THE TELLTALE  FROG  HEART

                       by Danille Hersey

      Sue Bennet twisted the combination lock on her locker furiously. I'm not sick! she thought-49. Brad had no right to judge me like that-35. He's the one who's gross-15. With a violent pull, her locker swung open. Sue gently placed her little parcel on top of her biology book, slammed the door shut, and hurried to her next class. Her "little parcel" was in fact the heart of her dissected biology frog, wrapped in a paper towel. When Sue and her lab partner Cindy had finished removing and labeling the circulatory system of Chad, the name Sue had picked for their specimen, Mrs. Woodard, the biology teacher, instructed the class on how to dispose of the little pieces they had just so carefully taken out. But Sue, much to the disgust and horror of Cindy, had decided to keep the precious little organ, and wrapped it in a paper towel, then carefully shut it in her binder. "Sue, that is so sick!" Cindy had protested. "What on earth will you do with it?" "I don't know. I'll just keep it for now. It seems like such a waste to kill an animal just to rip it up and throw it out. Besides, it's not every day you get to look at the heart of a frog." Cindy and Sue had then proceeded to clean up the dissecting equipment. Cindy washed off their tray and tools thinking that they reminded her of some kind of torture devices from a sci fi movie. Sue carefully wrapped the remains of Chad in damp paper towels, placed him carefully in their ziplock bag, and returned him to the box marked "10th grade student dissections." When she returned to their table, she found Brad Shaw rummaging through her binder. "What do you think you're doing?" demanded Sue as she snatched it from him. "Just getting some paper. You said I could take some anytime." "Oh-right-sure, help yourself," managed Sue, snatching the frog package and handing him the binder. She usually liked to be generous to her classmates, even to Brad, who could sometimes be really obnoxious, but decided not to be so open handed in the future. "What are you hiding from me, anyway," he demanded, noticing the paper towel in her hand. "A love note?" Unwrapping the paper, Sue replied: "For your information, it happens to be Chad's heart." She wasn't quite sure why she had told him. She kind of liked to tease him, perhaps to show him that she could be weird, too. But almost immediately, Sue had regretted telling him, because his loud expression of disgust was heard by nearby students who crowded around to see if what Brad had shouted was true. Sue's face had turned red as she tried to explain to the small group of horrified students her reasons for keeping the tiny organ. But Sue was saved by the bell and had hurried out the door trying to avoid Mrs. Woodard and Brad, being unsuccessful with the latter. "Hey frog girl!" he called, his usual deep voice changed to a mocking taunt. "What do you put on your frog heart when you eat it: mustard or catsup?" "Actually, I prefer to eat it plain, thank you," answered Sue coolly, playing along with his game. "I like to enjoy its natural flavors." This comment sent Brad and his sidekick, Desi, into fits of laughter, while Sue again turned red, thinking, Why did I say that? Desi was a quiet sort of guy who chose to hide in Brad's shadow. Sue thought him a nice guy, only she wished he would choose better company than Brad. The two of them had teased her all the way down the hall until they finally reached their lockers, and left her alone with her thoughts. Now Sue sat in English class wondering if perhaps she should have just thrown out the heart like everyone else. She enjoyed being different, but didn't want to look like a sick-o. At the same time, though, she was mad at Brad for being such a jerk, and wanted to put him back in his place. After what seemed like hours of Mr. Bingley lecturing about Edgar Allen Poe, the bell rang, dismissing class for lunch. Sue hurried to the cafeteria and sat at her usual table with Cindy and Monique. Cindy was telling Monique all about Sue's biology souvenir. "You didn't!" she explained, thinking it was hilarious. "Where is it?" "I left it in my locker, but I'll show you what it looks like." Sue pulled out a bit of chicken from her sandwich and began to sculpt it using Cindy's fork. "See, that's the atrium and a ventricle, and you can see part of the vena cava." Monique laughed and squirted it with Kool-aid in an attempt to make it look like it was pumping blood. "Man, I wish I was in the same class as you; we'd have so much fun!" "That would be really scary," said Cindy. "I don't think Mrs. Woodard could handle you and Sue in the same class. Together, you might create some kind of Frankenstein." Sue and Monique's evil sounding laughter was interrupted by the sound of Brad announcing, "Hey, everyone, Sue's gonna eat a frog heart from bio class!" He was joined by Desi, Scott, and Crystal, who crowded around the table waiting to see if Sue would actually do it. "Did you really keep the frog heart, Sue?" asked Crystal, still not believing. "She sure did!" said Monique. "Look at that!" She pointed to the ball of chicken that was "bleeding" cherry Kool-aid. "But she's too scared to eat it," taunted Josh. Sue had wanted to put an end to this, but didn't want Brad to get the last word. So, wanting another laugh, and reminding herself that it was just chicken, Sue picked up the "heart," put it on her tongue, chewed it, and swallowed it. Scott and Crystal stared in disbelief while Brad and Desi laughed. "Hmmm...,"said Sue, "tastes just like chicken." Now Monique started laughing hysterically and Cindy couldn't resist a knowing smile. "That's sick!" exclaimed Scott as Brad and Desi walked off howling and Crystal backed off to a safe distance. "It really is chicken, people!" Sue called after them. She wasn't sure if they believed, or even heard her. For the rest of the day, Sue felt eyes staring at her and heard people talking about her. Brad continued to tease her, and Sue began to really wish she hadn't kept Chad's heart. At the end of the day, Sue took it out of her locker to show Monique, who thought it was fascinating. She then took it over to Crystal in an attempt to prove to her that she really hadn't eaten it. However, Crystal backed away, shrieking, "Get away from me!" This only brought more stares in Sue's direction. After they said goodbye to Cindy, Sue and Monique climbed on the bus. "What are you going to do with Chad's heart, anyway?" asked Monique. "I know I'm silly sometimes, but I don't think I'd ever take home a frog heart. Are you really going to keep it?" "I don't know. Maybe not. My mom would freak if she ever found it." At home in her room, Sue hid the paper towel containing Chad's heart in the closet under the dress of the doll her grandmother had given her years ago. It was the only place she could think of where no one would find it. Satisfied, at least for the moment, Sue pulled out her homework. A few hours later, after her dad had come home from work, Sue's mom and little sister Becca came home from the doctor's carrying the Chinese take-out they had picked up on the way home. "So, Becca, how did this heart-murmur evaluation-thing go?" asked Mr. Bennet as he took an egg roll. "O.K.," Becca replied. "They put this slime on me while the doctor messed around with a computer." "It turned out that the murmur is nothing-just a growing condition that should go away after a while," explained Mrs. Bennet. "That's good to know," grinned Mr. Bennet. "In a few years from now, you wouldn't want to have a gushy heartbeat on a hot date." Becca stuck out her tongue and started making heart noises with her cheek. "Stop it! That's disgusting!" complained Sue, who had been staring at her pork-fried rice thinking that the pieces resembled Chad. "May I be excused?" "Why don't you tell us about your day, first?" said Mr. Bennet. "Nothing exciting happened." "Is your biology class still dissecting frogs?" "Yeah, we did the circulatory system today. We pulled out the heart." "Gross!" shouted Becca. "What did you do with it?" asked Mrs. Bennet. "Well...um...we had to label it and show it to Mrs. Woodard, and then we were done with it. Can I please go now? I have to finish my homework. "Sure," said Dad, "but don't forget your fortune cookie." Sue cracked it open and read the message: What is hidden will not be forgotten. Sue retreated to her room, where, after making sure Chad's heart was still safe, she sat down to finish her biology homework, where she had to label the internal structures of a frog, including its heart. Sue had a hard time falling asleep that night. She couldn't stop thinking of Chad's heart, hidden in her closet. Her only sleep consisted of dreams about frogs with heart murmurs ripping out their beating hearts and eating them. Finally, unable to put up with it any longer, Sue crawled out of bed, turned on her flashlight, opened her closet door, grabbed the wrapped up heart, and, after slipping into her house coat and slippers, crept out the back door. I'll have to bury it, she thought, I don't want it in the same house as me. It was a mild April night, but Sue was shivering. She climbed behind the azalea bush, which was nearly in bloom. A full moon shone down, providing enough light for Sue to dig a small hole between the tulips and daffodils. There, trembling, Sue buried the heart of her little friend. I feel like a murderer burying the evidence, she thought. After covering the small hole with dirt, Sue quietly returned to her bed. She lay awake for a little while, not feeling any better. Slumber came, but with no peace. Sue was almost certain she saw Chad's face staring back at her. Suddenly, she started awake hearing the noise of: "Creee-eak...pump, plump, pump...gurgle...gush." Sue broke out in a sweat. She wasn't sure if was hearing her own heart beating...or Chad's. "Lub-dub...lub-dub...splursh...cro-ak..." Sue was in a panic. She closed and locked her door, and shut her window, which opened right out into the garden. She clutched her teddy bear and her flashlight for dear life, and sought refuge under the covers. "I'll never do it again," she promised in a whisper. "I'll dispose of Ch-that frog like Mrs. Woodard said. I'll stop pretending to be gross-just go away!" The lub-dubbing noise was soon covered by the soothing sound of rain. Sue was determined to stay awake, but sleep gently closed her heavy eyelids as the soft rain hummed a lullaby. The next thing she knew it was morning, and the birds were calling. Remembering last night's horror, sue slowly rose and got ready for school, first checking in her closet to make sure the frog heart wasn't there. As she hurried to finish her breakfast, Becca suddenly asked, "Mommy, what was that gurgley noise I heard last night?" Sue froze. She was certain her secret was about to be revealed. "I'll get rid of it!" she blurted out. "It won't happen again!" And she rushed out the back door and ran to the garden. Mrs. Bennet and Becca glanced a question at each other and shrugged. "There is a clog in the pipes," Mrs. Bennet explained. "You must have heard the water trying to get through. Daddy's supposed to call the plumber today." Meanwhile, Sue was frantically digging up the garden in search of the telltale frog heart. But all she found was twigs and worms. "Sue, what are you doing out there?" called Mrs. Bennet. "You're going to miss the bus!" Sue, with grass stained jeans and fingernails caked with dirt, gave up the search, grabbed her things, and ran out the front door with her mom standing behind, shaking her head. School dragged on as usual, but Sue was distracted. In biology, she let Cindy finish up the dissecting. She wouldn't even look at Chad-or at Brad."After I see your labeled digestive system," announced Mrs. Woodard, "you may wrap your specimen in damp paper towels, and place it in the trash. Make sure all your tools are cleaned and put away where they belong." "So, Sue, are you going to keep anything else; maybe Chad's spleen or something?" All eyes were fixed on Sue, including Scott's, Crystal's, Brad's, and Desi's. "Not a chance," replied Sue. "I'll throw him away myself." And, picking up a scalpel, she stabbed the poor dissected frog through what was left of his guts, wrapped him like a mummy in paper towels, and tossed the wad as hard as she could into the trash barrel. "Are you going to eat anymore frog hearts, Sue?" asked Brad. "No, I think I'll just stick to frog legs. They're more crunchy." Then, seeing Crystal's disgusted stare, she added, "On second thought, I might just become a vegetarian." And, smiling, she went to go wash her equipment, taking Scott's, Crystal's, and Brad's with her. As she turned on the faucet, Crystal asked, "Do you really eat frogs?" "Naw. It was just a joke. I like to get Brad going sometimes. Actually, I prefer pizza with mushroom and onions." After the frog lab, Sue earned the nickname, "Kermit," thoughtfully given to her by Brad. But instead of letting him bug her, she laughed it off. The next week, as Mrs. Woodard started the class of on dissecting a cow's eye, Sue made her table crack up by holding it up to her own eye, saying, "The eyes are watching you," in a scary voice. But she had no intentions of bringing the eye home with her. The last thing I need is an eye staring at me during the night, she thought, and carefully placed it in her ziplock bag, labeled with the names, "Cindy and Kermit." Walking out in her backyard one afternoon, Sue found her mom working in the garden, which had become a muddy pond with all the spring rain. "Sue, have you seen this plant before?" asked her mom. "It almost looks like a Lilly pad." Looking to where her mom pointed, Sue saw what did look like a Lilly pad, floating in the mud between the daffodils and tulips, near the azalea bush, right where she had buried Chad's heart. "It does look like a Lilly pad," answered Sue with a shiver. "It must be a weed of some sort. Hand me those clippers, will you?" "Mom, why don't we leave it here? It's not hurting anything. Since the garden looks like a pond, it kind of makes sense to have a Lilly pad in it." "Well, I guess it won't do any harm to leave it for now. Perhaps your frog from biology will find it." "I hope not!" exclaimed Sue, as she ran back to the house, leaving her mom to wonder at her unique daughter.