FOURTEEN
Robert was ten minutes late to language arts, and his classmates laughed when he arrived dressed in his gym clothes: sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a nylon windbreaker.
Mr. Loomis was standing at the chalkboard, preparing to announce the latest reading assignment. Instead of yelling at Robert, he seemed concerned. “Is everything all right? Why is your hair wet?”
Robert just apologized for being late and hurried to his seat.
Mr. Loomis was Robert’s favorite teacher at Lovecraft Middle School, even though he had a reputation for being a bit of a goofball. He wore pastel-colored sweater vests every day of the week, and he was always raving about great books and the joys of reading.
“We’re starting a new novel today and it’s one of my favorites,” he explained. “It’s about a group of British schoolchildren stranded on a tropical island. Every page is packed with action and adventure.” He began distributing paperback copies to students in the front row. “It’s my tremendous pleasure to introduce Lord of the Flies!”
The door to the classroom opened and Howard Mergler entered on his forearm crutches, slowly click-clacking across the room. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I had a little trouble coming up the stairs.”
“No need to apologize, Howard,” Mr. Loomis replied. “In fact, I think this school owes you a debt of gratitude. I haven’t seen a single insect all day!” He started clapping, and this time all the students joined in without being prompted. Everyone was glad to have the bugs out of the school.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Howard said. “As your student council president, I’m always happy to serve you.” He was addressing the class but looking straight at Robert. “All the insects have been destroyed, so we can stop worrying about them and focus on our schoolwork. That’s the most important thing, right, Mr. Loomis?”
Their teacher seemed genuinely touched by the speech. “Absolutely correct,” he said. “Let’s all get back to learning.”
Mr. Loomis resumed his lesson, distributing copies of Lord of the Flies and describing the novel’s major themes. Robert found it hard to concentrate on the discussion. He kept staring at the clock, watching the minutes tick by. Three-fifteen couldn’t come fast enough. He couldn’t wait to hear Glenn’s plan for rescuing Pip and Squeak.
From out of nowhere, a small square of folded loose-leaf paper flicked onto his desk.
Someone had passed him a note.
He glanced around the classroom, hoping to identify the person who sent it. All the students were facing forward, their eyes on Mr. Loomis and the chalkboard. All except Howard Mergler, who had a sinister grin on his face.
Robert waited until the teacher turned his back, then carefully unwrapped the note. A black powder spilled onto his desk. It looked like a teaspoon’s worth of ground pepper. Robert turned the paper over, but both sides were blank. If someone was trying to send him a message, he certainly didn’t understand it.
Again he looked around the classroom. Howard’s smile was wider than ever. Mr. Loomis was still describing the major themes of Lord of the Flies, and kids were writing the ideas in their notebooks. No one seemed to notice the pepper grains scattered across Robert’s desk.
And then, to his astonishment, one of the grains jumped two feet in the air. It landed in the hair of Eileen Moore, the girl sitting in front of him. Another speck leapt even higher, soaring across the classroom. Robert studied the little mound of pepper more carefully and realized it was a swarm of fleas. One by one, the insects were vaulting off his desk in all directions, landing on the hair and collars and clothes of his classmates. The fleas were so tiny that no one even noticed. Within seconds, the entire swarm had scattered.
“Robert Arthur!” Mr. Loomis shouted, pointing to the sheet of loose-leaf paper. “Please tell me you’re not passing notes. Is that something you’d like to share with the entire class?”
Robert shook his head. I just did, he thought.