by Robin Brande
MENA@REECEINSURANCE: But what if a new school board gets in and won't let you teach evolution anymore? What are you going to do then?
BIOHAZARDESS: I believe in God. I believe in evolution. I believe in the separation of church and state. Which one of those should I lie about just to make peace?
Fifty-two
I decided not to wait until senior year. I took an early bus and got off a few blocks from school and stopped to make my purchase. I kept it safe in my locker until third period.
I brought in my offering and laid it on Ms. Shepherd's desk and sat down without ever making eye contact. I figure what makes Josh so cool is he is a man of few words— plus, he has amazing computer and T-shirt design skills, but I'll shoot for one out of three.
Ms. Shepherd opened the brown and orange paper bag and set the pumpkin scone on top. She broke off a corner, popped it in her mouth, closed her eyes, and savored it. Josh was a little slow with the coffee today. Ms. Shepherd had almost finished the scone before she had something to wash it down with.
We didn't make eye contact at all, Ms. Shepherd and I. And that was fine with me. I was feeling a little shy around her, both because of our conversation last night and because of what Kayla told me this morning.
Casey and I ran into her as we left the library right before first period. I'm sure I was looking guilty, but Kayla didn't pick up on it. Her mind was already on the next issue of the Post. She was on her way to a meeting with her reporters.
She wore a T-shirt I hadn't seen yet—Brainiacs Unite. “Josh just made it yesterday,” Kayla said, reaching over to fluff up Casey's hair. “I'll get you both one. I'd say you qualify.”
She caught us up on the current stats. “Eight thousand visitors a day and counting. We're getting a lot of play off other bloggers’ links—science, religion, politics. People love you, Bible Grrr—”
I shushed her and looked around to make sure no one had heard.
Kayla ignored my paranoia. “I think a lot of the traffic is coming off Ms. Shepherd's site. That was bound to give us a boost—her numbers are huge. So if she says you're golden, you're golden.”
“She doesn't … know about me, does she?”
“Your secret identity? ‘Course she does. Knew it before she linked.”
“Kayla!”
“Inner circle, baby. I told ya.” She fluffed Casey's hair one more time and was off to stir up more trouble.
How weird. Ms. Shepherd knew Bible Grrrl was me— just some freshman girl in one of her classes, who isn't even that great at science—and yet she still linked to me off her website. Why? She knows far more than I do—about God, about science, about everything. So why is she linking to me?
But maybe the thing is she can't do everything. She's handling the science end of things, and maybe it's up to Bible Grrrl to handle the Bible. Not that I'm so great at that, either, but I'm willing to keep trying. I told my parents about it during that whole big confessional, and that was the one thing they actually liked. Which is good, because I have a plan.
You know how Kayla said that thing on her blog about me coming up with a whole Universal Theory of Religion and Science? I know she was probably just kidding, but I actually think it's a great idea. I'd like to figure out how to explain things in a way that would make someone like Bethany Wells believe in someone like Ms. Shepherd. It would be like my gift to humanity.
Maybe I should ask Ms. Shepherd if I can make that my science project. She'll probably say no, since it's not strictly SCIENCE, but I should ask anyway. I'm going to need a new project no matter what, since I don't feel right about taking credit for Casey's. Most of those ideas were his. I just did some puppy wrangling and some graphing, and even though I did come up with a few experiments on my own, it's nothing compared to Casey's effort. Besides, I would have done all that whether or not it meant an A plus plus in the class, since I can honestly say those were the happiest days of my life. So far. Especially last Friday night.
And anyway, wouldn't it be nice to see Casey win his place on Ms. Shepherd's website all by himself? I feel kind of weird I beat him to it.
Speaking of Casey, there's this spot in the back of the library where if you duck down behind the last carrel and are super quick about it, you can actually kiss your boyfriend without anyone ever knowing. It's not even close to being as great as sitting in a dark room with the scent of puppy in the air, but right now I'll take what I can get.
And did you notice that? Boyfriend. Not just boy friend. I think I know the difference.
And my last piece of good news: my parents said we're switching churches. Not that it was that big of a surprise, considering what happened, but I was still thrilled when they told me. They haven't decided where we'll go next. Maybe Ms. Shepherd's church? I'm not going to push it. But wouldn't that be cool? Not going to push it.
As hard as it was to tell my parents the truth about all my lies, it hasn't turned out that badly. The telling was the hardest part. I'm still on restriction for the next few months, but at least I don't have to worry about them finding anything out. I wasn't meant for sneaking around. Teresa was always better at that than I was.
Speaking of Teresa, I've been thinking about what Ms. Shepherd said—about how it's the freaks of nature who survive. And looking at my life these past few months in scientific terms, I can see how clearly she's right.
This is how I view it: I've spent years with Teresa and the other church kids, perfectly content to be part of their species. I saw no reason to change. Then something happened—Denny Pierce happened—and something inside me started to mutate. It's been painful to shed my skin or grow gills or whatever you want to call it, but now here I am, this new creature, and I don't fit with my old species anymore.
If you look at it strictly scientifically, it doesn't mean I'm good and they're bad or vice versa. It just means we're different. Teresa is one kind of freak of nature, I'm another, Denny Pierce is one, Casey and Kayla and Ms. Shepherd are others. All of us out here mutating and adapting and doing our best to survive.
Maybe some of my old friends will want to be like me someday. Maybe not. Like Ms. Shepherd said, there's room for the miraculous. Maybe Teresa will grow horns.
But I've decided that from now on, I'm just going to go forward and be what I am. Stop looking back and wondering what went wrong. Nothing went wrong. This is how it's supposed to be.
In a way, I get to be like one of Abbey's puppies. Setting off on my new life, with my basket of pigs’ ears and a brand-new squeaky toy. It's hard to leave the backyard and the rest of the litter behind, but that doesn't mean my new life will be any less fun. In fact, it might be better than I could ever imagine.
I'm proud to be a freak of nature. It's what's gotten me this far.
I think I'll tell that to Josh. Maybe he'll put it on a T-shirt.
Acknowledgments
As I have to remind myself when I notice the day is half gone and I still haven't settled down to work, books don't just write themselves. This one was no exception. I am deeply grateful for the assistance, input, and talents of the following people:
High school teachers Shannon Koza, Marisu McNa-mara, and Peggy Woods. Thank you to Ms. Koza in particular for letting me sit in on so many of your freshman biology classes and never calling on me once.
Dr. Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology at Brown University and author of Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. Thank you for your time and advice, and for setting such a fine example of how to be a person of both faith and science.
Ellen, Randy, Casey, and Connor Clark for raising such wonderful test subjects. Thank you to Casey in particular for the kiss that launched the subplot.
Carolyn Sweeney, for letting me e-mail her this novel as I wrote it each day, and always responding, “Send me more!” It absolutely kept me going. Thank you also for spending so many hours with me on the phone reviewing the many joys and outrages of our high school days together
to make sure I got them right, and for providing me with valuable insight from your own years of teaching high school.
Author Barry Lyga for always pushing both of us to do better and better work, and for reading, editing, and rereading every story that's come out of my fingers for the last several years. My work is so much richer because of you. And thanks for never letting me forget that I once asked you how often Publishers Weekly comes out. Get over it. I was tired.
Authors Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch for being so generous with their time, and for sharing the advice that changed my life and helped me understand writing as a career.
The supremely talented, high-class team at Knopf and Random House, including but not limited to Michelle Frey, Nancy Hinkel, Michele Burke, and Melanie Chang. Thank you to Michelle Frey in particular for exceeding any wish I've ever had about an editor. You're brilliant and clever and kind, and I could gush all day.
My agent, Laura Rennert, for all her hard work and valuable counsel, and for her expert matchmaking skills. I appreciate all your efforts now and in the future.
And finally, my husband (you know who you are), for making it possible for me to write this novel in the first place by supporting me in every known sense of the word. Thanks for kissing me and getting me fired. It's all been puppies and flowers since then.
Copyright © 2007 by Robin Brande, LLC
All rights reserved.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this work as follows:
Brande, Robin.
Evolution, me, and other freaks of nature / Robin Brande
p. cm.
Summary: Following her conscience led high school freshman Mena to clash with her parents and former friends from their conservative Christian church, but might result in new friendships and more when she stands up for a teacher who refuses to include “Intelligent Design” in lessons on evolution.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89165-6
[1. Evolution—Fiction. 2. Conduct of life—Fiction. 3. Interpersonal relations—Fiction.
4. High schools—Fiction. 5. Schools—Fiction. 6. Christian life—Fiction. 7. Blogs—Fiction.]
I. Title.
PZ7.B73598Evo 2007
[Fic]—dc22
2006034158
v3.0
