Stella by Starlight By Sharon M Draper-pdfread.net

7
Piano Frogs
Mrs. Grayson, as they had predicted, was in the doorway waiting for them
as they arrived. They were late.
“Is she mad?” Hugh asked, ducking behind his brother.
“Not enough to use the paddle, I don’t think,” Herbert replied.
Stella thought she saw a hint of a smile cross the teacher’s lips as they
scooted past her to their desks. Grades one to eleven, about thirty-five
students altogether, sat in one room. There was no twelfth grade—
students got a diploma and could go to college when they finished
eleventh. Stella remembered how proud folks had been last year when
Liza Twitty had left for college in Atlanta.
The potbellied stove was already stoked with logs the older students
chopped each afternoon. The wooden desks of the younger children sat
closest to it, but the whole room felt toasty.
Stella slipped into her own seat, next to the upright piano that Mrs.
Grayson plinked out hymns and folk songs and ballads on. The thing was
ancient, but Mrs. Grayson managed to work around the keys that were out
of tune.
In the front of the room stood the American flag, which always tilted a
little to the right in its stand. On the front wall were silhouettes of George
Washington and Abraham Lincoln, a map of the world, and a map of
North Carolina. A red thumbtack marked the location of Bumblebee,
smack-dab between Spindale and Forest City.
After the Pledge of Allegiance and morning prayer, Mrs. Grayson
announced that they had a great deal to do that day, including arithmetic
for all grades.
Everyone groaned.
The teacher held up a hand. “But first we have something to discuss.”
Once she had everyone’s attention, she said, “I know you’ve all heard