Theo selected freeze-dried beef stroganoff for his evening dinner, and when mixed with hot water it was delicious. Dessert was an energy bar, which tasted like rubber, but who really cared? He was deep in the woods, far from home, far away from school, and at that moment had nothing to worry about. The Major, whose backpack was slightly larger than the others and had not gone through the trial of being weighed, produced a bag of marshmallows. They roasted them on sticks and wiped out the entire bag as the Major told horror stories of campers being eaten by huge bears and vicious cougars and wild boar hogs.
He had a lot of stories, the best of which he seemed to save for those moments when he was deep in the woods with a bunch of city boys. Every story ended badly, at least for the campers, but the Scouts had learned over the years that they were all tall tales.
Nevertheless, given where they were, the stories set the tone for the evening. There were jokes, other tales from the Scouts, a few true stories about other camping misadventures, but as the night wore on and grew darker, every sound became ominous. The Scouts began to believe that they were being watched by all manner of hungry beasts, or even runaway criminals. Around nine o’clock, the Major called for lights-out, and they retreated to their tents, zipping the flies tightly.
Theo tucked himself into his sleeping bag, which was warm and comfortable. He wasn’t afraid. He’d camped enough with the Major to know that he would protect them. Instead, he savored the moment, listening to the sounds of the thick woods as his imagination went into overdrive. A bad week was ending in a wonderful way. Tomorrow would be a grand adventure.
He was thirteen and unwilling to grow older. The entire week had been about the future, about testing for placement in high school and the mysteries of the ninth grade. Theo liked where he was in life. He loved scouting and camping. He liked his school and his friends and teachers. He liked being a boy on a bike zipping around the town. If he got into trouble his excuse was always, “Hey, I’m just a kid.” That worked most of the time.
Why couldn’t a kid stay thirteen forever?
The forest grew still as the animals and beasts fell asleep. Theo, too, finally drifted away.
Chapter 8
For the next two weeks, school life was normal as the eighth graders recovered from the ordeal of being tested. In fact, the tests were so unpleasant they were never discussed. But they were not forgotten. The scores would be ready “in about two weeks,” according to Mr. Mount and the other teachers. As the days passed, a soft drumbeat began as the countdown gained momentum. Every student was convinced he or she had bombed the tests and would be sent straight to the “slow track,” a fate that meant utter failure and embarrassment. A few, namely Woody, boasted of deliberately blowing the tests so they could be deemed dummies and practically ignored in high school. Mr. Mount said things didn’t work that way. Those on the Remedial track received a lot of attention, as did those in Honors.
One morning in homeroom, Mr. Mount finally delivered the solemn news. “Hey, everybody, I have the test results.” He was holding a thick file. Everyone stared at it and took a deep breath. He continued, “As I have explained, your scores are lumped into a pool with the eighth-grade scores from Central and East middle schools. Students who score in the top ten percent from the pool qualify for the Honors track next year at Stattenburg High. This year the magic number is ninety-one. If your overall score is ninety-one or better, then congratulations. If your score is sixty-three or below, then you qualify for some more interesting classes. If you’re between sixty-three and ninety-one, you will be on what’s called the Intermediate track. Any questions?”
No one said a word.
As he began passing out envelopes, he said, “I’m going to hand each of you your score in an envelope. This is a private matter, something to discuss with your parents and not to talk about during school. Understand?”
Right, Theo thought. Everyone will know everyone’s score by lunch.
He opened the official-looking envelope with his full name printed on the front. There were a lot of numbers, but the most important one was at the bottom: Overall Score: ninety. He had failed to make Honors by one point.
Ike had told him that in life there’s always someone smarter, faster, stronger, and so on, so don’t expect to be number one in everything. Just try your best and deal with the rest. Theo was not the smartest kid in his class. Chase was a genius, a mad scientist who aced every test with little effort. Joey studied hard and made perfect grades. Aaron was extremely bright and very lazy, but always did well on standardized tests. Theo figured he would land around number four or five if the class was ranked, which it was not. Still, though, it was a disappointment not to make Honors.
The room was silent until Woody said, “Hot dog! Stuck in the middle where I’ll get lost in the crowd.”
“That’s enough, Woody,” Mr. Mount said. “Please do not discuss your scores until you’ve talked to your parents.” The bell rang, the boys hustled out of the room, and by the time they arrived at Spanish they knew that Chase, Joey, and Aaron had made Honors, and Theo had not. Darren would begin high school on the “slow track,” which was no surprise to anyone but perhaps Darren himself. He looked devastated and near tears.
Madame Monique taught Spanish and was Theo’s second-favorite teacher. After fifteen minutes, she realized the boys were not paying attention, that their minds were occupied with other matters, so she closed the textbook and gave them an easy written assignment to do in class.
Theo’s father would be disappointed. His mother probably would not. She despised the tests to begin with. Ike would be nonchalant and tell him to study harder, to show the people who ran the schools that he could outwork everybody else. Why was Theo sitting in Spanish and worrying about what the adults would say? This irritated him. So much of his life was geared to pleasing his parents, his teachers, even Ike. Why couldn’t he just do his homework, do his best on all his tests, and let his life run its course without worrying about the adults?
Second-period geometry wasn’t much better. By then the students were openly talking about their scores and who made “it” and who didn’t. Most seemed surprised that Theo had not done better.
At lunch he went to find April, but she was not in the cafeteria. He bumped into Pete, who looked as sad as Darren. He whispered to Theo that he had blown the tests and was headed for a rough start in the ninth grade. He said he might drop out, just like his father had quit in the tenth grade. Theo tried to offer encouragement, but it didn’t work. Pete thanked him, said his dad was doing okay in rehab, and that things had settled down around the house.
As Theo walked across the playground, alone, he wondered how a kid like Pete was supposed to do well on the tests when his home life was in such turmoil. How can a student focus when his father is in and out of jail?