Mr. Terupt Falls Again (13 page)

T
hings weren’t great. I had this grand plan to fail sixth grade, but the truth was, I didn’t think it was going to work. Dad had already scheduled an interview with the admissions office at Riverway without even asking me about it. I’d have to attend that next month. And Mr. T wasn’t bothered by my lack of work. My time with him was slipping away, and I felt like I had no control over it. I felt sorry for myself, and because of that I didn’t care—about anything. That was why I raced down the halls on that cart ignoring Danielle’s pleas to stop, because what did it matter?

I cruised down the baby slope near the library with no problems. It was fun. Danielle tried to stop me from racing down the steep ramp.

Her words just motivated me to go even faster. I took off with a running start. I didn’t want what my father wanted.
I didn’t want to listen to anyone. Danielle was the one with me in the hall, but my father was the person I pictured in my head. I tore down that ramp until the cord caught in the wheel, then everything slammed to a halt. I catapulted right over the top of the cart.

I found out that Mrs. Williams is one tough woman. I flattened her when I came tumbling down the corridor. The collision was so violent I didn’t even realize who I’d crashed into at first. Once I came to a stop, I sat up and the first thing I saw was Mrs. Williams’s underwear—again. I only saw them for a second because Mrs. Williams recovered quickly. She just got up and rubbed it off like a professional football player. But I couldn’t shake the image of her underwear from my head. They looked like something Lexie would wear. Then I realized Mrs. Williams was staring at my pants. Probably to see if I’d wet myself again. How embarrassing. To her surprise, I could tell by her raised eyebrows, I was dry. She should have checked
my
underwear. What was she going to do to me?

“Well, Peter, I’m happy to see you’re having fun again,” she said. That was it. Then she walked up the ramp. The only other time I remember being that shocked by a teacher’s response was last year when Mr. T told me to tie a knot in my you-know-what after I kept sneaking out to the bathroom.

After the shock wore off, I got to thinking that maybe Mrs. Williams hadn’t yelled at me because she felt bad for me. That was not what I needed. If that was how she and Mr. T felt, then they’d never fail me. My plan wasn’t going to work. I didn’t know what to do.

F
ADE IN: LS of the classroom. We see the desks arranged in a big U shape with the cart holding the LCD projector stationed in the middle. MS. NEWBERRY’s class is spread out on the floor while MS. NEWBERRY sits next to MR. TERUPT and MRS. WILLIAMS along the side of the room. MR. TERUPT and LUKE walk to the cart. It’s LUKE’s turn to present. He is the last to go
.

MR. TERUPT gives LUKE a high five
.

CUT TO: CU of slide #1—THE SCIENCE BEHIND LOVE

CUT TO: LS of the classroom. We see LUKE from behind, standing next to the cart. We can see past him to the screen, and we see everyone else sitting around the room, watching his presentation. Some of MS. NEWBERRY’S STUDENTS are giggling. They can’t handle LUKE’S topic. They’re not mature enough
.

CUT TO: CU of LUKE. He’s straight-faced, all business and completely serious about his presentation
.

CUT TO: Next slide. We see images that depict the five senses—eyes, ears, nose, lips, and skin
.

CUT TO: MS of various students in the audience. The camera moves from one area to the next, spanning the classroom. We see boys blowing pretend kisses, girls poofing their hair and batting their eyes
.

CUT TO: Next slide. We see pictures of various butterflies
.

CUT TO: Next slide. We see one ugly monkey, a red bird, and a green lizard
.

CUT TO: Next slide. We see a spider
.

LUKE’s spider story gets a big reaction. We hear exclamations of “Awesome!” “Wicked!” “Eww!” “Whoa!”

CUT TO: Next slide. We see a picture of a man and woman getting married
.

CUT TO: MS of LUKE as he pulls a small package from his pocket. LUKE walks over to MS. NEWBERRY and hands her the box
.

MS. NEWBERRY smiles at LUKE and tilts her head in a playful gesture. She begins opening the box. She gasps. Slowly, she looks up and MR. TERUPT gets down on his knee in front of her
.

THEY embrace
.

FADE OUT
.

W
inter had arrived. It was bitter cold and frost covered the ground most mornings. Lexie stopped riding her bike to school and started taking the bus instead. So I didn’t think it was important to tell Mr. Terupt about seeing her bike at the abandoned house. But Lexie kept changing.

It wasn’t just lipstick anymore, but eyeliner and bling, too. She called her jewelry “bling.” And she had other new words. Things were suddenly “sick” and “nasty,” which in her world, meant the best—or in her new words, “the bomb.” She thought her outfits were “sick.” She thought her “fresh” look was something special. At least, that was the feeling I was starting to get. She had a new attitude with her new everything else. It scared me because I didn’t like it. I was beginning to wonder if the old, mean Lexie was on her way back. I hoped not.

Even though we were done with our PowerPoints, Jeffrey and I kept visiting the center. Jeffrey so he could see Asher, and Mom and me because we liked volunteering our time with the patients. After dropping Jeffrey off at home one night, I asked Mom to try that scenic route again. With all of Lexie’s changing, I needed to see if she was still hanging around that abandoned house, even though I had no idea what being there meant.

As we neared the house on Old Woods Road, a black car came barreling from the driveway and fishtailed onto the road in front of us. As it sped by in the opposite direction, I caught a glimpse of Lexie in the backseat. She wasn’t smiling or laughing. She looked scared.

“Lexie’s your friend,” Mr. Terupt had reminded me. I didn’t know why at the time, but it was clear to me now. A friend’s help was what she needed. Mr. Terupt didn’t want me to be afraid to tell on her. It was the right thing to do. It was what Lexie needed me to do, and what any good friend would do.

The next day Jeffrey and I sat waiting for Mom after school. We were on our way to the center again. But then the unexpected happened.

“Anna, your mother just called,” Mr. Terupt said, hanging up the classroom phone. “She has to stay late at work today so she can’t make it.”

“Ugh,” Jeffrey said.

“Don’t worry. Ms. Newberry and I are going to take you guys instead. I’ve been wanting to see Asher anyway, so now I have the perfect reason.”

“Awesome!” Jeffrey cheered. “Terupt and Newberry save the day.”

Jeffrey and I climbed into the back of Ms. Newberry’s car. She drove while Mr. Terupt rode shotgun. I clicked my seat belt, and that was when it hit me. Here was my chance to be a friend. I knew Jeffrey really wanted to see Asher, but this was a one-time opportunity. I didn’t have to tell on Lexie; I was going to bring help to her instead. This was the sneakiest thing I’d ever done. My heart beat faster. My mouth went dry and my hands felt all sweaty.

“Ms. Newberry, could we take the scenic route, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure, that sounds nice,” Ms. Newberry said.

Mr. Terupt smiled and Jeffrey gave me a weird look but I didn’t say anything. We turned down Old Woods Road and approached the abandoned house.

“That’s it,” I said, pointing ahead to the place.

“What?” Mr. Terupt asked.

“That’s it! Pull over!”

“Anna, what are you talking about?”

“That’s where Lexie’s been going.” I pointed again. “Pull over.”

Ms. Newberry stopped on the side of the road in front of the house. What now? I thought. Mr. Terupt leaned over and honked the car horn. Then he got out and yelled.

“Alexia! It’s Teach!”

I got out with him. The ground was barely white, but we could see our breath. Mr. Terupt reached in and honked the horn again.

“Alexia!” he yelled.

“Lexie!” I yelled.

She came bursting out the front, jumped off the porch, and ran to Mr. Terupt. She was crying. Sobbing.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. She buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s okay,” he said. “We’re here now.”

I felt really bad for Lexie. What had she been doing that had her so upset? I walked over and held her with Mr. Terupt. It was just like last year in Mr. Terupt’s hospital room when Lexie went from bad to good. I felt a warmth in my heart with this hug, too, but it didn’t last as long because that black car came barreling from around the back of the falling-down house. There were several older-looking kids in the car. The boy driver stuck his middle finger up at Mr. Terupt and then fishtailed onto the road and sped away.

What was Lexie doing with those kids?