Colorblind

by Leah Harper Bowron

  At that moment the class bell rang, and all of the students except Lisa and Cathy filed out of Miss Loomis’s room. Lisa and Cathy continued to comfort Miss Loomis, who continued to cry.

  “Please don’t let Will and David make you sad,” said Lisa. “They’re just big bullies who pick on everyone.”

  “That’s right,” said Cathy. “Why, they hurt Lisa’s feelings all the time.”

  “But I’m not going to let them win the bully game,” said Lisa.

  “I’m not on home base—I’m out,” said Miss Loomis. “I’m out—Will and David won.”

  “Miss Loomis,” said Cathy, “you’re not making any sense.”

  “Cents—I have dollars and cents,” said Miss Loomis.

  “Just focus on your word list,” said Lisa. “Everything is going to be all right.”

  “Left, right, left, right, march,” said Miss Loomis. “March, April, May.”

  “May I come in?” asked Principal Breen, who had been standing at the door.

  “In and out and out and in—I’m in a tailspin,” said Miss Loomis.

  “Girls, you need to go on home—I will take care of Miss Loomis,” said Principal Breen.

  “Who is Miss Loomis?” asked Miss Loomis. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

  Lisa and Cathy were very confused. Lisa began to cry, and Cathy continued to pat Miss Loomis’s hand.

  “Girls,” said Principal Breen.

  Lisa and Cathy each gave Miss Loomis a hug before leaving the room. Once outside, they began to discuss the situation.

  “What’s wrong with Miss Loomis?” asked Cathy.

  “She’s very upset,” said Lisa. “I’m scared for her—she was talking nonsense.”

  “I know,” said Cathy. “I just hope she will be all right.”

  “I just hope that Will and David are ashamed of what they did,” said Lisa. “Miss Loomis may very well quit now.”

  “I hope she doesn’t quit,” said Cathy.

  “So do I, Cathy. So do I,” said Lisa.

  Mrs. Parker and Harold were waiting for Lisa after school. Lisa got into the front seat of the car without saying a word.

  “Well,” said Mrs. Parker, “did you win the class-wide bee?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I did,” said Lisa.

  “Sissy won! Sissy won!” exclaimed Harold.

  “That’s wonderful, Sissy,” said Mrs. Parker. “I just knew you would. Now you get to wear your new dress tomorrow.”

  “That’s right,” said Lisa.

  “Well, you don’t seem very happy about it,” said Mrs. Parker. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes,” said Lisa. “Will and David started teasing Miss Loomis, and she started crying. The bell rang, but Cathy and I stayed with Miss Loomis until the principal got there. I don’t know what will happen to her.”

  “Well, I never heard of such sensitivity,” said Mrs. Parker. “What did Will and David say?”

  “They called her a Negro but pretended like it was one of the spelling-bee words and spelled the word N-I-G-G-E-R instead,” said Lisa.

  “Oh, that’s nothing,” said Mrs. Parker. “There’s something wrong with a teacher who doesn’t have the respect of her students.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with Miss Loomis,” said Lisa. “She is a wonderful teacher. Will and David are bullies and should be punished.”

  “I’ve known Will and David since they were babies, and they are not bullies,” said Mrs. Parker.

  “Oh, yes they are,” said Lisa. “I’ve seen them bully other children in my class.”

  “Who?” asked Mrs. Parker.

  “Will and David teased Clara Martin about her weak eyes, and Will broke her glasses with a dodgeball,” said Lisa.

  “Well you girls shouldn’t have been playing dodge-ball with the boys,” said Mrs. Parker. “Anyway, Miss Loomis had no business teaching at Wyatt, so it would be for the best that she quit.”

  “Mother, how can you say such a horrible thing?” said Lisa.

  “Besides, her crying today counts as strike three, and she’s out of Wyatt if I have anything to do with it,” said Mrs. Parker.

  “Please don’t do anything, Mother,” said Lisa.

  “Don’t worry,” said Mrs. Parker. “I’ll let nature take its course. And not a word of this to your father.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Lisa.

  That evening at dinner, Mr. Parker noticed that something was wrong with Lisa. While Mrs. Parker escorted Harold and Mark to take their baths, he sat down next to Lisa.

  “For someone who just won the class-wide bee, you seem to be awfully sad,” said Mr. Parker. “What’s wrong, Sissy?”

  Lisa’s eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry.

  “Oh, it’s just awful, Daddy,” said Lisa. “Will and David teased Miss Loomis, and she began to cry. The principal had to come and everything.”

  “Now, now,” said Mr. Parker. “I’ll just call Principal Breen and see what happened.”

  Mrs. Parker walked back into the dining room.

  “Well, I don’t see why you need to involve yourself in the affairs of a Negro school teacher,” said Mrs. Parker.

  “Don’t get started, Penelope,” said Mr. Parker. “Miss Loomis may need our help.”

  Lisa finished eating while her father called Principal Breen. She had another nervous stomach and had difficulty swallowing her food. Her father soon returned to tell her the news.

  “It’s more serious than I thought,” said Mr. Parker. “Miss Loomis’s doctor wants her to rest for the next two months, so a substitute teacher is taking over her classes. The championship bee will still be held tomorrow.”

  “Say it’s not so, Daddy, say it’s not so,” cried Lisa. “I don’t know what I’ll do without Miss Loomis.”

  “You’ll do just fine, Sissy, you’ll do just fine,” said Mr. Parker. “Why, look what you have done this past year. You don’t check out of school with stomachaches any-more. You’ve grown into a brave young lady who can win the championship bee tomorrow.”

  “Do you really think so, Daddy?” Lisa asked.

  “Of course I do,” said Mr. Parker. “Why don’t you win the bee tomorrow for Miss Loomis. She would be so proud of you.”

  “I will, Daddy, I will,” said Lisa. “I’ll do it for Miss Loomis.”

  That night before going to sleep, Lisa said a prayer for Miss Loomis. She prayed extra hard so that her prayer might be answered. Lisa went to sleep and dreamed that Miss Loomis was the only Negro soldier in a battalion of white soldiers behind enemy lines. Instead of a rifle, Miss Loomis was armed with a blackboard eraser, which she used to erase the white lines of attack on the battalion’s blackboard.

  The next morning Lisa awoke refreshed. She seemed ready to take on the world until she thought of Miss Loomis. She became sad, but she remembered her promise to win the championship bee for Miss Loomis. She put on the new white dress and tied the pastel paisley scarf around her hips. She wore panty hose for the first time with her white Sunday shoes. She was growing up, but she was still superstitious. She rubbed her green Ratfink eraser for luck. She also stroked the pink-and-white hair of her troll doll three times for luck.

  In homeroom everyone was talking about Miss Loomis. Rumors encircled the room. Jeff Stewart said that he had heard that Miss Loomis was crazy and was staying in a mental hospital. Roxanne Phillips said that she had heard that Miss Loomis was arrested and was staying in jail. Clara Martin said that she had heard that Miss Loomis would be back next week and that the championship bee would be next week. Mrs. Duke tried to make order out of the chaos.

  “Class,” said Mrs. Duke, “may I have your attention?”

  The students stopped their speculations long enough to hear what Mrs. Duke had to say.

  “Miss Loomis is taking a leave of absence from Wyatt, effective immediately,” said Mrs. Duke. “Mrs. Weaver will be your new English teacher starting today, and Mrs. Weaver will preside over the championship bee, which will be held th
is morning at nine o’clock in the auditorium.”

  “Not Mrs. Weaver,” thought Lisa. “She refused to teach in a colored school. She might dislike me because my father has colored clients.”

  Lisa began to get a nervous stomach. Then she remembered Miss Loomis.

  “I’m going to win the championship bee for Miss Loomis,” thought Lisa. “Mrs. Weaver will not stand in my way.”

  At the end of homeroom all the sixth graders walked to the auditorium for the championship bee. As the students took their seats, Lisa walked up the steps to the stage. Joining her onstage were the other contestants, Abigail Henry from Mrs. Darren’s homeroom and Charles Culver from Miss Newell’s homeroom. Mrs. Weaver and Principal Breen escorted the three contestants to three folding chairs located on the right side of the stage. Mrs. Weaver and Principal Breen then sat at a table that faced the three contestants. A podium stood at the right-hand corner of the stage.

  In the center of the table stood a trophy. It was a gold loving cup mounted on a wooden base. Engraved on the trophy were the words “1969 Sixth-Grade Spelling Bee Champion, Wyatt Elementary School, Montgomery, Alabama.” Underneath the engraving was space to engrave the champion’s name. Beside the trophy were red and yellow ribbons for second and third place. The three contestants could not take their eyes off the trophy.

  Principal Breen walked to the podium and began to speak.

  “May I have your attention, please,” said Principal Breen. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to the sixth-grade championship spelling bee. Our three contestants are Charles Culver, Abigail Henry, and Lisa Parker. Let’s give our contestants a round of applause.”

  While the audience was applauding, Lisa looked out to see her mother and father along with Harold and Mark seated in the third row. Mr. Parker had Lisa’s list of words firmly in his hand just in case the moderator strayed from its contents. Lisa smiled at her family.

  Principal Breen continued.

  “As you can see, we have a trophy this year. This beautiful trophy was donated by Miss Loomis and will go to the winner of the championship bee. Presiding over this bee will be Mrs. Lottice Weaver,” said Principal Breen. “Let the bee begin.”

  Principal Breen walked back to his seat at the table, and Mrs. Weaver walked to the podium.

  “The rules of the bee are as follows,” said Mrs. Weaver. “All words used in the bee must come from the list of words that Miss Loomis gave the sixth-grade students. Contestants must walk to the podium, say the word to be spelled, spell the word, and say the word again. Contestants may ask for the definition of the word to be spelled before spelling the word. Contestants may also ask that the word to be spelled be used in a sentence before spelling the word. If a contestant incorrectly spells a word, he or she will be eliminated from the bee. The last contestant remaining in the bee wins.”

  Mrs. Weaver walked back to her seat at the table. Directly in front of her was the list of words that Miss Loomis had given each sixth grader to study for the bees. Mrs. Weaver reached in her purse and pulled out another list of words, which she placed on top of Miss Loomis’s list.

  “Charles,” said Mrs. Weaver, “please spell the word ‘lily.’”

  Charles stood up and walked to the podium. He was wearing a navy blazer with a blue oxford cloth button-down shirt, rep tie, and khaki pants. He wore navy-and-ivory saddle shoes.

  “‘Lily,’ L-I-L-Y, ‘lily,’” said Charles.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Abby, please spell the word ‘daisy.’”

  Charles left the podium as Abby approached it. Abby was wearing a navy short-sleeved dress piped in red. She wore red shoes and had a red ribbon in her hair.

  “‘Daisy,’ D-A-I-S-Y, ‘daisy,’” said Abby.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Lisa, please spell the word ‘nasturtium.’”

  Abby left the podium as Lisa stood up and walked to it. She took a deep breath.

  “‘Nasturtium,’ N-A-S-T-U-R-T-I-U-M, ‘nasturtium,’” said Lisa.

  Mr. Parker stood up and faced Principal Breen.

  “I want to voice my objection to this last word,” said Mr. Parker. “The word ‘nasturtium’ is not on the list of words given to the students. Mrs. Weaver should be instructed to confine her words to those found on the appropriate word list.”

  “Well it doesn’t matter because Lisa spelled the word correctly,” said Mrs. Weaver. “I will now continue the bee. Charles, please spell the word ‘ebony.’”

  Mr. Parker sat down while Lisa and Charles exchanged places.

  “‘Ebony,’ E-B-O-N-Y, ‘ebony,’” said Charles.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Abby, please spell the word ‘ivory.’”

  Abby walked to the podium and looked at the audience.

  “‘Ivory,’ I-V-O-R-Y, ‘ivory,’” said Abby.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Lisa, please spell the word ‘mulatto.’”

  Mr. Parker rose from his seat, holding the word list in midair.

  “Objection,” said Mr. Parker. “This word is not only not on the word list, but it is also the rankest form of racism I know. Mrs. Weaver should be removed from this panel at once.”

  “Your objection is well founded,” said Principal Breen. “Mrs. Weaver, please give Lisa an appropriate word.”

  “Lisa, please spell the word ‘anxiety.’”

  Mr. Parker sat back down, and Lisa went to the podium.

  “‘Anxiety,’ A-N-X-I-E-T-Y, ‘anxiety,’” said Lisa.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Charles, please spell the word ‘dolor.’”

  Lisa left the podium as Charles walked to it.

  “May I have the definition of the word, please?” asked Charles.

  “‘Dolor’ means ‘sorrow,’” said Mrs. Weaver.

  “Would you please use the word in a sentence?” asked Charles.

  “Dolor and tears accompanied the funeral,” said Mrs. Weaver.

  “Dolor, D-O-L-E-R, dolor,” said Charles.

  “I’m sorry,” said Mrs. Weaver, “that’s incorrect. The correct spelling is D-O-L-O-R. Round two between Abby and Lisa will now commence.”

  The Parker family smiled up at Lisa. Lisa was poised for victory.

  “Lisa, please spell the word ‘perspicacious,’” said Mrs. Weaver.

  Lisa walked to the podium. She knew the word—it was one of the words she had studied with her father. She didn’t need the definition of the word. She didn’t need to have the word used in a sentence. She was ready to spell the word.

  “‘Perspicacious,’ P-E-R-S-P-I-C-A-C-I-O-U-S, ‘perspicacious,’” said Lisa.

  “Correct,” said Mrs. Weaver. “Abby, please spell the word ‘torpor.’”

  Abby walked to the podium solemnly. She was unsure of the word.

  “May I please have the definition of the word?” asked Abby.

  “‘Torpor’ means ‘dormancy’ or ‘apathy,’” said Mrs. Weaver.

  “Would you use the word in a sentence?” asked Abby.

  “His torpor kept him from voting,” said Mrs. Weaver.

  “‘Torpor,’ T-O-R-P-E-R, ‘torpor,’” said Abby.

  “I’m sorry,” said Mrs. Weaver, “that’s incorrect. Lisa, you are the winner of the championship bee.”

  Lisa stood up to the sound of applause. She was so happy. And she had done it all for Miss Loomis. The three contestants walked over to the trophy table. Principal Breen gave Abby and Charles ribbons for second and third place, respectively. With the trophy in his hands, Principal Breen walked over to the podium with Lisa.

  “May I have your attention, please,” said Principal Breen. “It is my pleasure to award this trophy to the nineteen sixty-nine champion of the sixth-grade spelling bee, Miss Lisa Parker.”

  Principal Breen handed the trophy to Lisa, who held it up for all to see. A thunderous round of applause followed. Lisa carried her trophy and walked offstage and into the audience. She was surrounded by students who were congratulating her. Then sh
e saw her parents and brothers.

  “Sissy, you won!” exclaimed Harold.

  “Sissy won!” exclaimed Mark.

  “Thank you so much, Bubba and Brother,” said Lisa.

  “I want to touch the trophy,” said Harold.

  “Let me,” said Mark.

  “Here you go, boys,” said Lisa, who lowered the trophy so they could touch it.

  Mr. Parker reached out to give his daughter a big hug.

  “Sissy, we are so very proud of you,” said Mr. Parker.

  “Thank you, Daddy,” Lisa said as she beamed. “I couldn’t have done it without all of your help.”

  “And how nice of Miss Loomis to have donated the trophy,” said Mr. Parker.

  “I want Miss Loomis to know that I won,” said Lisa.

  “I’ll make sure she gets the message,” said Mr. Parker.

  “Congratulations, Sissy,” said Mrs. Parker. “Let me see your trophy. Oh, look, there’s a place to have your name engraved on the trophy. I’ll take it to the trophy shop to be engraved.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Lisa while handing her the trophy. “I’m so glad it’s over.”

  The Parkers escorted Harold back to class and then went home. Lisa headed for recess with Cathy and Karen. The children were playing Red Rover. The playground was divided into two opposing lines of players. The players in each line clasped hands to prevent an opposing player from breaking through their line and taking their strongest player back to the opposing line. Will and David were standing next to each other in one line, and Lisa, Cathy, and Karen were standing next to each other in the opposing line. Will was the captain of his line, and Jeff was the captain of the opposing line.

  Will made the first call.

  “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Cathy right over,” yelled Will.

  Cathy ran as fast as she could and tried to break through the line between Clara and Roxanne, the weakest link. Clara’s and Roxanne’s hands remained clasped, with Cathy left dangling from their arms in midair, and Cathy was forced to join Will’s line.

  Jeff from the opposing line made the second call.

  “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Clara right over,” yelled Jeff.