Goodbye, Mr. Terupt, page 21
It didn’t matter how much I tried telling myself I was ready. I wasn’t. And time wasn’t the answer. I’d never be ready to watch one of the most important people in my life drive away.
But he did. And I just stood there, staring into the distance even after he’d disappeared from sight, because I didn’t know what else to do. Luckily, after Lexie hugged Jessica goodbye, she came and took my hand.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said.
It was her turn to take care of me. T was gone, but we were still looking out for each other. That wasn’t going to stop just because he wasn’t around. We were going to be okay. Why? Because our time with T had bound us together forever—in ways nothing else could. It was that special—and I was lucky to have experienced it.
IF Mr. Terupt moves away with his family, THEN it will be hard for the gang, but by sticking together we will continue to make him proud from afar.
Making Mr. Terupt proud was a lifelong project, and I only got the best grades on my projects, so this was a no-brainer. It was the other proof that had me stumped.
IF the gang leaves only Danielle and me standing together after Mr. Terupt departs, THEN am I supposed to make some sort of move?
THEN what happens?
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt…
I whisper,
staring at his taillights,
fading in the distance.
My eyes tear,
but my mouth smiles;
my heart hurts,
but it is full.
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt,
I whisper
standing in his old house,
my new house,
Hope’s old bedroom,
now my bedroom—in need of a drastic Lexie makeover.
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt,
I whisper.
Till we meet again,
thank you.
Thank you so much,
for everything.
EPILOGUE
Mr. Terupt
“Hey, hon. Come look at this,” Sara called from the other room.
“C’mon, Hope. Let’s go see what Mommy wants.” I scooped up my daughter and carried her into the kitchen, where Sara was busy unpacking yet another box.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I found this.”
Sara handed me a beautiful drawing of the gang. Each kid in the sketch held a letter above his or her head spelling out the word WELCOME. And below the kids was a sketch of Hope. She was sitting on top of the word HOME.
“Danielle must’ve drawn this for us,” I said.
“How sweet of her. Do you think each of the kids hid something?”
I looked at her. “Oh, no.”
“What?”
“If they did, that means Peter has a surprise waiting for us inside one of these boxes.”
“Oh, no,” Sara replied.
“Uh-oh,” Hope chirped.
“Exactly. Uh-oh,” I agreed. “Keep going,” I told Sara, “but be careful. And let me know if you come across anything that seems suspicious.”
“Uh-oh,” Hope chirped again.
I returned to my box in the living room, and Hope stayed in the kitchen helping Sara. By the end of the day, we’d done some serious unpacking and had discovered a beautiful poem from Jessica, a multiple-choice test from Luke where all of the answers were “The Gang,” a fashion scarf that was for Hope or Sara left by Lexie, a rectangular block of wood with Hope’s name cut out of it that Jeffrey must’ve created with my jigsaw, and a thumb drive loaded with photographs of the gang. My favorite was the shot of them huddled around Hope on her play mat. It was clear all of the kids were involved in this surprise project. I could hear Luke’s excitement now. But still missing was whatever Peter had stashed away.
I had just finished reading a bedtime story to Hope and was on my last box for the night when I came across another something. “I think I’ve got it!” I yelled to Sara.
She came into the room carrying Thomas and I showed her the tiny gift-wrapped box. “From Peter?” she said. “All wrapped up?”
“It’s wrapped, but not perfectly,” I pointed out. “This has tricky Peter written all over it.”
“Be careful,” Sara warned.
I peeled the paper away and slowly lifted the lid of the box. Nothing jumped out, so I peeked inside. There was a scrap of paper. I pulled it out and read it aloud.
Hey T,
Did you smell it? I left you a fart in the box. Now your new place will smell like home sweet home.
Your favorite,
Peter
“Are you sure you’re going to miss him?” Sara asked.
“I already do.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d first like to acknowledge my Mr. Terupt fans. Your continued enthusiasm gave me the inspiration and courage to write this book. Thank you.
A big thank-you to the North Andover wrestling team for welcoming me into their practice room, giving me great workouts, and helping me recharge mentally. Wrestle’Lympics is an annual event held in this special community, and after learning about it, I was excited to find a place for it in this story. Amazing work!
I owe tremendous thanks to Beverly Horowitz for her guidance, support, and friendship. The same goes for my agent, Paul Fedorko.
Thank you to Chelan Ecija and Jinna Shin, artist and designer, respectively, for the beautiful new covers for the whole series. I love them!
My eternal gratitude to Françoise Bui. I can’t express how happy it makes me that I was able to finish my Mr. Terupt series with you as my editor—the same person who helped me get it started those many years ago. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with you. Thank you!
Lastly, my family. Thank you to Lily and Anya for cheering me on to the finish line—and for getting me away from the computer and into the pool! And to Beth and Emma. You can add in-home editor to your titles. As always, your feedback on my early drafts was incredibly helpful and—I hesitate to say this—smart. I won’t say who helps most. Love you all!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ROB BUYEA taught third and fourth graders for six years; then he taught high school biology and coached wrestling for seven years. Currently, he is a full-time writer and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and daughters. He is the author of the Perfect Score series. His first novel, Because of Mr. Terupt, was selected as an E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book and a Cybils Honor Book. It has also won seven state awards and was named to numerous state reading lists. Goodbye Mr. Terupt; Mr. Terupt Falls Again; and Saving Mr. Terupt are companion novels to Because of Mr. Terupt.
robbuyea.com
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But he did. And I just stood there, staring into the distance even after he’d disappeared from sight, because I didn’t know what else to do. Luckily, after Lexie hugged Jessica goodbye, she came and took my hand.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said.
It was her turn to take care of me. T was gone, but we were still looking out for each other. That wasn’t going to stop just because he wasn’t around. We were going to be okay. Why? Because our time with T had bound us together forever—in ways nothing else could. It was that special—and I was lucky to have experienced it.
IF Mr. Terupt moves away with his family, THEN it will be hard for the gang, but by sticking together we will continue to make him proud from afar.
Making Mr. Terupt proud was a lifelong project, and I only got the best grades on my projects, so this was a no-brainer. It was the other proof that had me stumped.
IF the gang leaves only Danielle and me standing together after Mr. Terupt departs, THEN am I supposed to make some sort of move?
THEN what happens?
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt…
I whisper,
staring at his taillights,
fading in the distance.
My eyes tear,
but my mouth smiles;
my heart hurts,
but it is full.
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt,
I whisper
standing in his old house,
my new house,
Hope’s old bedroom,
now my bedroom—in need of a drastic Lexie makeover.
Goodbye, Mr. Terupt,
I whisper.
Till we meet again,
thank you.
Thank you so much,
for everything.
EPILOGUE
Mr. Terupt
“Hey, hon. Come look at this,” Sara called from the other room.
“C’mon, Hope. Let’s go see what Mommy wants.” I scooped up my daughter and carried her into the kitchen, where Sara was busy unpacking yet another box.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I found this.”
Sara handed me a beautiful drawing of the gang. Each kid in the sketch held a letter above his or her head spelling out the word WELCOME. And below the kids was a sketch of Hope. She was sitting on top of the word HOME.
“Danielle must’ve drawn this for us,” I said.
“How sweet of her. Do you think each of the kids hid something?”
I looked at her. “Oh, no.”
“What?”
“If they did, that means Peter has a surprise waiting for us inside one of these boxes.”
“Oh, no,” Sara replied.
“Uh-oh,” Hope chirped.
“Exactly. Uh-oh,” I agreed. “Keep going,” I told Sara, “but be careful. And let me know if you come across anything that seems suspicious.”
“Uh-oh,” Hope chirped again.
I returned to my box in the living room, and Hope stayed in the kitchen helping Sara. By the end of the day, we’d done some serious unpacking and had discovered a beautiful poem from Jessica, a multiple-choice test from Luke where all of the answers were “The Gang,” a fashion scarf that was for Hope or Sara left by Lexie, a rectangular block of wood with Hope’s name cut out of it that Jeffrey must’ve created with my jigsaw, and a thumb drive loaded with photographs of the gang. My favorite was the shot of them huddled around Hope on her play mat. It was clear all of the kids were involved in this surprise project. I could hear Luke’s excitement now. But still missing was whatever Peter had stashed away.
I had just finished reading a bedtime story to Hope and was on my last box for the night when I came across another something. “I think I’ve got it!” I yelled to Sara.
She came into the room carrying Thomas and I showed her the tiny gift-wrapped box. “From Peter?” she said. “All wrapped up?”
“It’s wrapped, but not perfectly,” I pointed out. “This has tricky Peter written all over it.”
“Be careful,” Sara warned.
I peeled the paper away and slowly lifted the lid of the box. Nothing jumped out, so I peeked inside. There was a scrap of paper. I pulled it out and read it aloud.
Hey T,
Did you smell it? I left you a fart in the box. Now your new place will smell like home sweet home.
Your favorite,
Peter
“Are you sure you’re going to miss him?” Sara asked.
“I already do.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d first like to acknowledge my Mr. Terupt fans. Your continued enthusiasm gave me the inspiration and courage to write this book. Thank you.
A big thank-you to the North Andover wrestling team for welcoming me into their practice room, giving me great workouts, and helping me recharge mentally. Wrestle’Lympics is an annual event held in this special community, and after learning about it, I was excited to find a place for it in this story. Amazing work!
I owe tremendous thanks to Beverly Horowitz for her guidance, support, and friendship. The same goes for my agent, Paul Fedorko.
Thank you to Chelan Ecija and Jinna Shin, artist and designer, respectively, for the beautiful new covers for the whole series. I love them!
My eternal gratitude to Françoise Bui. I can’t express how happy it makes me that I was able to finish my Mr. Terupt series with you as my editor—the same person who helped me get it started those many years ago. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with you. Thank you!
Lastly, my family. Thank you to Lily and Anya for cheering me on to the finish line—and for getting me away from the computer and into the pool! And to Beth and Emma. You can add in-home editor to your titles. As always, your feedback on my early drafts was incredibly helpful and—I hesitate to say this—smart. I won’t say who helps most. Love you all!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ROB BUYEA taught third and fourth graders for six years; then he taught high school biology and coached wrestling for seven years. Currently, he is a full-time writer and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and daughters. He is the author of the Perfect Score series. His first novel, Because of Mr. Terupt, was selected as an E. B. White Read Aloud Honor Book and a Cybils Honor Book. It has also won seven state awards and was named to numerous state reading lists. Goodbye Mr. Terupt; Mr. Terupt Falls Again; and Saving Mr. Terupt are companion novels to Because of Mr. Terupt.
robbuyea.com
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Rob Buyea, Goodbye, Mr. Terupt
