," said Ray. "And sometimes I answer all the problems wrong on purpose!"

"Where were you before you came here?" Allison asked him.

"I went to, um, I was ..." Ray shook his head. "That\'s funny-I don\'t remember."

"I don\'t remember where I came from either," said Virginia.

"Well, I do!" said Allison. "I was in . . ." But suddenly she couldn\'t remember either. Then it came to her. "Mrs. Jewls\'s class! And Rondi was in the class, and Jason, and Dana, and Todd ..."

She named every member of the class, including all three Erics. She didn\'t want to forget where she

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came from. If I forget where I came from, I might never get back, she thought.

"Did you say there was a girl named Bebe Gunn?" asked Ray.

"Yes," said Allison. "Bebe\'s a very good artist."

"My last name is Gunn, too," said Ray. "I wonder if we\'re related."

"Ray, no talking please," said Miss Zarves. "Now, everyone please take out a pencil and some paper. I want you to write all the numbers from zero to a million in alphabetical order."

"From zero to a million?" asked Allison. She couldn\'t believe it.

"Don\'t worry," said Virginia. "If you run out of paper, Miss Zarves has more in the closet."

Allison stared at her in horror. "But it will take over a hundred years," she said.

"So?" asked Virginia. "What\'s your hurry?"

Allison started to work. It was bad enough having to write down all the numbers from zero to a million, ............