Fuzzy Mud

Tamaya arrives home two hours late. Fortunately, her mother is still working, so Tamaya has a chance to clean her cuts and wash her dirty clothes. She realizes that Marshall’s shortcut was foolish. It would have been safer to face Chad somewhere public. Tamaya puts her mother’s healing hand cream on her hand, which is now covered in red bumps and feels “tingly.” Tamaya’s mother brings home pizza and questions Tamaya about a school report. Tamaya got stuck researching Calvin Coolidge because she followed Ms. Filbert’s instructions to quietly raise her hand, but Ms. Filbert gave the first assignments to kids who shouted out. Ms. Filbert compared Tamaya to “Silent Cal,” which irritated Tamaya because she was doing what Ms. Filbert asked.

Tamaya’s mother notices her red hand. Having promised Marshall she wouldn’t tell anyone about their walk in the woods, Tamaya says she has a rash. She refuses her mother’s offer to take her to the doctor, saying the hand cream is helping. Tamaya doesn’t want to miss school, as she’s proud of her perfect attendance. She wonders if Chad will really beat her up and prays that he finds good in his heart. This section features four equations: 2 x 4 = 8, 2 x 8 = 16, 2 x 16 = 32, and 2 x 32 = 64.

Marshall gets in trouble for coming home late. His dad had to leave work to care for the twins when Marshall didn’t show up—and his dad reiterates that for Marshall to stay at Woodridge, the whole family needs to “do their part” (48). Marshall argues that he’d happily go to another school, which angers his parents. He blames his parents for starting him in kindergarten when he was the youngest in class. Had they waited, Marshall would’ve been the oldest and would never have encountered Chad.

When his teacher called on him to correctly answer the question Chad missed—the number of US Senators—Marshall knew he was “doomed.” Marshall hopes that since beating him up, Chad is done bullying him but knows things will get worse. Marshall imagines saving Tamaya after Chad punches her. He envisions fighting Chad, hearing the crowd root for him, and having pretty girls fawn over him. Marshall knows he’s a coward, however. He doesn’t thinks he’d protect Tamaya, and in the best-case scenario, he hopes a teacher would stop Chad before he hurt Tamaya, Chad would be expelled, and Marshall would regain his friends. Marshall has trouble sleeping.

In another excerpt from the Senate hearings, Senator Haltings questions Jonathan Fitzman about the safety of Biolene. Haltings hopes for a clean energy alternative to gasoline but wonders how Fitzman’s ergonyms, when they enter the environment, will affect people and nature. Haltings argues that containing the tiny microorganisms will be difficult when people are filling gas tanks and that other accidents will happen. Fitzman confidently dismisses Haltings’s concerns, declaring that the ergonyms are anaerobic and can’t survive in an oxygenated environment. They disintegrate on contact with air. At SunRay Farm, the ergonyms are kept in specially designed containers to keep the outside environment away from them.

Tamaya considers her friendship with Monica: how they wake up at the same time and how they once read together in class. Her memories are overwhelmed by “a growing sense of dread” (55). The red bumps on her hand have spread to her wrist, and are now covered in skin-colored powder, which also covers the bed. Tamaya sees a powdery spot on her face. She scrubs off the powder, applies more hand cream, and washes her sheets. Her mother plans to take her to the doctor after school.

Tamaya walks to school with Marshall, who looks exhausted and walks slowly. He wears glasses, having lost his contacts in the woods. Tamaya feels sorry for him but thinks again how ill-advised the shortcut was. Tamaya shows him her rash, but Marshall is more worried that she told someone about the woods. Tamaya feels like something awful is going to happen. She runs to school, meeting Monica and her little sister. Tamaya can’t tell Monica what happened. Marshall is glad Tamaya is safe inside the school because he’s unsure whether he’d have protected her. Depressed, Marshall descends to the seventh-grade basement “dungeon.” The equations are now 2 x 64 = 128 and 2 x 128 = 256.

Senators Foote, Wright, and March interview Professor Alice Mayfair about the potential hazards of introducing Biolene into the environment. Mayfair instead talks about the increase in the world’s population, noting that in 1975, the world had 4 billion people. At the time of her interview there are 7 billion, and by 2050 there will be 9 billion. Mayfair notes that 300,000 babies are born every day and have basic survival needs, including food, energy, and water. Mayfair agrees that bioengineered organisms will cause catastrophes but adds that unless population growth is controlled, no innovations can fulfill basic human needs. Senator March laughs that limiting worldwide human procreation is “a bit beyond the scope of this committee” (63).

Three times a week, Ms. Filbert’s class writes in their journals. Tamaya prefers Ms. Filbert’s prompts to days when they free-write. Today’s prompt is “How to blow up a balloon” (65). One student says you simply “stick it into your mouth and blow” (65). To the class’s amusement, Ms. Filbert uses a real balloon to playfully illustrate how exact instructions are important when describing how to do something. She urges them to write plain, accurate directions that they’ll read aloud, and she’ll attempt to follow their directions to inflate the balloon.

Tamaya thoughtfully begins her assignment, but Hope interrupts her, asking why her sweater is torn. Looking to moderate her good-girl reputation, Tamaya shrugs. As she works, she erases some writing and smudges her paper. She sees a red droplet on the page. Tamaya is upset because she’s known for her clean work and good handwriting. Horrified, Tamaya notices that the blisters on her hand are bleeding. Hope shouts out to Ms. Filbert that Tamaya is “all bloody.” The equations now include 2 x 256 = 512 and 2 x 512 = 1,024.

To Marshall’s relief, Chad isn’t in class when he arrives, but Marshall worries even more about what will happen when Chad does come. He knows Chad will taunt him about needing Tamaya’s protection. Without Chad’s menacing presence, Marshall can focus on math, his best subject. No one harasses him as he works equations at the chalkboard. However, he loses concentration when Mrs. Thaxton, the headmistresses, arrives. She informs them that Chad is missing. He was last seen leaving school the day before and apparently didn’t make it home. She asks for information about Chad. One girl says she and her mom drove past Chad on Richmond Road on the way home. Another boy, Cody, apologetically shares that Chad planned to beat up Marshall after school. Marshall lies to Mrs. Thaxton, claiming he didn’t see Chad as he walked home as usual—and had no idea Chad was looking for him. Other students share that Chad was bullying Marshall. Mrs. Thaxton scrutinizes Marshall. She urges anyone with information to come to her office and she’ll keep the meeting confidential. Everyone stares at Marshall.