Saving Mr. Terupt

by Robert W. Buyea

  Later that night I was sitting in our dorm room, writing down everything we had learned.

  “If you write it down, then you’ll have a better chance of remembering it when wrestling season rolls around, which is when you want to be able to execute all of those new moves,” Coach Terupt had said.

  I was midsentence when all of a sudden there was this big ruckus out in the hall. I wasn’t going to get involved. But then I heard Matt yelling and Peter calling my name.

  I hurried over to our door and yanked it open. Peter dove inside our room. I saw Matt hot on his tail, charging after him like an angry bull. You could hear the water squishing and sloshing about in his sneakers with every step he took. I slammed our door and locked it just in time. A barrage of fists rattled on the other side.

  “You twerps can run, but you can’t hide,” Matt warned.

  I turned to Peter. “What’d you do?”

  “Dumped a little water in his room.”

  “It must’ve been a lot of water,” I said. “Matt’s soaking wet.”

  Peter grinned from ear to ear. “Really?”

  “Yeah, and now you’ve got me involved. I didn’t sign up to be your bodyguard.”

  “I didn’t want you missing out on all the fun, that’s all.”

  Thanks to Peter’s shenanigans, the back-door move we’d learned in practice wasn’t the only one we had to perfect. Matt and Josh were determined to get us, so the next day, we snuck out the back door of the dorm, in and out of the gym, and into the dining hall. Those two dummies hadn’t caught on, and I was beginning to think we would survive the rest of camp without facing them, but then Peter had a brain fart and forgot to use our secret exit after lunch. Matt was there to grab him as soon as he walked out of the building.

  I wanted to kill Peter for involving me, but I couldn’t leave my friend hanging in that position. And he was hanging—by his underwear! There was a crowd of onlookers pointing and snickering at the sight. I wondered which was hurting Peter more, his pride or his crack. I give him credit, though—he might have been grimacing, but he wasn’t squealing. The squeals came from all the field hockey girls after I hit my best move of the week: I ran over and yanked Matt’s shorts all the way down to his ankles! For such a tough guy, he sure sported girlie boxers—there were hearts all over them. Peter fell to the ground, and we took off. Matt tried chasing after us, but he tripped on his shorts and face-planted. The place erupted in laughter.

  The rest of camp went without incident. Even though Peter and I were the youngest kids there, Matt and Josh knew not to mess with us. We packed a solid one-two punch.

  Camp was definitely the best part of my summer, full of crazy memories (thanks to Peter) and tons of new techniques that I couldn’t wait to try. I was going to score a lot of takedowns with my new back-door finishes. I was ready for seventh grade and a new phase of my life as I entered junior high. Of course, I also wanted to catch up with everyone else. Peter was the only one I’d seen since the end of sixth grade. I wondered how Luke’s summer had gone and how Jessica and Lexie and Danielle were doing—and Anna, especially. I was excited to tell her everything that my baby brother could do now.

  Asher was nearing his first birthday. My family decided we’d celebrate it on the day I found him abandoned by the side of the road. Not only was he now pulling himself to his feet more and more, and getting better and better at his wrestling stance, but he was also beginning to say a few words. He could say Dada and Mama, and Jeffrey came out as “Ree.”

  He liked to stand at our sliding door and bang his hands on it. His fingerprints were all over the glass. But there was one afternoon when I was with him that he stopped in the middle of his drumming and pointed outside. “My-my.” I looked to see what he was pointing at. There was nothing out there, but he kept gesturing toward the old oak tree with its tire swing gently swaying in the breeze. “My-my.”

  I had no idea what he was trying to say. Maybe Anna would be able to help me figure it out.

  Dear Journal,

  Mr. Terupt gave you to me at the end of the year. I’ve never had a better journal. Your cover is made of fine Moroccan leather. Not soft leather—rather, you feel like a hardback book. However, you don’t open and close like a novel. Instead, your cover wraps all the way around, and where you meet, you fall together, one end on top of the other, and click shut. There’s a hidden magnetic element inside your Moroccan leather, and it keeps you closed until I decide to pull you open again. Luke would be able to explain the science behind it, but I’m content thinking of you as simply holding hands when you fall shut.

  While your outside is wonderful, it’s your inside that is important. You’re filled with off-white, delicately lined pages.

  “Instead of giving you another book to read, I thought it was time you were given something to fill with your own words,” Mr. Terupt said when he handed you to me. “You’ll figure out how to use it.”

  I take you with me everywhere. I want to keep you close by always, since I never know when I’m going to be inspired to write. I’m not certain I’ve figured out how to use you yet, so in the meantime, I’ve decided just to keep you in the loop.

  Presently, I’m at theater camp. I’m actually here with Lexie. After seeing how much she liked dressing up and putting on a show last year, I decided to ask her to come with me. I thought she’d really like it. I was right. We’re having a blast, and it’s fun being here with a friend. Tomorrow we’re going to be given a setting and characters and some sort of conflict, and then we’ll have the rest of the week to create a play and costumes and props based on that information. We get to share our production on the last day. I’m quite excited, as is Lexie. I’m sure she’s having visions of herself all done up as the lead actress, stealing the show.

  That’s about it for now. I’ll let you know how camp turns out, and I’ll certainly have plenty to tell you about seventh grade—our year without Mr. Terupt. That sounds incredibly sad, and I like happy endings, so I’ll have to figure something out.

  Love,

  Jessica

  P.S. I forgot to mention, the students at theater camp who demonstrate the best talent in writing, acting, set design, and costume design will receive a special invitation to attend a weekend retreat in New York City at a time yet to be announced. The retreat is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with professionals to create and perform a short production, opening for an off-Broadway show—in an actual theater! I have no doubt Lexie will get in—she’s a natural onstage. I’m desperately hoping for an invitation. I haven’t wanted anything this badly since Mr. Terupt lay in his coma.

  Fingers crossed,

  Jessica

  School isn’t the sort of thing you get excited about, unless you’re in Teach’s class, but like, school shopping—that’s a whole different story. And like, oh my God, this year was even better because I got the girls to go with me—to the mall! Our moms came too, but we convinced them to let us do our thing. We agreed to meet them at the food court after two hours. The other girls were each given some money, and then we were off.

  I’d spent all summer working with Mom at the restaurant, so I had my own money to burn. I’d been saving up just for this occasion. I had some things I needed. The only week of work I’d missed was when I went with Jessica to theater camp, which turned out to be totally awesome, by the way. Like, I rocked the party games, and we killed on our final production, so there was no way we weren’t getting invited to that special weekend retreat-thingy that Jessica was dying to attend. But this shopping trip was the retreat I’d been most looking forward to.

  Being the expert in this arena that I am, I took charge from the start. Our first stop was at a small boutique specializing in accessories. Teach had given me the most charming ankle bracelet as a parting gift at the end of sixth grade. Teach knows how to dress and all, but like, I was still shocked that he could pick out such a stylish piece of jewelry. I had to ask him, “Teach, did your better half help you pic
k this out?”

  “Maybe. Why? Would it surprise you if I said no?”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  We laughed, and then I told him, “Thank you. I love it.”

  I planned to wear it a lot, which was why we had to hit the boutique. I was able to find a set of dazzling charms to put on it. Jessica found a necklace, Danielle got a ring, and Anna a pair of earrings. I also bought some sweet nail polish. Pink, of course—my favorite. I always dazzle in pink. We were off to a good start.

  After the boutique, we went looking for pants and shirts, and let me just say, it’s a good thing I was with the girls. They were picking tops that were so last year. I took over and found us several cute outfits. Then it was time for our most important stop.

  “Lexie, what do we need to go in there for?” Anna asked. Her face was already as red as some of the apparel, and we weren’t even inside the store yet.

  “We’ll just look,” I said. “C’mon. It’ll be fun.”

  “I’m not sure my mother would want me in there, Lexie,” Danielle said.

  “She won’t find out if you don’t tell her. And you can pray for forgiveness later.”

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  “Victoria’s Secret girls are called angels, Danielle. Not devils. Now, c’mon.”

  “Maybe you should go without us,” Anna said.

  “Oh my God! Seriously?! Can you guys stop being such babies?”

  “Calm down,” Jessica said, stepping forward. “We’ll go with you, Lex, but we’re going to make it quick.”

  Danielle and Anna looked alarmed, but Jessica only shrugged. I wasn’t waiting for any more objections. I led the way, and my nervous Nellies followed. Seconds later, we were inside Victoria’s Secret and surrounded by the most beautiful lacy nightgowns and lingerie I’d ever seen. I didn’t have enough money for any of it, but it didn’t hurt to look. Tell that to the girls, though. They huddled together, acting as if looking or touching could kill you—Jessica included. In the back of the store, we found the area I was searching for—bras and underwear. I couldn’t believe I’d gone through such trouble to make myself look endowed last year when Victoria’s Secret had done all the work for me. There must’ve been five different mannequins, each wearing a different style push-up bra. They had one that made you look two cups bigger just by putting it on.

  “Can I help you?” a young store worker asked, startling us. She was talking to Danielle. “We have a special one-day sale today,” she said. “Buy one get one free.”

  That was all I needed to hear. Jessica and Anna slunk away as fast as they could and went and stood over by the lotions and perfumes, but I started shopping. These bras were pricey, but with the sale we could pool our money and it wouldn’t be that bad. While Danielle was getting fitted, I browsed through the selection and picked out two different styles. I held one against my body and spun around to look in the mirror. I found Jessica and Anna right behind me, staring at my reflection.

  “What do you think?” I asked them.

  “It’s perfect,” Jessica said. “Listen, Lex.” She was talking in a hushed voice now. “Do you think you could help us find one, too?”

  “Yeah!” I squealed. I couldn’t contain my excitement. We were going to be bra buddies. All eyes in the store turned to us. I still had the one in my hand pressed against my body.

  “That’s a nice pick,” the girl who’d been helping Danielle said to me, “but you should try one size smaller. Let the bra do the work for you.”

  Jessica and Anna started giggling. “Shut up,” I said, and swatted them with the too-big bra.

  When all was said and done, the four of us walked out of Victoria’s Secret with brand-new bras. I thought Danielle was going to die. It was such a wonderful moment. I was reminded of that day in Teach’s hospital room when the four of us left together. We’d been that way ever since. I had the best friends in the whole wide world.

  Little did I know how much I was going to need them this year.

  I felt like I was passing through the gates of hell when I stepped into that store of red and pink, but in Lexie’s mind, it was clear we’d found heaven. She loved everything in that place.

  “Oh, look at that. It’s so pretty.” She must’ve said that ten times in the first two minutes. She floated from one side of the store to the other while the rest of us stood frozen in the middle. I stared at the floor, afraid that if I looked up my eyes would catch on fire or God would send his eleventh plague my way. I was surrounded by sinful clothing, and I was standing in plain sight. Anyone walking by the storefront and glancing in could’ve spotted me. If my mother saw me in there, she’d never allow me to shop on my own for the rest of my life.

  Lexie pulled us deeper into the store, where we were hidden from the outside, and I was finally able to breathe. The initial shock was wearing off. Most of the items in that store were things I could and would never wear. And the tinier the whatever, the higher the price.

  “Can I help you?” The voice belonged to a young store worker, and she was talking to me! She said something about a sale and then asked, “Do you know what size you are?”

  I shook my head. That was all I could do. The rest of my body was paralyzed with fear.

  “No problem. I can measure you.” She took the tape measure from around her neck and wrapped it around me. “Okay,” she said. “Let me show you a few different options.” She picked up three different bras and led me to the dressing room. “Try them on. You want to make sure you like how it fits and feels. Let me know if you need any help.”

  I nodded and went into the dressing room. I still hadn’t said anything. I stood there not moving, staring at the bras I was supposed to try on. I liked two of them. The other one was meant more for Lexie than me.

  “Psst. Danielle. Where are you?”

  It was Jessica. She and Anna had come to rescue me. I opened my door a sliver, and they rushed in.

  “Did you try them on yet?” Anna asked.

  “No. I can’t.”

  “You should,” Jessica said. “They’re not bad. And you need one, Danielle. That’s why the girl approached you and not us.” She picked the top one off the pile and handed it to me. “Try them on. We’ll be out here waiting.”

  It felt different when Jessica and Anna encouraged me to do this than when Lexie did. I tried the bras on—and I wasn’t struck by lightning.

  “Well?” Anna said when I came out of the dressing room.

  “I like the first one,” I said.

  “So get it,” said Jessica.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I can’t go to the register to buy it.”

  “Then we’ll get one, too,” Jessica said. “You heard the girl, it’s buy one get one. C’mon, Anna. Friends stick together.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. Anna looked a bit shocked, but Jessica grabbed her hand and took her away.

  I found the girl who’d helped me and gave her the two bras I didn’t want. “That’s a lovely pick,” she said about the one I had in my hand.

  “Thank you,” I said. My mouth was working now.

  The four of us made our purchases and then went back out into the mall.

  “I can’t believe I just did that,” I said.

  “If any of us need one, it’s you,” Lexie said.

  “I can’t let my mother know.”

  “Will you stop being such a worrywart? Gimme your pink bag and bury your bra underneath your other stuff.”

  Lexie was so good when it came to these things. Sometimes it scared me, and sometimes it made me feel lucky to have her as a friend. I should’ve known she wouldn’t stay quiet about this, though. She was too excited.

  “How did things go?” Jessica’s mother asked back at the food court.

  “Great!” Jessica said.

  “What’s with all the pink?” my mother asked, noticing Lexie’s bag.

  “It’s from where the angels shop, Mrs. Roberts,” Le
xie said.

  “Oh,” my mother said, sounding surprised. “Sounds like my kind of store.”

  I almost choked. My mother looked at me, and I just smiled and shrugged.

  “Did you find a bra, Lex?” Lexie’s mother asked her. She just came right out and asked. No wonder Lexie was so open about these things. I wished I could talk to my mother that easily, but I wasn’t very comfortable talking about myself, never had been.

  “Yeah, we all did!” Lexie cheered. The news came spilling out of her the same way she had blurted to Mr. Terupt last year that I got my period.

  That was it. I was dead.

  “That’s good,” my mother whispered to me. “I was thinking it was time for you to get one.”

  I stared at her. My mom thought it was good that I got a bra? I couldn’t believe it.

  “You’ll have to show your grandmother and me later,” Mom said.

  Gulp. I had a lot of praying to do.

  —

  Before dinner that night, I sat down with the sketchbook Mr. Terupt had given me at the end of last year. I drew a picture of the four of us from behind, walking by storefronts in the mall, bags in our hands and our heads tilted at all different angles so that you knew we were laughing and talking and having a wonderful time. That’s what I remembered most from our shopping trip—how happy I felt to have such close friends.

  I didn’t get to finish my sketch because I ended up feeling exhausted, so I set it aside and took a nap before heading downstairs to eat. It was a long day, but a good one. And soon, we’d all be together again.

  Now that Mom and Charlie were together all the time, most of my summer was spent on the farm with Danielle. The two of us were as close as sisters, though I wasn’t sure we could be called that. If you thought about it too much, it could get confusing. Someday Danielle would actually be my aunt, and I would be her niece. That just sounded too weird and complicated, so we decided not to worry about it. We settled on being called half sisters. But if her brother was my dad, and she was my sister, then was my dad also my brother? That wasn’t just confusing, it was creepy.