Mr. Terupt Falls Again

by Rob Buyea

  june

  I sat on that stage at graduation looking out at all the people. I had a family sitting down in the audience. It’s hard to explain how much that meant to me. Last year, I wouldn’t have been able to say that. I spent time in a silent house with a mom and dad who barely spoke to each other or to me. I know what I’ve got now, and I don’t ever want to lose it.

  Asher is already ten months old. He’s crawling all over the place, and he can stand up when he has something to grab on to. I’ve been teaching him a wrestling stance. He’s got a good one.

  Dad and I had such a good time building the bookcase that we’ve decided to tackle another project together. This one is a little bigger.

  After Michael passed away Mom couldn’t stand to see his empty bedroom. Closing the door didn’t help. His room was still there, haunting her. I don’t think Dad and I liked it any better. So we moved to a house with one less bedroom, but now we have a need of another—Asher’s. Dad and I are going to build it. We’re making our house a home.

  Some people say that when you have a brush with death, or if someone you care for deeply has a brush with death, then that can lead you to finding God. I’d known God for a long time, but I won’t deny that Grandma’s close call brought me even closer to Him. Everything around me took on a religious feel.

  Take Peter, for example. He was Moses. Moses was royalty and chose to join the slaves. Didn’t Peter do that when we read The Whipping Boy? Yes. He was one of our angels. And so was Luke, for helping my grandmother. And Mr. Terupt. And Anna, for also helping Grandma—in many ways. And Jeffrey, for saving Asher. Angels were all around us and among us. Jessica was the next one I spotted.

  She stood at the podium as our class orator. Every year, at graduation ceremonies across the land, select students gave talks about their memories and words of encouragement for the future. Each of the sixth-grade classes at Snow Hill School chose such a speaker. We couldn’t have picked a better person from our class than Jessica.

  “I titled my speech Time with Mr. Terupt,” she said.

  But what I heard was, “A reading from the Gospel according to Mr. Terupt.” That was how special I knew her words were going to be, and everyone else in the audience knew it too.

  Dear God,

  Thank you! I’m praying just to give thanks—for surrounding me with such wonderful people. I can see all the angels now. Also for giving me Grandma back. But you’ve done more than that. I can see now that one of my longtime prayers is being answered. Graduation is sort of a big deal—even for sixth graders, so that means dressing up. When I went to put on my favorite pair of dress pants I couldn’t believe it. Another pair of high-waters. Once dress pants, now capris. And they were loose around my waist! “You’ll thin out,” Mom has always told me. I guess it’s time. Maybe this period thing isn’t all bad after all. Thank you. Amen.

  FADE IN: SIXTH-GRADE GRADUATION. Rows of chairs line the gymnasium floor, none empty. People stand against the padded walls along the sides and back of the room. Large industrial-sized fans are stationed by the doors and help circulate air through the crowd on this hot and sticky afternoon. All sixth graders sit in folding chairs on the stage, arranged in alphabetical order by last name. MRS. WILLIAMS sits with the graduates, and the teachers sit off to the side. There is a podium for each speaker to use and there are balloons tied in various locations all around the room. Parents, relatives, and friends are in attendance, many of them with bunches of flowers to give to their special student.

  CUT TO: JESSICA standing at the podium. She opens her speech and presses it flat, running her hand over the crease. Her eyes survey the audience.

  JESSICA VO

  Long ago my father taught me a trick for whenever you found yourself standing in front of a large group of people. This trick was important in his line of work as a play director—he passed it on to many of his actors. It was a way to rid a person of stage fright. As I looked out over the sea of people before me, I pictured them all naked. That’s it—that’s the trick. And it works! Once all those people in front of you are naked they look pretty ridiculous, and then talking to them is a cinch. The only problem I had was that all the people in the audience were parents and grandparents—it was a tad gross seeing all these old farts (as Peter would say) naked.

  JESSICA gives a small, I-see-you smile. Then she takes a deep breath and begins.

  JESSICA

  In our class, we recently had an experience with a book titled The Whipping Boy. All schools try very hard to make everything in their classrooms fair. I wonder, do young people grow up expecting life to be the same? One of the things our teacher, Mr. Terupt, made apparent for us while reading The Whipping Boy is that life is not always fair. If we remind ourselves of all that we’ve been through in the past two years, then we find other examples proving the same point. We’ve learned how to combat unfairness in life by spreading goodness, and to act when we see something that’s not right.

  Those of us who became royalty during our Whipping Boy experience did not feel good about the treatment our peasant friends received. In fact, in many ways it was easier to be an angry peasant than it was to be guilty royalty. Staying quiet and allowing unjust situations to occur is as bad as creating them.

  In my time at Snow Hill School, I’ve grown to believe that things happen for a reason. And though I am not always able to identify those reasons, still I hold on to this belief. Most kids move through life without experiencing what we’ve encountered over the past two years. That’s what makes us special. We are moving on to the next chapter in our lives, with experiences beyond our years. These experiences make us unique, they’ve happened for a reason, and I think one of those reasons is so we can go forward and try to do for others what our teachers have done for us.

  I will never forget my time here, and I know you won’t either. Thank you.

  JESSICA looks out over the audience. We see people throughout the gym beginning to stand as the room fills with applause. JESSICA smiles and gives a small wave, then returns to her seat. MR. TERUPT is there and gives her a hug before she sits down.

  MR. TERUPT

  (whispering in Jessica’s ear)

  You were terrific.

  JESSICA

  So were you.

  MRS. WILLIAMS stands and walks to the podium. JESSICA and MR. TERUPT sit. The audience grows quiet again and MRS. WILLIAMS continues with the ceremony.

  MRS. WILLIAMS

  Thank you to each of our class orators. Your speeches were beautiful. You’ve left no doubt about why you were chosen to speak. Your words will not be forgotten. Thank you.

  Before we conclude our ceremony we have one last presentation. Each year a committee of Snow Hill School faculty and staff convene to select one student to receive the Snow Hill School Prize. This is an award given to a graduating sixth grader who has made an everlasting mark on our school. This year the award is being given to a student who we feel has bettered herself, has bettered the people around her, and whose quiet presence has graced Snow Hill School. This year’s Snow Hill School Prize is awarded to Anna Adams.

  Once again, we see everyone in the gymnasium rise to their feet in applause—this time for ANNA. ANNA walks to the podium and gives MRS. WILLIAMS a ginormous hug. Then she turns and gives MR. TERUPT an even bigger one.

  JESSICA VO

  Isn’t it funny that all of us—meaning his students—would say Mr. Terupt has made the magic. But Mr. Terupt would say it’s us, his students, who have done the amazing work. I feel so good inside to see Anna getting this award, and by the sound of the applause and wild cheering, I know everyone else feels exactly the same.

  FADE OUT.

  As I sat on the stage at graduation and watched Anna win the Snow Hill School Prize, I remembered the time Peter won the homework pass for having correctly estimated the number of links in our final paper chain. I wanted to kill him after that, especially for the way he rubbed it in my face.

  But I didn’t feel like th
at with Anna. For the first time in my life I was happy to see someone else win. Okay, maybe a tiny piece of me did wish it was me getting the award, but I really did feel very happy for Anna. She’s the sweetest person I know. She didn’t even want to harm her plant last year during our science unit, never mind ever hurt another person. Anna was a great pick for the prize.

  Once the ceremony was complete, my mind immediately moved to the next big event. We were now in the final phase before the wedding. I was anxious to test my last hypothesis. And this was a one-shot deal. We weren’t retesting.

  Hypothesis

  —If all goes as planned, then there will be a wonderful wedding and terrific ending.

  Detective Luke

  After graduation, there was a big outdoor reception with drinks and little snacks. It was a time for people to talk and celebrate and congratulate the graduates, but the only person I wanted to talk to was my father.

  My mom and dad both made it for my graduation. As busy as they always were, they never missed the big events. Miss Catalina was also present, and my brother, Richard. He was home from school for the summer.

  We sat under a tent, drinking lemonade and iced tea and eating cookies.

  “Well, Pete,” Richard said, “now that you’re done with this dump, you get to go to Riverway.” Richard’s always been a moron, but you couldn’t blame him much this time since he’d been away at school. How was he supposed to know I loved Snow Hill School and didn’t want to go to Riverway?

  That’s right—I had made my mind up. I’d been back and forth about the decision, thinking I needed to fail to be with Mr. T, but now I knew I didn’t want to flunk sixth grade. But I did want to stay in Snow Hill because I wanted to be with my friends.

  “I won’t be going to Riverway,” I said.

  “What?!” Richard yelped. He almost choked on his cookie.

  “I don’t want to go to Riverway. I want to stay here with my friends.”

  “Pete, you’ll make new friends at Riverway. I worried about the same thing. Trust me, you’ll love it way more than any local junior high school,” Richard said. “And way more than this dump.”

  “Stop calling it that!” I snapped. “This place isn’t a dump. And the friends I’ve made here aren’t the kind of friends you just let go. We’ve been through way too much together.”

  “Pete—”

  “That’s enough, Richard,” my father said. “Listen to your brother for once—I finally did.” Dad looked at me. “This does not come as a surprise to your mother and me,” he said. “Once we started paying attention we saw that your friendships here definitely are special. We understand why you don’t want to leave.”

  “You do?!” I was shocked. I never expected my mother or my father to understand. Sure, they’d given me time to think about my decision, but not in a million years did I think they’d be okay with me not choosing Riverway. My plan to fail had failed, but things were working out. I was going to move on with my friends. I was relieved to know I’d be with Luke and Jeffrey, and everyone else—even Lexie and her unique wardrobe, her fast moves and salty tongue, and her rotten farts that I’d somehow get blamed for.

  Last year I suddenly felt way lighter when Mr. T took the weight of the accident off my shoulders with his hug. This year my father made me feel that all over again when he told me I could stay.

  The only thing left for me to do now was throw one heck of a party for Mr. T and Ms. Newberry.

  It was close to wedding time. Mom was in the school kitchen with Vincent, putting the final touches on some of the hors d’oeuvres and prepping the main dishes. I planned to help, but I wanted to see Teach and Ms. Newberry get married first. I was so anxious. Maybe that was why I had to pee again—out of excitement.

  “Danielle, I’ve got to use the bathroom. C’mon.”

  “Again?!” she said.

  Danielle was nervous and excited too. She needed to keep busy, so I made her come with me. I sat on the toilet while Danielle waited by the sinks. When I finished I bent forward to pull my underwear back up and saw the red spot. I jumped off the toilet.

  “I got it!” I yelled. “I got it! Thank you, Margaret.”

  “Got what?” Danielle asked from outside my stall. “Who’s Margaret?”

  I fixed my dress and rushed out. “My period,” I said. “I just got my period!”

  Danielle gave me a big hug. “Congratulations,” she said. “You’re officially a woman, though I think you’ve been one for a long while already.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I stepped back and looked at her. “I hope my period does for me what it’s done for you. I know there are all kinds of changes that come along with it.”

  Danielle smiled. I hoped my words sounded nice, because I sure meant them that way. Danielle was totally getting taller and thinner.

  “Thanks, Lexie,” Danielle said. “You don’t need your period to look great, though. You’re already beautiful. You always have been.”

  We hugged again, but this time I was crying. Maybe it was my period making me emotional.

  “I need to put a pad on,” I said, suddenly realizing I forgot to do that in the stall. I’d been too excited.

  “You have one?” Danielle asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.” I pulled a pad out of my purse and held it up, smiling. Mine was your normal winged pad, not one of those crazy old-fashioned things that Margaret mentioned where you had to wear a belt.

  Once I was all situated, we left the bathroom and headed back outside. The wedding was ready to start any minute. We hurried across the grass. Before we got to our seats, I stopped Danielle.

  “Do these look bigger now?” I asked her, readjusting my top.

  I didn’t see Peter coming until he was right next to us. He must have been on his way back from the boys’ bathroom.

  “Nah,” he said. “They still look like a couple of mosquito bites.”

  I slugged him good in the arm, and then all three of us were laughing.

  The music for the ceremony started, so we hurried to our seats. I was going to miss Teach a lot. I already did. But I was so happy to have my friends going with me to seventh grade, even Peter—especially Peter. I loved picking on him. And he definitely needed more kissing practice.

  I was ready for next year. Look out, future, I’m a woman now!

  The weather was perfect. The wedding was perfect. Mom and Grandma cried through the ceremony, and so did Mrs. Williams. Ms. Newberry looked gorgeous in her wedding dress. She and Mr. Terupt looked so happy, and so in love. Anna and I squeezed each other in a big hug after Mr. Terupt kissed his bride.

  The food Lexie’s mother and Vincent cooked (with Lexie’s help) was delicious. The flowers and centerpieces were beautiful, and Peter did an unbelievable job DJing. The temporary dance floor that Luke wanted stayed busy all afternoon and into the evening. But my favorite part of the reception was the wedding cake. Grandma made it. She had made wedding cakes for friends before, so she insisted on making this one despite all our objections. We were concerned she was doing too much too soon after her heart attack, but she wouldn’t hear it. You know what they say—if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. So I did. I helped her make it. Grandma mixed in some spices that bit you when you took a taste. According to Grandma, this was the cake’s way of making sure you were paying attention before the moistness and sweet flavors took over your mouth. It was a tower cake with bride and groom cows on the top. That was the only decoration piece Grandma could find in the house, so that was what we used. I liked it. I knew it would make Mr. and Mrs. Terupt smile, too.

  Grandma and I found a way to talk about the land struggle in a calm manner while we made the wedding cake. As far as Grandma could tell, “and your grandfather would tell you the same,” she said, “this land dispute looks like it’s going to be in the hands of lawyers for years. That’s great for your grandfather and me, but that’s never been our concern. We just want to make sure
the family’s going to be okay after we’re gone.”

  “We will be,” I said.

  “I know you will, and so does your grandfather. You’re growing into a strong young woman, much tougher and wiser than I ever was at your age,” Grandma said. “We know you’ll be able to handle yourself.”

  I smiled. There wasn’t anything that made me feel as good as Grandma’s praise. Thank you for giving her back to us, God. I might be tough, but I’m not ready to live without her yet.

  “And Charlie’s got himself a wonderful woman now. He ought to be the next getting married,” Grandma said.

  I smiled even bigger. I couldn’t wait to tell Anna what Grandma had said.

  Dear God,

  I know I need to trust you. That’s what faith is all about. Grandma and I figure her doctor being Native American is your way of telling us that they aren’t bad people. Please forgive me for thinking all those terrible things without knowing anything about them. Grandma’s right, Charlie and I will be able to handle ourselves. I trust you. Amen.

  It wasn’t just the way Mr. Terupt looked at Ms. Newberry, but the way she looked at him too. They had a way of saying “I love you” with their eyes. And that was exactly what they were saying while holding each other’s hands and gaze during their vows. Mr. Terupt gave Ms. Newberry a very romantic kiss and then they were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Terupt.

  Danielle and I gave each other a big hug. There were hugs and handshakes going on all around us. Then it was time for the reception. Danielle and I couldn’t wait—we had a secret plan up our sleeves.

  I had never won anything before the Snow Hill School Prize. To be honest, I still can’t believe I won it. I remember hugging Mr. Terupt after receiving the award.