Chapter 16

POINTS

In English, Mrs. Harrington wasn’t in her usual place at the door to shake our hands. She busily slid all the desks in a big circle. “We’re taking a talking quiz today on the literary elements. The circle will allow for more interaction,” she explained.

Oh, brother.

“I thought it’d be fun if we had a conversation quiz.”

Why do adults think adding a word like conversation to quiz will suddenly cause students to jump for joy?

When Mrs. Harrington didn’t see any smiles, she added, “You won’t have to write anything!”

Even I cracked a smile. Well played, Mrs. Harrington.

As everyone roamed around looking for a good seat, I stood and stared at the board of literary elements.

Man, she tricked me into reading. I just wanted to make sure I’d know what I was supposed to say.

“Do we get a grade?” Blythe asked, flipping through her notebook, half listening.

“Why does it matter, Blythe?” Mrs. Harrington raised her eyebrows.

“That way I know how much effort to put in.” Blythe sat in a chair. “Those A’s won’t make themselves.”

“You get A’s?” José asked. “Híjole! Wow! I wonder what that feels like? Justkidding.”

“Anyway,” Mrs. Harrington continued. “I thought we’d discuss the play and use the literary elements that I’ve written here on the board for you to use as we talk.”

“Miss, what are the Litter L, M, N, O, P’s?” It took me a minute to figure out that José had mangled the words literary elements. What went on in that head of his?

“Look at the board, José.” Mrs. Harrington pointed to her chart.

He squinted his eyes and turned his head to the side like a puppy who’d heard a weird noise.

“Only the literary elements or terms we’ve spent the last week copying down dictionary definitions for, and using in a sentence,” Janie said.

“Oh, that! I remember that.” El said. He pointed at Janie. “You are a conflict, Janie.” See? José did actually know about literary elements. Why the act?

“Well, El,” Janie responded. “You are an antagonist and an obstacle.”

“What’d you call me?” José jerked his head.

“So, you can get points for asking questions or giving answers like Janie and José just did—sort of,” Mrs. Harrington continued.

Silence.

“I’ll start.” Mrs. Harrington’s eyes went up to the left. “For example, I could ask, “What’s the plot of A Christmas Carol?”

“A plot is everything that happens on the soaps, Miss,” Sophia offered, brushing her hair. She’d used all her makeup yesterday, so her beauty shop was temporarily shut down until she could get new supplies. “Like there’s always a problem, like a chica who is trying to get your boyfriend.”

“That’s a conflict,” Cliché said, shooting a look at Abhi, trying to show her she knew things, too.

“Right, it’s the problem. Like I just said,” Sophia clicked her tongue. “Conflict and problem are cinnamons.”

“You mean SYNONYMS,” Cliché said. “Cinnamon is what you put on your oatmeal.”

“That’s what I said!” Sophia replied, irritated. “So, anyways, you gotta push her back from your man and when she falls down, then everything is that re-thingy.”

“Resolved?” Janie twisted up her face.

“Yeah, that,” Sophia added. “What Janie said.”

“I thought we were supposed to retell the plot of A Christmas Carol and not some silly soap!” Blythe scowled, and scribbled again in her notebook. Sophia put out her hand for Blythe to stop, and the blue-eye-shadow gang followed seconds later.

Mrs. Harrington wrote down a few things on her notepad and waited for someone to speak up. When no one said anything, she asked, “Who are the main characters of A Christmas Carol?”

“Characters? Is this a trick question?” José asked, holding up his index finger. “Because there’s only one, Scrooge.”

“But Scrooge is nothing without other characters,” Abhi said. “There would be no plot—nothing would happen or change without the other characters. Scrooge would stay selfish.”

“Points for Abhi and Scrooge—I mean José.” Mrs. Harrington giggled.

“Ma’am, I think the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future are also main characters,” Janie said, “because they force Scrooge to look at how he acts in the world and how he could change himself and the world.”

“Is that like an obstacle or problem, Mrs. Harrington?” Chewy asked.

“Points to you both.” Mrs. Harrington smiled. “Good question, Janie. I want to piggyback on it. What do we call a character who works against the main character—or protagonist?”

“Mrs. Harrington,” Blythe interrupted. “you still haven’t said whether this is for a grade or not.”

Everyone ignored Blythe.

Abhi said, “An antagonist is the character that works against the main character.”

“I have a question, Mrs. Harrington.” Blythe tapped the sides of her head with her fingers. “And it’s a thinker, so really think about it.” She glared at me. “What’s the smallest part in the play?”

“Oh, I get it,” Chewy said. “Tiny Tim is the smallest character because he’s so tiny.”

“Points for Blythe and . . . Chewy too, I guess . . . ” Blythe faded off, recording her own points in the notebook, snapping it closed victoriously.

Mrs. Harrington glared at Blythe and wrote something in her notebook, too.

“What’s the climax, or highest point in A Christmas Carol?”

“When Scrooge realizes Tiny Tim is going to die soon,” Abhi said, “if he doesn’t do something different.”

“Die?” I said, “I never agreed to die.” Though when I thought about it, something as dramatic as a death could be fun to act out.

“Spoiler alert: Scrooge changes so you get live, TT,” El explained.

How’d he know?

“My mom was so excited I got a part we logged into my sister’s Webflix account and streamed the movie,” El added. He pointed at me. “Hey everybody, let’s call him TT from now on—or Tiny T?”

Blythe recorded it in her notebook, making it official.

“Tiny Tim is not a wrestler; he’s a small, poor boy with a problem,” Abhi said.

Yep, that’s me, I thought: a small boy with a problem. That’s my role. Here’s a plot summary in the Somebody/Wanted/But/So format Mrs. Harrington loved: I wanted to be Scrooge, but I’m Tiny Tim instead, so I wanted to crawl under a rock or at least skip rehearsal.

After English, lunch didn’t even interest me. And it was Sloppy Joe day! But instead of hiding under a rock, I was a on a rock, exposed and roasting in the sunlight of embarrassment. The desert biome was my setting.

Points for me.