Research Article 2: Day and Night

     My science teacher is Ms. Sunshine. It's not her real last name, of course. But somehow, that's what we all call her.

     My math teacher is Mrs. Eclipse. It's not her real last name, and it's not how we address her, either. But somehow, in whispers, people started calling her that.

     Ms. Sunshine has a sugary voice, her favorite food is peppermint drops, and when she smiles, people have to squint to keep from being blinded from the light. If someone gets a C or above on a test, she slips them a piece of candy. If Jack Samuels starts goofing around, she ruffles his hair and flashes him a smile. My seat is in the back of her classroom, and if we aren't taking a pop quiz (what's you favorite color, animal, time of day, season, etc.), I usually watch how other people spend their time.

     Mrs. Eclipse wears horn-rimmed sunglasses, has black-painted fingernails, and every time I look at her, her mouth is a thin red line, an orange and black striped feather-pen is in her hand, and she's grading papers. The day's instructions are always written in black chalk on the whiteboard, and every now and then she'll rise, papers still in one hand, and rewrite the smudging, powdery words. "Why did I get a whiteboard?" she'd mutter under her breath; then she'd go back to her desk and continue grading papers. Every student walks in, sits down, reads the board, and obeys.

     The first day, Jack Samuels walked in chatting boisterously with Denna McReilly, and kept chatting as the bell rung. The seats had already been assigned, but Jack Samuels swapped his name card with Jean Martin's, and sat down next to Denna McReilly. Without looking up, Mrs. Eclipse snapped her fingers, barked "Jack Alakabranky Samuels!" and pointed towards a door right behind her desk. I could feel the menace emanating from Mrs. Eclipse, and knew that whatever she told someone to do, they would do. Jack Samuels was no exception, and immediately got up and entered. That was all that came out of Mrs. Eclipse for the next 45 minutes of class. Few people were quiet, and nobody was following the instructions. The last minute of class, Mrs. Eclipse clicked a button on her desk, and the door opened. Everybody looked up, and when they saw Jack Samuels's face, all talk ceased. He closed the door behind him quietly, and stumbled to his desk. Hesitantly, people began talking again, mainly asking Jack Samuels what had happened behind that door. But he didn't say anything. The unbreakable spirit of Jack Samuels had been broken.

     The next day, Mrs. Eclipse called Denna McReilly to the door, then Jean Martin, then Brandon Ichimatsu, in the order of the volume of each's crimes. The only people who weren't called were me, Rachel, and Lewin Lassing, the misunderstood genius.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1                                                                                                                                                                               Chapter 3