Merci Suárez Changes Gears

Merci, Hannah, and Lena want to store all of their art supplies for the sarcophagus casting in Miss McDaniel’s office. When Miss McDaniels asks why they cannot store the materials in Ms. Tannenbaum’s room, Merci haltingly reminds her that storing the Anubis mask in Ms. Tannenbaum’s room is what led to its destruction. Reminded of this information, Miss McDaniels commands Merci to fill out an incident report about the mask. When Merci tells her that the incident doesn’t matter anymore, Ms. Tannenbaum disagrees. She says, “What happened is called destruction of personal property. And it’s unacceptable at Seaward Pines” (294). She firmly tells Merci to fill out an incident report, and Merci does.

In Ms. Tannenbaum’s class, there’s a lively debate about who should serve as the sarcophagus plaster model. In the end, Edna prevails. (Hannah originally asked her first, but Michael also wanted the position). It’s Merci’s job to put petroleum jelly on Edna’s face, to make sure that the plaster doesn’t stick to it. Both Edna and Lena rush her through this process, and the plastering begins. Edna instructs the other girls about how to apply the plastered strips successfully, and Merci asks her how she knows so much about art.