11- Anna TRANSCRIPTION (Because of Mr. Terupt)

Transcript
I didn’t want my plant to die. I didn’t want to put it in the box. Everybody was staring at me. I started crying.

Mr. Terupt took me out into the hall. “Anna, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to kill my plant,” I blurted out. My back slid down the wall and I put my head in my hands.

“We’re not going to kill your plant.” Mr. Terupt knelt down in front of me.

“Yes, you are,” I said. “If we put it in the box, it’s going to kill it.”

“We’ll take it out before it dies,” he promised.

“No. I don’t want to hurt it.”

“Tell you what, Anna. Let’s do the experiments that are lined up for your plant. We have to, because Danielle is your partner and she needs to do the science, too. Then, when we’re all done, I’ll let you take my plant. Our control. The one we don’t do anything to.”

I still didn’t like the idea of hurting my plant, but I liked the idea of getting the control. I think he saw my hesitation.

“Plus, since you’re working with Danielle, I have a feeling that your plant is actually going to be just fine.”

I don’t know Danielle that well. She’s never been in my class before. She seems nice. I like her. Sometimes she’s friends with Alexia. I don’t know why. I’m glad I’m partners with Danielle and not Alexia. I’ve never been in Alexia’s class, but I can tell she’s mean. All the girls listen to her, though. Katie, Emily, Heather, Natalie—all of them. Not me. I stay away from her.

My mom has warned me not to get involved in that popularity stuff. She was ostracized once. That means nobody wanted to be friends with her. My mom told me it was like there was a big group of people holding hands in a circle, and she was never let in. She always had to stand outside the circle. Mom doesn’t ever want that to happen to me. It was when she was sixteen and pregnant with me. I can tell that she still hurts inside from all of it. Even her own parents shunned her. That’s why she quit school shortly after I was born, and moved out. She tried to move in with my dad (I’ve never met him), but that didn’t work out—he left. Mom says we can talk about my dad and the whole situation when I’m older. All I know is that she says he’s a nice man. My grandma and grandpa (I’ve never met them, either) still don’t want anything to do with us. They moved far away after my mom moved out. My mom might be young, but she’s still a great mom. She’s my best friend, and I love her. If you love someone, you don’t quit on them just because they make a mistake.

Mr. Terupt helped me stand up. “Trust me on this one,” he said. “Be positive.”

We headed back into the classroom. My plant went into the box and came out a few days later, a little yellow and without a lot of new growth. But it was alive! Turning it on its side wasn’t harmful, so I was okay with that test, and then it was our chance to feed it whatever we wanted.

Mr. Terupt was right. Danielle knew what she was doing. “Here’s a list of things we could mix together,” Danielle said.

I read the list. I didn’t know everything on it. How did she?

“My grandmother helped me with it,” she said. “She’s always been good at growing things. She’s the reason we have successful crops on the farm.”

Both of us brought in some of the ingredients. We mixed them together and fed our plant. Ours was the only one to survive! It turned really green, and grew and grew and grew.

I took the control home, but Danielle and I decided to leave our plant in school. We kept feeding it and everyone watched it grow. It grew almost to the ceiling, wrapping itself around the cord to the blinds, all the way up. Then one day it was knocked over. Somehow our super-duper plant fell off the windowsill. Nobody knows how it happened. I have a pretty good idea, though. I bet Alexia did it, because it happened when she was being nasty to Danielle. I’m thankful that Mr. Terupt let me take the control home. I didn’t want her to hurt that one, too.

I liked being Danielle’s partner. I wonder now if Mr. Terupt knew what he was starting between me and Danielle. I wonder.

Present

 * Anna Adams
 * Mr. Terupt
 * Danielle
 * Terri Adams

Mentioned

 * Alexia
 * Katie
 * Emily
 * Heather
 * Natalie
 * Anna's Dad
 * Anna's Grandmother
 * Anna's Grandfather
 * Danielle's Grandma

Locations

 * Snow Hill School
 * Room 202

Related
Previous Chapter: 10- Jeffrey TRANSCRIPTION (Because of Mr. Terupt)

Next Chapter: 12- Jessica TRANSCRIPTION (Because of Mr. Terupt)