Science Mystery Story
"Will you please stop making all that noise?!" She lowered her voice, "I need an aspirin."
My mom was stressed, with three kids, and an almost full-time job, she had a lot on her plate.
My brother, Jeremy, was two and a half years old, and in that make-all-the-noise-I-can stage. And Mom wasn't exactly having a party. I felt bad, but whenever I tried to help, she'd say, "No, no, I can handle it," but I had a feeling she couldn't.
I sat down to eat my macaroni and cheese on my favorite plate. The plate was porcelain, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse holding hands it. But that wasn't the reason why I liked it so much; I liked it because it was really shiny. Some of it had faded off, mostly because I ate off it every time I could. My parents had let me pick it out on my first trip to Disney World when I was three years old.
As I stuffed a huge bite in my mouth, I realized that my favorite commercial was on; I started singing along: "...With Charmin Ultra, less is more! Ch...Cha...Cha...Charmin!"
The next day was Monday, just like any other, the sun shining, birds chirpingŠUhm, Not exactly. Jeremy was running naked up and down the length of the hall with hap hazardous looking Mom streaking after him. Then Mom's face appeared in my doorway.
"Do you feel like helping me?" She said, not hiding her sarcasm very well.
So I took a break from applying my mascara and went to go catch my brother.
I got off the bus dreading the math test I had studied two hours for. I was sure I'd do well, but my grades had been dropping, so I'd always worry, even if I did study for a while the night before. Sometimes I wish I could be more like my friend, Ally. She doesn't study at all, and yet somehow she has better grades than me. My mom knew about my grade drop, and I got in trouble sometimes, but I figured I'd bring them up.
I walked into homeroom, talking to no one in my passing.
I patiently listened to the announcements, though not taking in a single word of it. I was thinking about the Pythagorean Theorem and square roots.
The chimes that heralded Channel 1 came on and I knew I only had about 15 minutes to do some last minute studying, so I pulled out my math book from under my seat and flipped to the part on square roots.
As my teacher, Mr.Brugge, and excellent Math AND Science whiz handed out our test, I felt as though I was awaiting my death sentence.
I wrote down my name and period shaking slightly. I wasn't a good test taker. I looked around for some sign of help, though knowing none would come. I saw the other students madly scribbling away, only pausing to read the next problem. I looked down at the first problem. It read:
What is the square root of 92? Round to the nearest tenth.
I read this just minutes before in the book! I started writing...
"I think I did really well, Mom."
"Oh, that makes me happy, Hun. With all that studying last night...I'd be very surprised if you didn't. I'd probably have to have a talk to your teacher, Mr.Š Mr.Brug?"
"Mr.Brugge, Mom, and he's really cool. You should meet him sometime."
I was telling my mom about how my test went as Jeremy was eating.
We got our tests back two days later. Dun...dun...dun.
"Well most of you did well on your tests," Mr.Brugge said as he was handing back out tests that Wednesday.
This was the moment of truth. This was it. That moment seemed to last a lifetime. Why aren't the hands on the clock moving?
"Try harder next time okay?" Said Mr.Brugge informing me that my fate was awaiting me if I looked down. And then I did.
D! How in the world did I get a D?! I studied for so long Sunday night! I even missed Desperate Housewives to ace this test, and this is what I have to show for it? Mom is going to be furious...
"How did this happen!?" My mom roared as she stood, looking at my test.
"You know I studied for like two hours on Sunday!! I have no idea!"
My mom picked up the phone, looked at a number on the refrigerator and dialed.
"Hi, my name is Laura Mason, and I was wondering if I could talk to Mr.Brugge, please...ok, yes, I'll hold, thank you,"
"What are you gonna say to him?"
"I'm just gonna ask if you--Oh! Hi, is this Mr.Brugge? I'm Sarah Mason's mother, Laura, and I was just looking at a test she took in your class the other day, and I don't really understand how she could have gotten a D...No, but she did study, for about two hours, I might add...No, she really did study for that long...I know not a lot of kids don't that, but she's a good kid...Oh, you'd really do that? Oh, thank you so much...Um, how about Friday morning? 7:30? Sounds good, listen, thanks again for doing this, I really appreciate it. Thanks, Bye."
And she hung up the phone.
"So...what's happening?" I asked.
"He's going to let you take a retest. The moment he heard me say how long you had studied for, he offered. So, you're going in to take it 7:30 Friday morning. Okay?"
"Yeah, I guess, I just really don't want to do that again, like study even more than last time?"
"I'm afraid so," Mom said with finality.
So, on Friday morning I got up extra early, and went into school when no one else was there. It was oddly strange when the school was empty. I was so accustomed to it being crowded and noisy that I almost didn't recognize it.
I walked into the classroom feeling the same kind of dread of what I was about to do. I wished I could be anywhere but here; doing anything but this.
"Good to see you, Sarah. Please, take a seat."
"Mine? Or any one?"
"Where ever you feel like sitting."
"Um, okay," I said sitting down in the very front; not my usual seat.
He gave me the test. This was as bad, or maybe even worse, than last time. I was the only one in this classroom, taking a test, and knowing that if I didn't do well, my life was basically over. I would be grounded for at least a month, (there goes my social life!) and having to study for hours on end to even get a B.
As all this went through my head I looked down at the first question, it read:
What is the square root of 14? Round to the nearest tenth.
I knew this! 'Just pick up the calculator,' I told myself. And on I wroteŠ
When I was done with my test, I handed it to Mr.Brugge.
"You finished it a bit early; I think I'll grade it now."
"What? I mean, um, go ahead," I was not expecting him to grade it now. I'll have all day to think about it, and then I have to tell my mom. Well this should be funŠ
"How long did you study for?" Asked Mr.Brugge after about three or four minutes of waiting.
"Well, two hours on Wednesday, and two on Thursday, so, four," I told him.
"I'm surprised."
"Why?"
He handed the test to me.
C! How could this happen? I thought I was on the verge of tears, with that big lump in my throat, trying to swallow it back down. I studied for four hours!
"H-How could this h-have happened?" I asked.
"I have no idea, I'm sorry, I'm going to go call your mother, will you be okay by yourself for a couple of minutes?"
"Yeah, I-I guess."
I was actually shaking. My holds were cold with sweat, and I felt nauseous. But no longer had I thought this, than I had sunk down in the desk and started crying. I knew square roots and the Pythagorean Theorem from the back of my head, or at least I thought I did...
I sat in front of the television that night, thoroughly depressed. I turned on the news, in which I saw Erica Ruiz talking about a murder investigation. There was nothing else on, so I stayed on this station.
"Next, to our top story. Lead poisoning. Could your child be in danger? Coming up right after the commercial break."
My favorite commercial came on again, but I was too upset to even sing along to it.
"Okay, back to our top story. We're reporting to you today about lead poisoning. Do you know the signs? There has recently been found evidence of lead on certain brands of plates."
On the television was a blue plate on which, by the looks of it, a five year old was eating off of. I saw the familiar sheen on the edge of the plate.
'Hey, that looks almost like my plate!' I thought.
"The shiny coating on porcelain and china plates has been discovered to have a hint of lead in it after it has been dried. Do you know the signs if your child has lead poisoning?"
A chart came up on the screen. As the symptoms appeared on the screen, Erica Ruiz read them.
"Number one-"
"Do you want any dinner, Hun?"
"No, I'm not hungry," I said back to my mom. These words sounded weird coming out of my mouth, yet they were true. I hadn't eaten since this morning, and I didn't have anything for lunch because I didn't have any money.
"...Weight loss. Number two: drop in grades, or lower IQ. Number three: poor appetite. Number four: memory loss. And number five: vomiting. If your child has been showing symptoms of lead poisoning, please go see their doctor immediately."
I stared at the screen. Two of the symptoms applied to me!
"Mom! C'mere for a sec.!" I yelled.
"What is it?"
"Look at the screen."
I paused for a minute to let my mom read the screen.
"Look, I haven't been that hungry, and my grades have been dropping like crazy," I informed her.
"And I eat off that Mickey plate all the time. Remember how shiny it was when I got it, and dull it is now?"
"Yeah, yeah, I remember. We're going to the doctor. Hey Emily?"
"Yeah?" Emily called back.
"Can you watch Jeremy for a little bit? I'm taking Sarah to the doctor."
"Okay."
"Get your coat on."
Once we were in the doctor's office we had to wait about an hour or so, then we got called in.
"Sarah, Sarah Mason?" Called the receptionist into the waiting room.
My mom and I got up and walked into the room.
"Hi, Sarah, I'm Dr.Gomez. What seems to be the problem?" Asked the doctor.
"Well we think Sarah might have lead poisoning, we just saw it on the news, and we thought we'd come down here to see if we could do anything for it," Mom said with a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"Oh, yes, I saw that too, a couple hours ago. I'm very glad they notified the public about that. Lead poisoning, right. So, has there been a drop in grades or a lower IQ?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Or, memory loss?"
"Not really."
"Drop in weight? Poor appetite?"
"Poor appetite, yeah. I haven't checked my weight in a while."
"Well, I'm sorry to say, but, it sounds as if you do."
While we were in the doctor's office she figured out that I did have lead poisoning and that I should probably not eat off any plates that have a certain kind of glaze on them. She also said that she would tell my teachers about my problem and tell them to loosen up a little. I will also have to work a lot harder on my grades even though my IQ most likely won't go back to where it was before.
Lead has serious consequences. If you swallow enough it can ultimately lead to death. Now I know to check the things I'm eating before I eat them. My favorite plate just sits in the china cabinet, waiting to be used.