Mr. Terupt Falls Again (11 page)

“C
lass meeting,” Mr. Terupt announced. Or maybe I should say ordered. Class meetings had always been favorites of mine. The meetings were a chance for us to share our ideas and concerns. But I wasn’t sure about this one. I knew Mr. Terupt would have plenty to say. Who could blame him after what Jeffrey did? Speaking of Jeffrey, he wasn’t there for this meeting. He was with Mrs. Williams, probably discussing his attack on that boy—a boy I recognized from the summer.

Mr. Terupt had rushed over and pulled Jeffrey off the boy, who stayed on the ground holding his bloody nose. Then Mr. Terupt led Jeffrey out into the hall and came back in without him in less than a minute. I didn’t see Jeffrey for the rest of the day.

The visiting teacher was next on the scene. Mrs. Stern
was her name, and stern was her game. One look at her and you knew she meant business. She was old and old-fashioned. I got the feeling she’d still rap you on the knuckles with a ruler. She was one of those teachers Grandma understood.

Mrs. Stern helped her student sit up, but didn’t bother showing him any sympathy.

“What did you say this time, Derek?”

“Nothin’,” Derek muttered. He cupped his hand under his nose, but I didn’t care if he was hurt. Derek was the jerk from the pool—the one who called me a whale.

Marty and Wendy took him down to the nurse to get cleaned up (Nurse Barton was good at that, as I would soon find out), and the rest of us continued with the first Exchange Day.

Mr. Terupt had told us that the projects would be bigger and better because we had gotten money from the state. He wasn’t lying. We had a marine biologist come to Snow Hill School to help us perform squid dissections as part of our oceanography unit.

Our art room was converted into a science lab. We crowded around the tables. I was so excited. I love animals—all kinds. I’ve been thinking about becoming a veterinarian.

Once we were all settled, the guest biologist, Squid Man, took charge. “Today you will be looking at squid. It’s very important that you listen and follow directions carefully. We want you to explore, but also learn.”

Squid Man said a few more things and then passed out the slimy creatures. Definitely not what I was expecting. A room full of squid has a very strong odor. It’s the kind of smell that can make some people nauseated. It didn’t bother
me. After being around cow poop all my life, I had become used to strong aromas.

“Teach, I’m not—”

That was all Lexie managed to say. The next thing out of her mouth was a stream of barf.

“Eww!” the visitor boys shouted. “Did you see that? The girl with the purple sweater just yakked everywhere.” They laughed and cheered and thought it was great.

I felt bad for Lexie but I’m pretty sure she smiled when she heard them mention her purple sweater.

“She ought to take some of that stuffing out of her sweater and clean herself up,” Luke whispered.

I looked at him, alarmed and embarrassed. I couldn’t talk about that sort of thing with a boy! I couldn’t talk about that sort of thing with anyone!

“What?” he said. “Lexie looks like a puffer fish. Any detective can tell she added some fake ones. I don’t know much about that sort of thing, but I do know they don’t grow like that overnight.”

I laughed.

“Do you think Lexie knows puffer fish inflate to scare off predators, not to attract mates?” Luke said.

I laughed again.

Lexie went to Nurse Barton’s. The rest of the dissection went smoothly. Mr. Terupt called for the class meeting as soon as our guests were gone.

We had our chairs arranged in a circle, and Mr. Terupt sat down with our microphone. He didn’t say a word. Peter held his hand out, and Mr. Terupt gave him the mike.

“Jeffrey wouldn’t just do that,” Peter said. “That kid had
it coming. I heard them laughing at you, Mr. T, and I’ll bet he said something, too.”

Anna went next. “I know fighting is wrong, but I think Peter’s right. Something happened that made Jeffrey do that.”

Then Luke took a turn. “Mr. Terupt, those boys started snickering and laughing when you stuttered. That’s probably when that boy said something. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Mr. Terupt was quick to say, taking the microphone. “Don’t start worrying about me.”

When he said that, I thought, Ignorance is bliss. Was this another one of those things an adult didn’t want us worrying about? Maybe Mr. Terupt wasn’t okay. First he stuttered; then, after he bent down and grabbed Jeffrey under the arms and pulled him up, Mr. Terupt stumbled. Jeffrey actually grabbed ahold of Mr. Terupt to keep him from tripping and falling. Did he just lose his balance or was he dizzy?

“Look, gang,” Mr. Terupt said. “I’m really proud of the way you’re sticking up for Jeffrey. I’m sure he was provoked. But even so, you can’t just lash out and attack others. It could cost you—big-time. You need to learn to handle those situations civilly. You need to always keep control, because to lose it could result in something you don’t intend.”

“Like a snowball,” Peter mumbled.

“Yes, like a snowball,” Mr. Terupt said. “I think you get my point.”

Later that day I arrived home with lots to talk about again, but that was no surprise to Grandma. I filled her in on the fight and the talk we had with Mr. Terupt.

“We’re tryin’ to keep it civil, but I don’t know how long that’s goin’ to last,” she said.

What was she talking about? My classroom, or something else? The man from our fields?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, nothin’. Here.” Grandma handed me the peeler and a bowl of potatoes. She grabbed a knife and started dicing up the potatoes she had already peeled. “It’s fine to get two different groups of people together, like the state is having your class do with this exchange program,” Grandma said, “but if the two sides aren’t ready to get along, then you’re just askin’ for trouble. You can’t force that sort of thing. And if you try to”—Grandma looked up from her potatoes and pointed her knife hand at me—“you’re gonna get violence.” She went back to dicing.

“What could possibly be so hard for people to talk about?” I asked.

“When it gets personal,” Grandma said. And then she mumbled something, but I couldn’t hear her.

“What did you say?” I asked. I wasn’t sure, but I thought she might have said “land.”

“Pass me those potatoes you’ve peeled.” Grandma was quick to move past that part of our conversation.

Dear God
,

First, let me say thanks. You sure gave that Derek kid a lesson today. I knew you’d get him for me, I just didn’t expect to get to see it. That was great! Forgive me for saying that
.

God, I suppose ignorance can be bliss, but not if you aren’t
ignorant, and I’m not. Suddenly I’ve got more to worry about. Is Mr. Terupt really okay? And is this man-from-our-fields thing going to get violent? Does it have something to do with land? Are you helping me find answers, or just giving me more questions? I need your help, please. Also, I think you better keep an eye on Lexie. Her so-called wardrobe research was a little over the top, on top, today. Amen
.

I
got that kid good before I was pulled off him. He thought he could run his mouth in our room. I wasn’t gonna sit there and let him crack those jokes. I wouldn’t change a thing about what I did. I’d do it all again.

“Jeffrey, what happened?” Mrs. Williams had me in her office. She was fishin’ for answers. “What made you lash out like that?”

I stared at the floor. “He was makin’ fun of Terupt. Said he was a retard.”

“I know how angry that must have made you, but you can’t react like that. You’ve got to control yourself.”

Mrs. Williams didn’t know how angry that kid made me. She knew I was sensitive about Terupt, like everybody else in my class, and she probably figured I was sensitive to the “retard” comment because of our work with the Collaborative
Classroom last year (which was true), but she knew nothing about Michael, the part of me that was most sensitive to that kid’s mouth. She’d never know. But I nodded.

“You know there has to be a consequence.”

I nodded again.

“Our school policy is that you must serve a three-day out-of-school suspension for something like this,” Mrs. Williams said.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that suspension would turn out to be a blessing.

I
might not be as good as Luke when it comes to observations, but I don’t miss much. Lexie was different. Maybe our exchange guests didn’t take notice of her chest, but I sure did. And I know Mr. Terupt did too. Same for all our boys. Peter was bug-eyed from the moment he spotted her. Here I was, always being nice and helpful, and yet I was still invisible. He was more interested in the girl who teased him. The good news was, Lexie got sick so she didn’t get to parade around in her new look for very long.

Jessica, Danielle, and I never got around to talking about Lexie because of what happened with Jeffrey and the kid, but I know Mr. Terupt noticed Lexie’s other changes, too—like her lipstick and everything-is-chill attitude. So after her stuffed bra, and maybe because of that unbelievable day, Mr. Terupt decided it was time to talk to Lexie.

“Hey, Lex,” I heard him say. “I’d like you to hang out for a few minutes after school today so we can talk.”

“Gee, Teach. I’d love to, but like, I got someplace I need to be right after school.”

“I just need a few minutes, Lex. I’m sure whatever you need to do can wait those few minutes. Don’t you think?”

I was waiting for Mom to pick me up after school. Jeffrey was at home serving his suspension so I was going to the center by myself. As it turned out, Mom just happened to be running a few minutes late that day, so I was still there when Mr. Terupt started talking to Lexie.

“Lex, what’s up these days? I notice you’ve replaced the lip gloss with lipstick, the boas with scarves, you have new clothes and new words, and now you’re in a big hurry to get out of here after school every day. Where’ve you been going?”

Lexie shrugged. “Nowhere,” she said.

Lie, I thought. She wasn’t looking at Mr. Terupt.

I didn’t get to hear any more of their talk. Mr. Terupt knew I was eavesdropping and he gave me a look. I moved to the other side of the room, away from them. I stood looking out the windows, waiting for my mom. Lexie ended up leaving before me.

“Anna,” Mr. Terupt said, after I spotted Mom and turned to go. “Lexie’s your friend.”

“Yes,” I said. But he didn’t say anything else. Ms. Newberry walked into our classroom just then, so I left with a smile, but I was wondering why Mr. Terupt had said that to me.

After our visit to the center that afternoon, Mom decided
to drive home a different way. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“Home, but I thought we’d take the scenic route,” she said.

What a lucky coincidence that turned out to be. We turned down Old Woods Road and went for a while before passing a run-down, abandoned house. And what did I see lying on the ground next to that old house’s front porch?

Lexie’s bike.