Chapter 1

Jenni walked into her history classroom and put her books on her desk. Her dark brown hair was coming out of her bun and she used a bobby pin to fix it. More kids came into the classroom and sat down at their desks. She smiled at a few of them before the bell rang. When the bell rang the kids went silent and she stood up from her desk.

“Good morning students.” She said as she turned to the board and started writing a chapter number on the board. They replied back tired and sluggish. Jenni laughed and put down her dry erase marker….You thought that Jenni was a student? No, she’s the youngest most qualified history teacher at Edward R. Murrow High School, but also the strictest. She turned to the class and took off her coat, and put on a black wig. Underneath she wore traditional Egyptian robes of a noble woman. The dress she wore was made of linen and the neck was just at the base of her neck. The dress was floor length and she had a simple jeweled belt around her waist. The dress had no sleeves and on her arms were gold bands. Her hands had gold rings and she had large gold hoops in her ears. On her feet she wore sandals. Her black wig was down and it had jewels woven into the long hair. “Yesterday as we all know we learned about the Egyptian government. Today we are learning about Egyptian clothing and the rein of the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah. Take out your notebooks.” The students’ faces lit up as they took out their notebooks.

“Cleansing rituals were very important to the Egyptians. Most people bathed daily in the river or out of a water basin at home. The wealthy had a separate room in their home to bath. Servants would pour jugs of water over their master, the equivalent of a modern day shower. The runoff water drained away through a pipe that led to the garden. Instead of washing with soap, a cleansing cream was used. This cream was made from oil, lime, and perfume.

“People rubbed themselves daily with perfumed oil. Perfume was made from flowers and scented wood mixed with oil or fat, and was left in a pot until the oil had absorbed the scent. The perfumed oil was used to prevent the skin from drying out in the harsh climate. At parties, servants put cones of perfumed grease on the heads of the guests. As the grease melted, it ran down their face with a pleasing cooling effect.”

Jenni made sure that the students were writing down what was on the PowerPoint she made. When she was sure that they were done, she clicked to the next slide.

“Men, women and children of all ages and classes wore makeup. Mirrors of highly polished silver or copper were used to aid with the application of makeup. Eye paint was made from green malachite, and galena -- a gray lead ore. They were ground into a powder and mixed with oil to make eye color called Kohl. The Kohl was kept in jars and applied to the eyes with a small stick. The upper and lower eyelids were painted with the black cosmetic that extended in a line out to the sides of the face. It was believed the makeup had magical and even healing powers. Some even believed that wearing it would restore poor eyesight. It was also used to fight eye infections and reduce the glare of the sun.” A hand rose up in the back. “Yes Kelsey?”

“Why aren’t you wearing the make-up that the Egyptians wore?” Kelsey asked. Jenni looked in a mirror she had in her purse and gasped. She wasn’t wearing the make-up.

“Oh shoot! I was planning on wearing the make-up, but I forgot. Plus the school doesn’t allow it. The original make up had lead, it’s poisonous. Most of the make-up before scientists found out lead was poisonous had lead in it. You better be writing this stuff down.” Jenni saw the kids writing it down and she smiled. “May I continue?” Kelsey nodded and Jenni smiled.

“Other cosmetics used included colors for the lips, cheeks and nails. A type of clay called red ochre was ground and mixed with water, and applied to the lips and cheeks. Henna was used to dye the fingernails yellow and orange. Makeup was stored in special jars and the jars were stored in special makeup boxes. Women would carry their makeup boxes with them to parties and keep them under their chairs. You all know what henna is right?” Kids nodded their heads no. “In some cultures, henna dyes the skin brown to show a pattern, because henna is used in Indian culture, schools allow it because it’s part of their religion. I’d still keep it under your clothes just in case.”

“Hair styles were very similar to that of todays. The common folk wore their hair short. Young girls usually kept their hair in pigtails while boys had shaved heads, except for one braided lock worn to one side. Wigs were worn by both men and women. The wigs were made of sheep's wool or human hair for decoration and for protection from the heat. Wigs were usually worn at parties and official functions. Hair pieces were also added to real hair to enhance it. When not in use, wigs were stored in special boxes on a stand inside the home.

“Everyone in Egypt wore some type of jewelry. Rings and amulets were especially worn to ward off the evil spirits and injury. Both men and women wore pierced earrings, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. The rich wore jeweled or beaded collars, called a wesekh, necklaces, and pendants. For the rich, jewelry was made of gold, silver, or electrum, which is gold, mixed with silver, and inlaid with semi-precious stones of turquoise, lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone, and carnelian, a copper or reddish orange stone. The poorer people wore jewelry that was made of copper or faience, made by heating powdered quartz. If you look now, some men have at least one of their ears pierced. Most girls have their ears pierced and necklaces, bracelets, watches and anklets are still popular.” Her class checked their jewelry and she nodded.

“Egyptian clothing styles did not change much throughout ancient times. Clothes were usually made of linens ranging from coarse to fine texture. During the Old and Middle kingdoms, men usually wore a short skirt called a kilt. Women wore a straight fitting dress held up by straps. The wealthy men wore pleated kilts, and the older men wore a longer kilt. When doing hard work, men wore a loin cloth, and women wore a short skirt. Children usually ran around nude during the summer months, while in the winter, wraps and cloaks were worn. Noblewomen sometimes wore beaded dresses. I can see by your faces children running around nude sounds gross. How many of you have stripped your diaper off in public?” Jenni raised her hand, so did a few students. “See? It’s alright but don’t do it in public now. In fact if we were ancient Egyptians, most of you would be married by now.” The kids all went ‘EW!’ Jenni laughed.

“During the New Kingdom, noblemen would sometimes wear a long robe over his kilt, while the women wore long pleated dresses with a shawl. Some kings and queens wore decorative ceremonial clothing with feathers and sequins. Most people went barefoot, but wore sandals on special occasions. The king wore very elaborately decorated sandals and sometimes decorative gloves on his hands. Clothing styles were chosen for comfort in the hot, dry climate of Egypt. OK, we’re done with the clothing, now we’re going to learn about the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah.” Jenni was about to start when the class bell rang. “Darn! OK, we’ll learn about him tomorrow. Remember to bring your books and notebooks tomorrow. We’ll be very busy tomorrow.” Jenni waved her class away and she put her coat back on for the next class. Jenni did the same act with different questions in each class for seven hours… Well six if you don’t count her lunch break. During her lunch break her cell phone rang and she answered it. “Hello, Jenni Daley at your service.”

“Hey Jenni, it’s me Larry.” Jenni heard her brother through the phone.

“Larry Daley, how are you, how’s the job?” Jenni heard that her brother got the night guard job at the Museum of Natural History. She unpacked her lunch and started eating.

“Great! Listen, I would love to give you a tour of the museum at night if you want to.” Jenni smiled and looked at what she had to do for the evening.

“Can I bring some papers to grade? I have so much to do.” Jenni asked. She heard Larry grunt in agreement. “Good, I’ll bring dinner too.  How does your usual from Wendy’s sound?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you outside the museum at 7:00, OK?” Jenni mumbled an agreement as she took another bite of her leftover lasagna from last night. “Great! I’ll see you then, bye Jenni Lee!”

“See ya later Larry Bee!” Jenni hung up her cell phone and finished her lunch. She wondered what the museum would be like after dark.