Read Online Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea - Free Book Online

gave my bone marrow to Michael. It was his last chance. Everything else had failed.”
    I stopped again. My throat was tightening around the lump in it. It was gonna be hard to tell the rest.
    “What happened?” Jessica said.
    “It worked, but not fast enough. Michael got sick before his body could fight the cancer off.… I didn’t save him.”
    The screen saver bounced around. I stared at it. Then Jessica said somethin’ no one had ever said to me before.
    “It’s not your fault, Jeffrey.”
    I got up and walked to the bathroom. I had to.

anna
    I never had a teacher stick up for me before. I’d get picked on and made fun of, and my teachers never did anything. Maybe because I never did anything, either. I didn’t cry or get upset, I just stayed quiet. Maybe it seemed like it didn’t bother me, but nobody’s got skin that thick.
    Mr. Terupt did something. I loved him for that. He wasn’t real happy about it, though. He wanted us to do the sticking up for each other. I didn’t know if I could do that. But with Jessica and Danielle by my side, I knew I’d try. Mr. Terupt was right about that.
    Things were much easier in our group after the whole Alexia incident. She came back quiet and remained quiet for the rest of the day, and every day after that. I knew she was feeling bad. A lot of girls had felt the same way because ofher, so I figured it was only fair. But it bothered me, too. Mom has always told me, “We don’t have enough days to waste being upset or sad. You’ve got to be happy and have fun, Anna.” I think Mom’s positive attitude is pretty amazing—especially after all she’s been through—and I think she’s right. We weren’t mean to Alexia, but we left her alone. I hoped she’d be different now that Mr. Terupt had held a conference with her.
    During the time we worked on our center, I found the courage to do something I hadn’t ever done before. One day during recess—while doing some stick sketching in the dirt—I took a deep breath and plunged ahead.
    “Would you guys like to come over to my house for a playdate?” I asked Jessica and Danielle.
    Jessica looked up. “I’d love to,” she said. She glanced at Danielle, who kept her head down and continued sketching. Danielle’s really good at drawing, so I thought maybe she just wanted to finish her sketch.
Snap!
Her stick broke in half. “But I’ll need to check with my mom first,” Jessica added.
    “Me too,” Danielle said, but she still didn’t look up. “Let me ask my mom.”
    “You don’t have to come over if you don’t want to,” I said to Danielle.
    “No! I want to,” she said, looking right at me this time. I believed her. Then she looked away. “But I need to get permission.”
    The recess whistle blew. Danielle had drawn three girls holding hands in the dirt. I smiled. They both wanted to come over. I just hoped their mothers said yes.

Danielle
    T he holiday centers turned out great. It was a lot of hard work, especially with Alexia in our group, but Mr. Terupt took care of her. She wasn’t the same after that. She became real quiet—which helped us get our center put together smoothly.
    Jessica and Jeffrey completed the trivia game. They came up with some really great questions. Luke loved playing it when he visited our holiday. He said he learned a lot from it, which Mr. Terupt was happy to hear.
    Mr. Terupt hung around our center because of the cookies. I made them, even after what Alexia said about me. My mom and grandma helped me find a recipe that used cumin, which is a spice. The three of us spend a lot of time togetherin the kitchen. It was the perfect opportunity to ask about going to Anna’s. But … I just couldn’t get myself to do it.
    The best part of our holiday centers day took place when our Collaborative friends visited. That was Peter’s great idea. Some of the games were hard for them, but we all helped. They were able to do the crafts and eat special foods, like my cookies.