Fuzzy Mud

Sadly, Tamaya misses the balloon instruction exercise. At lunch, Monica and Hope instruct Tamaya not to tell the older boys she has a rash, which is gross in a bad way, but to say she jabbed herself with a pencil. Tamaya, feeling left out, wonders when her friends decided to sit with the older boys again. The boys are impressed with the other girls’ story of Tamaya’s injury. Tamaya is uncomfortable with her friends’ lie but glad they don’t consider her a Goody-Two shoes.

Tamaya is distraught to learn Chad is missing: She knows it’s her fault, though others assume bad things would inevitably happen to Chad because he’s a bad person. Tamaya seeks out Marshall, who is playing basketball with other boys. He ignores her. Finally, Tamaya tells the snappish Marshall that they need to tell someone what they know about Chad. Marshall refuses, insisting that Tamaya can never tell. Tamaya explains about the mud and how much worse off Chad must be. She furiously unwraps her hand, which is covered in large, bleeding, crusty blisters and has spread up her arm. She knows Chad must be suffering also. Marshall still refuses to tell anyone because doing so would put him on the spot for lying to Mrs. Thaxton. He returns to class, but Tamaya resolves to help Chad: “Somebody had to do something!” (89). She runs into the woods, taking her lunch for Chad. The product of the equations is 65,536.

Marshall is amazed that in just one day without Chad in class he has friends again. He’s grateful that others stood up for him, confirming Chad’s meanness, and is angry at Tamaya for ruining his good mood. He envisions her “grotesque hand” and her imploring eyes. He pretends that he’s protecting Tamaya from trouble by not telling Mrs. Thaxton the truth, but knows he lied because he was “scared and ashamed” (92). Mrs. Thaxton calls Marshall to her office, and he thinks he’s being reprimanded. He’s angry at everyone’s concern for Chad. Marshall is unrepentantly glad that Chad is gone. He briefly considers leaving school and making others worry about him for a change but knows he must tell Mrs. Thaxton the truth, as he thinks Tamaya will eventually tell someone anyway. Surprisingly, Mrs. Thaxton doesn’t ask about Chad but wants to know where Tamaya is. Marshall frets about seeing Tamaya at lunch but admits talking to her, speculating that Tamaya’s mother picked her up early for her doctor appointment. He doesn’t mention Chad. Mrs. Thaxton knows that Tamaya wouldn’t leave unexpectedly. She dismisses Marshall and places the school on lockdown. Marshall slips outside before her announcement and runs into the woods.

Tamaya searches the woods for Chad but can’t remember which way she and Marshall went the day before: She was too scared to look for landmarks. Now, she memorizes trees and other markers so that once she locates Chad they can find their way back to school. Tamaya shouts Chad’s name as she walks but knows her voice isn’t very loud. In school, teachers always tell her to speak louder. Tamaya sees a tree with white bark and a noticeable dead branch that points back toward Woodridge. She observes a new puddle of fuzzy mud. Again, Tamaya notices leaves around the puddle but not on top of it. She experiments by taking a large leaf and submerging it halfway in the fuzz. When she lifts it out, the part that had been submerged is gone. There are more mud puddles ahead of her. She considers returning to school, visiting the nurse to change her hand bandage, and getting a note for being late. Instead, she continues into the woods, shouting Chad’s name louder. The product of the equations is 262,144.

A new set of public—not secret—Senate hearings takes place in February, three months after Tamaya enters the woods looking for Chad. At this point, everyone in the world knows about the “disaster” in Heath Cliff and about Biolene and SunRay Farm. Senators Wright and Foote interview Dr. Peter Smythe, the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Smyth indicates that the CDC doesn’t know at this time what the microorganism is or how to cure the rash. He recommends that the president quarantine Heath Cliff, even preventing his own doctors and researchers from entering the town, because thousands are infected and five have died, one in the woods and four elsewhere. Smythe says that Tamaya didn’t cause the outbreak; rather, the microorganism “simply overwhelmed the environment” (100). The fuzzy mud even invaded people’s yards.

Tamaya spots a dead tree that she thinks looks familiar. She climbs onto it to get a look around and sees a gully ahead and two hills beyond that. She thinks one of the hills may be where she and Marshall ran away from Chad. She calls Chad’s name. As she jumps down from the tree, one of her feet lands in a puddle of fuzzy mud and gets stuck. Horrified, Tamaya grabs the tree and manages to free her foot. She immediately removes her shoe and sock—and then uses her sweater to wipe off her fingers and clean the mud from her foot until nothing visible remains. Tamaya is anxious about the mud’s unseen dangers. She leaves the dirty sweater hanging on the tree and heads downhill to the gully, calling Chad’s name. The product of the equations is 1,048,576.

Mr. Franks and Mrs. Latherly telephone parents to pick up their kids from school. Mrs. Thaxton speaks with Tamaya’s mother and learns that she didn’t pick Tamaya up early to go to the doctor. Tamaya’s mother heads home in case Tamaya went there after lunch without letting anyone know—even though both women know that would be uncharacteristic behavior. Mrs. Thaxton is teary with self-blame, thinking she should have put the school on lockdown when she learned Chad was missing. She was worried about Chad but knew he had behavior issues and didn’t think that whatever happened to him would affect the school. Even Chad’s mother was glad to pay to send her “problem” to Woodridge. Mrs. Thaxton views the reliable, conscientious Tamaya as the antithesis of Chad. Tamaya is so good that teachers overlook her. Mrs. Thaxton doesn’t yet know that Marshall is also missing. No one is worrying about Marshall yet.

Tamaya’s rash covers her whole arm, and her other hand now has red bumps. She feels tingly all over but knows things must be worse for Chad. Mud puddles are everywhere, and Tamaya spots a dead animal covered with fuzzy mud. Tamaya thinks she’s the only one who knows about the mud, which means she’s the only one who can help Chad. Tamaya painfully descends a steep, slippery slope down to the gully, which is partially filled with fuzzy mud. She finds a rock from which she jumps across the gully, narrowly missing falling into the mud. She’s in pain from her cuts and bruises but knows Chad’s pain is greater. She continues walking and calling for Chad. Tamaya hears stumbling footsteps and sees Chad, who responds to her in a whispering voice. His face is covered with blisters, pus, and blood, and is so swollen he can hardly see. Tamaya is appalled and momentarily silent. Chad sinks to the ground, piteously wondering “Where’d you go?” (111). Tamaya gently asks if he’s hungry. The product of the equations is 4,194,304.