Mr. Terupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea Read Free Book Online Page A

best.
    LUKE
 (raising his finger in the air)
    Not so fast. Let’s not forget, we still have Jessica’s.
    There is wild cheering now. A chant begins .
    CLASS
    Jessica … Jessica … Jessica …
    CUT TO: CU of MR. TERUPT smiling. Pull back as he opens the last envelope—JESSICAS’s—and reads her solution .
    JESSICA VO
    I shouldn’t have been surprised when Luke offered to help. He was the one who let me borrow snow pants last winter,on the day of the accident. He did his best to help Mr. Terupt when he fell in the snow. And on that final day in the Collaborative Classroom, Luke and James helped all of us tell Peter the accident wasn’t only his fault. Luke was someone you could count on—he’d be there for you.
    MR. TERUPT looks up after finishing JESSICA’s solution .
    MR. TERUPT
    Well, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve found our winner. Congratulations, Jessica. Come on up here and get your award.
    CUT TO: Everyone cheering. JESSICA stands and walks over to LUKE. They slap each other five. Then JESSICA walks up to MR. TERUPT .
    MR. TERUPT
 (to the class)
    I present to you our winner of the
Westing Game
Competition, Miss Jessica. Her award is a gift card to Snow Hill Bookshop.
    More cheering from the class .
    JESSICA
 (still onstage, facing Mr. Terupt)
    Mr. Terupt, you taught us that we do better when we stick together. And, well, I couldn’t have won the competition without Luke’s help. He deserves this award as much as I do.
    MR. TERUPT
 (to all)
    It takes a special person to admit that, Jessica. And it takes a special person to help out a friend. Luke, please come up here and receive your gift card. I just happen to have one for you.
    LUKE stands and walks to the front, joining JESSICA. MR. TERUPT hands him the gift card, then sweeps his arm in a gesture to present the winners. There is a standing ovation. LUKE and JESSICA shake hands .
    CUT TO: Class back in their seats and MR. TERUPT still standing at the stage area. LUKE raises his hand .
    MR. TERUPT
    Yes, Luke.
    LUKE
    Who was the
one
person to actually solve the mystery before the book revealed it?
    MR. TERUPT
    Ah, yes. The recommender of this book was also the person who solved it—my mother.
    FADE OUT .
    JESSICA VO
    Luke and I came close with our solution. It may have been the best in the class, but we still didn’t have it completely figuredout. There was more to Sam Westing than we had realized. We didn’t really know him—just like we didn’t really know our teacher. Mr. Terupt was our very own Sam Westing, and my desire to find out more about him was stronger now than ever.

A fter we wrapped up the Solution Opening Ceremony, Mr. T asked his book team (me and Anna) to return the books to the library. It was the perfect opportunity to try my stacking method again.
    “Peter, just let me carry some,” Anna insisted.
    “No,” I said. I was determined to show her I could do it. “I’ve got it this time. Just lead the way so I don’t run into anything.” That’s the only thing I was worried about.
    I held a forty-book tower. That was more copies of
The Westing Game
than we needed, but we had extras so we could keep one at home, plus I had a few library books that needed returning. I pressed my hands on the ends of the stack, leaving myself wide open. I started to follow Anna. I had everything under control until Jeffrey decided it was time to get even. He shot me in the front of my pants with several water blasts from the lizards’ spray bottle.
    “Hey!” I yelled.
    Anna gasped.
    “What’s wrong?” Mr. T wanted to know.
    “Nothing,” I said. “We’re all set.” I didn’t want to turn around so everyone could see my wet private area.
    “Told you to grow eyes in the back of your head,” Jeffrey whispered. “Now we’re even.”
    He went back to spraying the bog and I followed Anna out of the classroom. Now I was even more determined to succeed with my book tower. My wet pants had to be worth something.
    I repositioned