This thesis explores the place of stories in high school English Language Arts classrooms, in Alberta, in 2012. Amidst discourses of individual program planning, personalization and standardized assessment, I reflect on encountering traumatic texts with students. In the discussion, I queer(y) an amended Alberta Human Rights Act that provides parents with the right to "opt" their children out of classroom discussions of "sexuality, sexual orientation and religion". Through an interweaving of hermeneutic, narrative and arts-based approaches I imagine a story of school that includes all students, opens up conversations and works towards the possibility of a collective life on this planet. In other words, I imagine a story of public schooling that might be "other"wise. My work as a teacher, and this reflection, is ongoing.