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  “Maybe,” Beanie said dubiously.

  “We just have to stay strong,” Ariel said.

  “I was wondering … do you think this is a dream?”

  “I don’t know,” Ariel said. “Or perhaps all of this is real and Mrs. Kantor changed everyone.”

  “I had that same thought,” Beanie said.

  The bell rang. Soon after that, the announcements began.

  Chapter 8

  In the afternoon, the kids returned to the classroom after playing outside for recess. They were squirrelly when they came in, and it took them a couple of minutes to settle down and sit in their seats. Mrs. Somerset stood before the class and cleared her throat to get their attention.

  “Next year, all ten of you will be in sixth grade,” Mrs. Somerset said.

  “Not me,” Beanie blurted. “I’m going to seventh grade.”

  The kids craned their necks and scowled at her. She was seated at the far right of the classroom in the first row. Ariel felt bad for Beanie, wished she hadn’t said that. A moment of silence past before Beanie took notice. She slumped in her seat.

  “Next time, raise your hand,” Mrs. Somerset said.

  “Yes, Mrs. Somerset.”

  “As I was saying … sixth grade will be a little bit harder than fifth grade. And seventh grade will be a little harder than sixth. And by the time you get to college, it will be harder than all the years of primary and secondary school put together. So today, I want to begin with a challenge. This challenge will test your knowledge on everything we’ve covered up until now.”

  Sammy raised his hand.

  “Yes, Sammy?”

  “Are we playing Who Knows it All?”

  Mrs. Somerset smiled. “Yes, we’re playing Who Knows it All?”

  A unanimous groan echoed from the students. Beanie’s face lit up and she sat bolt upright in her chair. This was her favorite game. Now was her chance to prove her smarts again. She had won so many times that at one point, Mrs. Somerset asked her to read out the questions from the index cards instead of participating. This gave the other students a chance to win and to earn the top prize, which was a flat coaster-sized lollipop.

  “I want to play! I want to play!” Beanie beamed.

  Mrs. Somerset curled her lip. “Now Beanie, haven’t you won enough? Why don’t you give someone else a chance to win?”

  “Yeah,” Katie chimed in. “Besides, she cheats.”

  “I don’t cheat,” Beanie said.

  “Do too,” Katie said.

  “Do not.”

  “Do too.”

  “How about this,” Mrs. Somerset broke in. “I will let Beanie play the winner in the final round. And if the winner—”

  “But that’s not fair,” Katie interjected.

  “Excuse me, Katie, but you did not raise your hand!”

  Katie shot her arm up.

  “Yes, Katie?”

  “Why does Beanie get to play the winner?”

  “Because she’s undefeated.”

  “But she’s won too many times. Besides, she cheats. She’s memorized everything you’ve taught her. Plus she checks out tons of books from the library and—”

  “That is what a good student should do, Katie. However, Beanie will defend her title. And if any of you win, you’ll get two lollipops instead of one!”

  “Whoa!” the kids chorused.

  “What about me?” Beanie asked.

  “You didn’t raise your hand!”

  Beanie’s arm went up like an arrow.

  “Yes, Beanie?”

  “Do I get two lollipops?”

  Mrs. Somerset shook her head.

  “Please?”

  The kids were shaking their heads as well—all of them except Ariel.

  “But you have so many,” Mrs. Somerset said. “How about if I give you a peppermint instead?”

  “No, I want a lollipop,” Beanie said resolutely.

  “Okay, just one lollipop.”

  The kids guffawed.

  “Wait! I meant two … ”

  “Too late. I offered you a peppermint, and you said no. Then you said you wanted a lollipop. There’s a difference. Class, didn’t she say a lollipop?”

  “Yes,” they chorused with giggles in between.

  “A lollipop!” Katie said. “She only gets one.”

  “You heard them,” Mrs. Somerset said. “Only one.”

  “You tricked me,” Beanie snapped. “You—”

  “Now don’t be rude, Beanie,” Mrs. Somerset said. “You should be grateful that I’m letting you participate.”

  Beanie narrowed her eyes at her. “You’re mean. You tricked me and—”

  “Another word from you and I’ll send you to the office,” Mrs. Somerset said sternly.

  Beanie crossed her arms and frowned. She muttered something under her breath.

  “Be quiet and sit over there,” Mrs. Somerset said, pointing at the stool at the corner of the room.

  “But—”

  “I don’t want to hear any ifs, ands, or buts.”

  The class snickered as Beanie went to the stool.

  Who Knows it All? was a review game that the kids played before quizzes and tests. The questions mainly focused on one content area such as math or history, but today, Mrs. Kantor decided to mix it up.

  Mrs. Somerset said, “Before we begin, take five minutes to look over your notes on geography, math—not to mention your vocabulary words. Begin now.”

  She started the timer.

  The kids opened their binders noisily and sifted through their flashcards and interactive notebooks. Meanwhile, Mrs. Somerset moved two podiums to the whiteboard. She spaced them four feet apart. Each podium had a big round button that buzzed whenever it was pushed.

  The instructions were simple. Two students played at a time, one at each podium. Mrs. Somerset would ask them a question and the first one that pushed the buzzer could answer. If the student answered correctly, they earned a point. If the student answered incorrectly, the other student had a chance to answer. If both students answered incorrectly, none of them earned a point. Whoever scored the best out of five won the face-off.

  Mrs. Somerset read each question, at most, twice. The kids had ten seconds to answer each question before they lost their turn. The kids could ask her to use the word in a sentence, as well as ask for the definition, but the timer would continue.

  On the whiteboard, Mrs. Somerset wrote down the names of the pairs that would face-off. She paired Ariel with Katie, the latter being the second smartest kid in class. Mrs. Somerset did that on purpose. She wanted Ariel to lose. She wanted to see Beanie wince when Ariel lost to the girl that got on Beanie’s nerves the most.

  The timer beeped.

  “Okay, class,” Mrs. Somerset called. “Time’s up.”

  The class quieted down. All eyes were on Mrs. Somerset.

  “All of you know how the game works. The student with the most points wins. I’ve paired you up already. Find your name on the board. The student that makes it to the final round will play Beanie. And whoever beats Beanie gets two lollipops.”

  The students oohed and aahed.

  “Ariel … Katie—you two are up.”

  Beanie gnashed her teeth. She knew Ariel didn’t stand a chance against Katie. Ariel didn’t process information quickly, not to mention, answer questions fast enough. Despite the tutoring lessons from Mrs. Kantor, she didn’t pick up on things as fast as her peers. Katie and her friends would make fun of Ariel when she lost at Who Knows it All?

  The girls stood separately at the podiums. Mrs. Kantor shuffled the stack of index cards, then pulled one out.

  “First question,” Mrs. Somerset began. “What is the capital of Tennessee?”

  Ariel slammed the buzzer before Kati
e did. The students gasped in shock. She hit it before Katie!

  “What’s the answer, Ariel?” Mrs. Somerset asked.

  “Memphis,” she said confidently.

  Beanie winced.

  Mrs. Somerset shook her head. “Wrong, Ariel.”

  “I’m wrong?” She couldn’t believe her ears.

  “Tennessee is our home state, Ariel. You should know this. Katie, do you know it?”

  “Nashville,” Katie answered.

  “Fabulous! One point for you. Beanie, why don’t you be scorekeeper? Give Katie one point on the board?”

  “Yeah,” Katie said proudly. “Give me my point.”

  Beanie crossed her arms and remained seated on the stool. She glared at Katie as if she were her sworn enemy.

  “Beanie,” Mrs. Somerset said firmly, “If you don’t write the score on the board, then you won’t play in the final round. Is that understood?”

  “Fine,” Beanie hissed.

  She went to the board and picked up the black dry erase marker. She drew a short vertical line under Katie’s name.

  “Next question,” Mrs. Somerset said, “What is 68 plus 77?”

  “I can’t do it. I don’t I have a pencil,” Ariel griped.

  “You have to do it in your head,” Mrs. Somerset said sharply. “You have eight seconds left.”

  The girls mouthed the calculations to themselves. Ariel wrote the numbers in the air with her finger, carrying the one over, and then …

  “Three,” Mrs. Somerset counted down, “Two … one … ”

  Katie pushed the buzzer.

  “What’s the answer?” Mrs. Somerset asked.

  “145.”

  “Fantastic, Katie! Another point for you!”

  Beanie didn’t move.

  “Write it on the board, Beanie,” Mrs. Somerset ordered.

  Beanie bit her lip. She jammed the marker hard against the whiteboard as she drew a vertical line. It made a sharp squeak that rang in everyone’s ears. The kids winced and covered their ears.

  “Beanie!” Mrs. Somerset shrieked. “Do that one more time and you’ll forfeit your title. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Somerset,” Beanie replied.

  “Good. Now girls, if Katie gets the next question correct, she wins.”

  “Why?” Ariel asked.

  Mrs. Somerset rolled her eyes. “Because even if you get the last two questions correct, you can’t beat Katie’s three points. Does that make sense, Ariel?” She said sardonically.

  The class giggled.

  Ariel stared at Mrs. Somerset blankly.

  “Hello, Ariel?”

  Ariel’s legs buckled and she caught herself from falling. The class laughed caustically.

  “Y-yes,” Ariel said nervously. “It makes sense.”

  “Splendid. Now the next question. Spell the word Latrodectus.”

  Ariel slammed the buzzer. The podium shook, the buzzer went off with a scream.

  “Not like that!” Mrs. Somerset snapped. “Press it nicely, Ariel. Nicely.”

  “Sorry, Mrs. Somerset.”

  “All right. Now spell the word for me.”

  “What’s the word again?”

  Mrs. Somerset cleared her throat with a rasp. “Latrodectus.”

  “Can you give it to me in a sentence?”

  “The latrodectus lived in the forest.”

  “Hmmm. Um, can you give me the definition?”

  “It’s a black widow spider. You have five seconds left, Ariel. Go.”

  “Um … l … a … t … r … o … d … ”

  “Time’s up, Ariel.”

  “But I wasn’t finished.”

  “Rules are rules. Katie. Can you spell it?”

  “Yes. It’s l … a … t … r … o … d … e … c … t … u … s. Latrodectus.”

  “Super job, Katie! Another point for you. And with that, you win!”

  The kids applauded.

  “Give Katie a point and cross Ariel’s name off the board,” Mrs. Somerset said to Beanie.

  Beanie didn’t move a muscle. She furrowed her eyebrows at Katie.

  Mrs. Somerset said, “Do it now or else—”

  Beanie sighed and did it reluctantly.

  “Please take a seat,” Mrs. Somerset said to Katie and Ariel.

  Ariel’s eyes watered. She wiped the tears away as she returned to her desk. She could hear the students whisper insults like what an idiot, she’s a sore loser, and she’s a stupid head.

  Katie went to her desk victoriously. She was met with praises and high-fives from her classmates.

  “Ariel didn’t stand a chance,” a kid named Patterson said. “Look at her cry.”

  Katie burst out giggling.

  Within Ariel’s pocket, the sapphire glowed bright blue. She saw it shine through her jean pocket when suddenly, beams of blue light issued forth and zapped all the kids in the classroom—minus Beanie. The kids jumped out of their seats as if an electric shock jolted them. A uniform ouch echoed from the students as they looked around for the culprit. At first, they looked at each other, but then they noticed Ariel was the only one seated. She wiped her tears away and smiled.

  Chapter 9

  Mrs. Somerset caught Beanie’s glare throughout each round. There was no doubt what was on Beanie’s mind. She was bent on taking Katie down when it was her turn to face-off with her. She’d show Mrs. Somerset who was the smartest kid in class. She’d show her that she was even smarter than her.

  It was the bottom of the ninth.

  Katie had bulldozed her way to the top while Beanie gnashed her teeth with a deep feeling of retribution. Now she would get her chance.

  Beanie and Katie stood at the podiums squaring off with each other. The round buzzers on the podiums were greasy from the litany of nervous, sweaty palms slamming upon them.

  Mrs. Somerset was kind on a good day, and she would never make it a point to embarrass the kids as she did today. Beanie and Ariel knew that. It was as if their teacher was possessed, like a demonic spirit had taken control over her.

  “Does anyone want to be the scorekeeper?” Mrs. Somerset asked.

  Three hands flew up in the air.

  “Greg, want to be the scorekeeper?” Mrs. Somerset asked.

  “Yes!” he said excitedly.

  “Excellent! Thank you, Greg.”

  He dashed to the whiteboard and grabbed a black dry erase marker from the sill.

  “Boys and girls,” Mrs. Somerset began, “This is the last round of Who Knows it All? This is for the championship title.”

  “And the lollipops,” Patterson chimed in.

  “Raise your hand next time,” Mrs. Somerset said.

  “Sorry,” Patterson said, blushing.

  “Okay. So best out of five wins,” Mrs. Somerset said for the nth time. “Are you girls ready?”

  “Ready,” Katie piped.

  “Yes,” Beanie said, grinning.

  Mrs. Kantor pulled out an index card from the stack in her hand.

  “First question,” Mrs. Somerset started, “What is the capital of Washington State?”

  Beanie slammed the buzzer. A fraction of a second later, Katie did the same. Their buzzers overlapped like cawing crows.

  “Katie,” Mrs. Somerset called.

  “I pushed it first,” Beanie said.

  “Beanie, zip your lips. Katie, do you know the answer?”

  Katie drummed her fingers on the podium as she thought for a moment. “Seattle?”

  All the kids gasped.

  Mrs. Somerset’s brows furrowed like valleys. “I just went over this on Friday, Katie.”

  “You did?” Katie said in complete surprise.

  Mrs. Somerset sighed and then turned her gaze to Beanie. �
�Do you know the answer?”

  “Olympia,” Beanie answered.

  “Ding ding ding!” Ariel cheered.

  That fact Ariel knew because she had recently read a story about Zeus with Mrs. Kantor during one of her tutoring sessions.

  “Quiet!” Mrs. Somerset snapped.

  Ariel pouted and slouched at her desk.

  “That’s correct,” Mrs. Somerset said sullenly. “Give her a point, Greg.”

  “Just one, right?” he said in an indecisive tone.

  “Just one,” Mrs. Somerset said.

  He did as he was told, shaking his head at Katie.

  “Girls, ready for the next question?”

  “Ready,” Katie said.

  “Yes,” Beanie said.

  “What is 16 times 11?”

  It took Beanie a couple of seconds to do the calculation in her head. She slammed the buzzer the instant she finished the mental math. Katie was still mouthing each step after the buzzer sounded.

  “All right, Beanie. What’s the answer?” Mrs. Somerset said with anger in her voice.

  “It’s 176,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “That’s … correct. One more point and you win,” Mrs. Kantor said between clenched teeth.

  “And I get my lollipop,” Beanie said.

  “Just one,” Mrs. Somerset said.

  Katie flushed beet red. She felt like she was letting everyone down. Even though her classmates were on her side, she felt helpless. Beanie was just too quick and smart for her. Beanie was a bona fide know-it-all. There was no way she could win unless Mrs. Somerset had a trick up her sleeve.

  Mrs. Somerset went over to her desk and took a sip from her coffee mug. After she set it down, she said, “Are you girls ready for the next question?”

  “Ready.”

  “Yes.”

  Mrs. Kantor pulled out an index card.

  “How do you spell sapphire?”

  Beanie pressed the buzzer instantly. Of course she knew the answer.

  Mrs. Somerset smirked. “Yes, Beanie?”

  “It’s … ”

  Beanie tried to speak, but her lips wouldn’t part. It was as if they had been glued together. With all the strength she could muster, she tried to move her lips, but all that issued forth from her mouth was mumbling sounds.

  The kids smiled at once—except for Ariel.