The Tiger Rising

Later, Ms. Soames asks Sistine to introduce herself to the homeroom class. Rob doesn’t look up—he’s busy drawing a picture of the tiger. Sistine gives her full name, Sistine Bailey, and says she’s from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She “hate[s] the South because the people in it are ignorant,” and she insists her father is coming to pick her up in a week. Ms. Soames sends Sistine back to her seat, and Sistine glares at Rob as she sits.

Rob focuses on his drawing, but he wants to whittle the tiger instead of drawing it. His mother showed him how to whittle when she was sick, even though Rob’s father was afraid she’d hurt herself or tire herself out. Rob picked it up immediately. Now, in the present, it takes Rob a minute to realize that Ms. Soames is trying to get his attention. The principal wants to see him. Rob folds the tiger drawing and puts it in his pocket, and kids trip and insult him as he leaves class.