#with clara being the only schoolteacher around but also a very highly respected woman in hill valley

[doctorbrown]

DOCTOBER '23 ⸺ 「 22 / 31 * CONSTELLATION 」

April 19, 1886

❝What do we need to learn about the stars for, Miss Clayton?❞ young eight-year-old Margaret—Maggie—Barnes pipes up, trailing close to her teacher's back. All the students, and Clara as well, had foregone their usual schoolday clothing in favour of warmer clothes and garments they wouldn't mind getting dirty on this late-night lesson. ❝They're all the way up there; it's not like we can get 'em, not like the plants you showed us last week. Those were pretty.❞

❝One moment, dear.❞ Clara ushers the last of the children into the town square, keeping a mental tally of everyone as they pass through the light of her lantern. All ten are present and accounted for.

Bringing up the rear are the Thompson siblings Max and Christopher, ages ten and twelve respectively, and as they get closer, Clara overhears enough of their conversation to twist her previously calm expression into a frown.

Christopher is grinning, telling stories about ghosts that come out at night to steal away people when their lanterns go out. Sophie Doyle screeches, causing Clara to jump.

❝Christopher!❞ Clara says sternly, and her tone of voice is enough to immediately grind that conversation to a halt. ❝I'll not have you frightening the younger children.❞ Christopher jams his hands into his pockets and grumbles a half-hearted apology that Clara knows is insincere.

❝Do you see the lanterns over there? Mister Brown has kindly offered to help set up our experiment for this evening, so go straight over there and join him and don't keep him waiting.❞ Emmett, as if on cue, waves to the approaching group of schoolchildren as an eager chorus of yes, ma'ams and agreements ring out from the students.

Clara smiles. Though this had been her job for several years now, it was taxing being Hill Valley's only schoolteacher. Emmett was a big hit with the children, ever since he had first offered to assist with some of her lessons.

His infectious enthusiasm brought an energy and life to the lessons that resonated with the children. They associated him with fun and excitement. He had a way of presenting the information that was still informative yet never assumed that even the youngest child was unable to appreciate and understand all that science had offered.

They were eager to learn, for when Mister Brown was joining in on the lessons, it meant something much more interesting than reading their books and writing and memorising was in store. They were taken in by his grandiose gestures and his obvious passion.

When he taught, he made sure everybody understood, and it was the mark of an intellectual—an expert—to be able to present complex material in a simplified way without sacrificing information.

❝Mister Brown knows about the stars too?❞ Maggie asks, sounding far more enthused about the idea than she'd been just a moment ago.

❝Of course he does.❞

Emmett invites the children to gather round with a sweep of his arm and now brings attention to the golden telescope set up at his side. Clara comes to stand at the opposite side of the telescope and the kids form a sloppy half-circle around their teachers, outlined by flickering red-orange lights.

❝Now children,❞ Clara starts, sweeping her gaze across each of her students' faces, ❝before I outline tonight's experiment, there is something I need to make clear. This telescope is a delicate piece of equipment, so Mister Brown and I will help each of you when it's your turn. Show him the same courtesy you would show me and be careful with the equipment. Do you understand?❞

Another chorus of agreements ring out and Clara nods, satisfied.

❝Good. Now, you'll remember that our lessons the past few days have been focused on astronomy and identifying the major constellations in the sky. Tonight, we are going to use this telescope to actually look at some of them. Mister Brown went through a lot of effort to get us that star chart for our lesson.❞ Emmett bends down and pulls out the star chart from his backpack, neatly folded to avoid wrinkles or damage.

❝Does anybody remember any of the constellations?❞

Immediately, Victoria Davis shouts out, ❝The Big Dipper! Daddy told me about this one even before our lesson. Oh, and there's a little one, too!❞

❝Well done, Victoria,❞ Emmett chimes in, and the young girl beams. ❝While those are some of the most recognisable stars in the night sky, they're not actually constellations themselves. They're called asterisms, which is a group of stars that can be part of a larger—❞

❝—So what?❞ Celia Ford pouts and crosses her arms over her chest. ❝It's not like they're important. They're just stars.❞

Emmett and Clara exchange looks. Clara looks ready to scold the young lady for being rude, but Emmett, unperturbed, continues. ❝So what? The stars are incredibly important. Why, they have been the objects of fascination and intrigue for hundreds of years!❞

He gestures to the sky where the stars twinkle overhead, pinprick lights punched through a sea of perfect black.

❝And, Celia, they are important. Let's take Victoria's examples of the Big and Little Dipper. As I was saying, they're part of two larger constellations: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Or, Great Bear and Little Bear.❞

Emmett lifts his head to the sky, searching for the constellations in question. Once he spots the telling bowl of the Big Dipper, he shuffles around to stand in the centre of the children and crouches down to their height, directing their attention skyward with his finger.

While Emmett has the attention of the children, Clara comes around to the telescope and adjusts it until it points at Ursa Major, but not without first stealing a long glance at Emmett while he's distracted.

❝Do you see it there?❞ It takes a second, but the children answer in the affirmative. ❝That's the Big Dipper, but if you follow it this way❞—he slowly traces a path through the neighbouring stars, completing the line through some of the more difficult to see stars—❝you get the rest of the constellation which makes a large bear in the sky.❞

After a moment and a few nods from the kids, Emmett moves his finger back to the top of the bowl of the Big Dipper and lets it stay there.

❝How many of you have heard of the North Star?❞

❝I expect all of you to say you have, because we covered this on Thursday and Friday in preparation for tonight's experiment.❞

Emmett smiles. ❝The North Star for a long time was one of the most important stars in the sky.❞ He traces a straight line through the night sky, avoiding some of the dimmer surrounding stars until he reaches Polaris, shining brightly at the end of the Little Dipper.

❝If you can imagine it, it's called the North Star because it always points to true north and is located almost directly above the North Pole. And this made it very important for people to know if they were travelling on long journeys. Sailors used it to navigate the high seas, people would use it to find their way home if they were lost.❞

Emmett stands and rubs at his knees while Clara slots in without missing a beat. ❝The North Star has another name, Polaris, which we still use today, and you'll note that it's the last star on the handle of the Little Dipper. It forms part of the tail of the bear of Ursa Minor.❞

Clara looks over the children again and there's even a spark of intrigue in Celia's dark eyes that wasn't there a moment ago. They're buzzing with excitement, and Clara knows that they won't have much by way of attention left if they don't get to the heart of the experiment. Many of the children are already staring longingly at the telescope.

❝Emmett, would you help them with the telescope? I think we've talked enough. It's positioned on Ursa Major right now, but let them try and find Polaris and look around the sky a little.❞ The kids make several shouts of excitement and the sloppy half-circle dissolves into a horribly uneven single-file line.

❝Miss Clayton? Why are they bears?❞ Maggie asks, looking up at her teacher. ❝Why not a dog? Aren't dogs better at helping find people?❞