Fuzzy Mud

Tearful and anxious parents line up in their cars at Woodridge Academy to pick up their children from lockdown. A teacher meets each car, checks the driver’s identity, and brings their child from the school to the car. Marshall’s father, John Walsh, has been waiting a long time for a teacher to bring Marshall out. He grows more worried as other students are released to their parents. He hears Mrs. Thaxton over the public address system ordering Marshall to the office. Shortly, he hears Mrs. Thaxton, sounding more distressed, summon Marshall again. The teacher returns to John Walsh’s car accompanied by a police officer instead of Marshall.

Tamaya gives Chad the juice box from her lunch, suppressing her disgust when her fingers touch his hand. Tamaya offers Chad her peanut butter sandwich, and he lunges at her, knocks the sandwich from her hand, grabs her neck and shoulder, and seizes her lunch bag. Chad knows who she is and has contemplated the horrible things he’d do to her for causing his affliction. Tamaya apologizes, saying that she didn’t know the mud would blind him, and admits that the mud hurt her too. Chad can see things only if they’re extremely close to his face. Tamaya chides Chad for attacking Marshall and threatening her.

Chad wonders if anyone knows he’s missing. Tamaya says the school knows and his parents must know too, since he didn’t go home. Chad disagrees. He’s convinced: “‘No one knows, no one cares’” (121). When Tamaya cautiously hands Chad the sandwich, he grabs her wrist to take it. Tamaya asks why he’s mean, but Chad doesn’t answer. When Tamaya expresses concern for him, Chad mockingly asks if she’s his mother. Tamaya shares her family situation, but Chad mutters again that nobody cares about him. The product of the equations is 16,777,216.

Marshall walks grumpily through the woods. He left school to get away from everybody, not look for Tamaya, who should be happy that Chad is gone. Marshall self-pityingly feels that everybody’s worried about Chad, and no one cares that Marshall is the “victim.” Other kids knew Chad was bullying him but didn’t do anything to stop it. At the same time, Marshall realizes that the bullying was partially his fault because he was too cowardly to stand up to Chad. He thinks the other students consider him insignificant. Marshall knows that Tamaya used to think of him as a hero, and now she’s out searching for Chad because Marshall is frightened to tell the truth. However, he thinks Tamaya is mistaken about the mud. A weird shape on a tree trunk looks like a snarling, rabid animal, but when Marshall approaches, he recognizes Tamaya’s muddy school sweater. Tamaya’s shoe and sock are nearby, next to a mud puddle. The sight shakes Marshall out of his self-absorption.

Tamaya guides Chad back the way she came, each holding one end of a long stick. She worries about crossing the gully. Chad responds to Tamaya’s earlier question, saying he knows he’s mean but doesn’t know why. Tamaya suggests he could stop being mean. He muses that he could hit her with the stick. Tamaya isn’t scared but struggles to think positively about Chad.

Chad tells Tamaya he has “perfect” siblings, two sisters and a brother. Chad knows he isn’t smart, and other students like him only because he’s unusual. He’s at Woodridge only to avoid jail, and his parents resent the expense. When Chad mentions he spends a lot of time climbing trees in the woods, making ladder rungs out of boards, Tamaya realizes one of Chad’s laddered trees is one of her landmarks. They descend the steep side of the gully. As Tamaya prepares to jump across, the rock beneath her gives way. She tumbles into the muddy gully and is completely submerged. Tamaya raises her head above the mud but is stuck. She keeps her eyes closed and shouts for help. Tamaya can taste the mud in her mouth. Chad can’t see her but extends the stick for her to grab, inadvertently thumping her in the head. The product of the equations reaches 67,108,864.

Marshall approaches and thinks he sees Tamaya stuck in a ditch and Chad beating her with a stick. Marshall hurries down the slope, shouting to Chad to let go of the stick, leave Tamaya alone, and fight him instead. Chad protests that he’s trying to help. Tamaya explains that he’s blind, and Marshall notices Chad’s gruesome face and struggles to make sense of everything. Tamaya warns him not to touch the mud, but Marshall deliberately puts his foot in it to get a grip on Tamaya’s hand. He pulls, but she doesn’t move. Marshall asks Chad to jump toward his voice and help, but Chad refuses, saying he can’t see. Marshall finally calls Chad a coward, which makes Chad angrily jump. Each boy takes one of Tamaya’s hands and pulls hard. Marshall grabs Tamaya around the waist and heaves her out of the mud. The product of the equations is 268,435,456.

Using his school sweater, Marshall carefully wipes the mud from Tamaya’s eyelids. He promises to get her home. Her vision is initially blurry when she opens her eyes. Chad is in bad shape, breathing raggedly. Tamaya uses Marshall’s shirt to clean out her mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, and nose, knowing it won’t stop the infection but glad she’ll be home soon to wash up and go to the doctor. Marshall helps Tamaya and Chad up the hill. She experiences widespread pain and increasing darkness.

Chad apologizes for his behavior toward Marshall and says he feels he owes Marshall an explanation. He explains that he hated Marshall because they have the same birthday, September 29—not, as Marshall thought, because Marshall inadvertently suggested Chad was a liar. Instead, Chad is envious because Marshall’s mom made him lasagna, his favorite dinner, while Chad’s family did nothing for him. Tamaya thinks Chad’s reasoning is illogical and doesn’t give him reason to be mean to Marshall. Chad agrees. Having trouble seeing where she’s going in the dark, Tamaya falls and hurts her foot. Marshall protests that it’s sunny out. When Tamaya closes her eyes and reopens them, she’s blind. The product of the equations is 1,073,741,824.

Marshall guides Chad and Tamaya through the woods. Like Chad, Tamaya can see only blurry shapes of close objects. She instructs Marshall to search for Chad’s tree with the wooden planks nailed to it. Chad excitedly talks about climbing trees and trying to find the tallest one. He’s surprised when Marshall thinks this is “cool” and not stupid. Tamaya thinks tree climbing is frightening, but Chad scoffs and says she’s brave. He offers to take them up his trees, where they can see for miles.

A noise makes them stop. Tamaya worries about Chad’s story of the mad hermit and wolves, so Chad explains he didn’t see them but did see a bearded man. Barking dogs and voices signify that rescuers have found them. Tamaya loves dogs, but when one licks Tamaya’s face, she worries about it getting sick. Men ask if they’re injured and if they were abducted. One lifts Tamaya to carry her back to school and then to the hospital. She warns him that she’s muddy, but he dismisses the mud, and she doesn’t have the energy to explain, knowing that everyone will learn about it soon.