I had to tell Papa after school
about the notes and detention.
He blinked and said, “I’ll be back in an hour.”
The way he pressed his lips together
told me he was disappointed in me.
That stung more than getting caught passing a note.
Detention in Miss O’Connell’s room
means sitting far away from Stacey,
and watching dust drift through the slanted sunlight,
and listening to kids’ voices in the corridor
fade away,
and willing the red hand on the wall clock
to speed up
while Miss O’Connell helps a boy with homework.
When he leaves, Miss O’Connell says,
“An hour watching the clock is the longest hour you’ll ever spend.”
Stacey and I nod.
“But you can help yourselves. You can take five minutes off
for each history question you answer correctly.”
I raise my hand. “Can we answer them together?”
Miss O’Connell sticks out her chin, and says,
“Okay.”
Stacey and I smile at each other,
and I sit next to her.
Miss O’Connell takes out a stack of index cards,
shuffles them, and sits on her desk.
“First question—
What was the first battle of the American Revolution?”
I wink at Stacey, and say, “Lexington and Concord in April 1775.”
“Yes,” Miss O’Connell says. “You got five minutes off.”
Thank you, Papa, I think.
She shuffles the cards again. “Hmm, let’s see about this one—
What does the first section of the Declaration of Independence state?”
she asks,
and looks at Stacey.
“Do you know?” Stacey whispers to me,
and I answer, “All people are born with equal rights.”
Miss O’Connell says, “That’s another five minutes.
Now, let’s see . . . ,” she says, looking at the cards. “Here’s one—
How many times was Franklin Roosevelt elected president?”
Stacey says, “I know that . . . four.”
“Very good. I’m impressed,” Miss O’Connell says. “Last question—
I bet you girls can’t get this one—
What was the name of the first
American-manned space mission?”
How easy can a question be? I think. “Freedom 7.
It was on May 5, 1961, and lasted fifteen minutes.
And Alan Shepard was the astronaut.”
“Whoo-ee!” Stacey says.
“That’s right, Mimi,” Miss O’Connell says slowly.
“And for a bonus point—where was he born?”
She sits back on her desk and taps the cards in her palm,
waiting, I think, for me to get it wrong.
But I don’t. “Derry, New Hampshire.”
Miss O’Connell doesn’t look impressed.
“These are not easy questions, Mimi.
Are you looking at the answers?”
She checks the backs of the cards,
but there’s nothing there to see.
“I just like learning about the space missions.”
“And her daddy teaches history,” Stacey says.
“Well,” Miss O’Connell says, sliding off her desk,
“you girls may go now. But no more notes.”
We leave detention twenty-five minutes early.
“Do you want to meet my dad?” I ask Stacey
as we leave the building. “He’ll be here soon.”
“Can’t now—my mother’s here,” she says,
and points to a yellow car at the curb. “Let’s go to the drugstore
over vacation,” she calls over her shoulder,
then gets into the car.
I wave good-bye,
but I don’t think she saw.