Anastasia Has the Answers by Lois Lowry

lines of seventh-grade girls. Ms. Willoughby was making a little speech about the kinds of things they'd been doing in gym.
    As usual, the educators were taking notes. This group included two Japanese—or maybe Chinese, Anastasia wasn't sure—gentlemen and a tall black woman in robes from some African country. There was also a woman in an Indian sari, with one long braid down her back and a red spot on her forehead.
    Standing there with her legs—the skinniest legs in the entire world, she was quite certain—exposed, feeling half-naked and very unattractive, Anastasia wondered if the kids in those countries had to wear stupid-looking blue gym suits in their schools. She watched the foreigners writing diligently in their little notebooks.
    "Tall girl with glasses at end of row six," she was sure they were writing. "Only girl in class wearing whistle on cord around neck. Skinniest legs in the world. Very awkward looking. Probably will be unable to climb rope."
    Hah. Wait till I show them. All of them, even Ms. Wilhelmina Willoughby.
    "Now"—Ms. Willoughby was concluding her speech—"I'm going to have this group of girls demonstrate rope-climbing. Anastasia Krupnik, there at the end of row six, has very kindly volunteered to direct the exercise. Anastasia, would you step forward?"
    Anastasia felt a new surge of love for Ms. Willoughby, who had done her absolute most tactful best to make it sound as if she had been specially selected as director, rather than the truth: that she had to blow the whistle because she had never been able to do better than dangle eighteen inches off the ground.
    Ms. Willoughby would be truly pleased by the surprise, Anastasia decided.
    She stepped forward to the spot that Ms. Willoughby indicated; Ms. Willoughby went over to the bleachers and sat down with the row of attentive educators.
    "
Phweet!
" Anastasia blew the whistle, and the first six girls moved forward to the ropes and began to climb.
    Watching, it suddenly occurred to Anastasia that 108
rope-climbing was, after all, a pretty dumb exercise. How often would you need to climb a rope in real life? How many of the girls in this class would become mountain climbers? How many would need to escape horn prison? (Daphne, maybe, if she didn't outgrow her adolescent pranks.) How many would have to be rescued from a rooftop by a helicopter? How many would—
    Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
One by one, Sonya, Jenny, Erin, Edith, Marie, and Jill dropped from the ends of the ropes to the mats that were spread on the floor, and went back to their places.
    Ho-hum. "
Phweet.
" It sure wasn't very exciting being the whistle-blower. But at least, Anastasia thought, her classmates were doing the rope-climbing quickly, so the period wouldn't end before her moment of glory.
    She watched, trying to look interested and attentive, as Karen, Daphne, Melissa, Liz, and the Wilcox twins climbed the ropes.
    Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
    "
Phweet.
" And the third row of six girls climbed.
    Anastasia began taking some deep breaths. She wasn't actually
nervous,
she decided, but maybe a little apprehensive. After all, she had only climbed the rope in her garage once. And it wasn't as high as the ropes in the gym.
    Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
    "
Phweet.
" The last row of girls—only four in this final group—went to the ropes. Meredith, Jessica, Bonnie, and Mary Ellen began to climb.
    Anastasia glanced at the educators to be certain they were paying attention. One of the Japanese men was looking at his watch, but she decided that didn't mean he was bored. He was probably just admiring his watch, since it was probably made in Japan; Anastasia's father's watch was made in Japan, and it did so many digital things that Dr. Krupnik said he was surprised it didn't write haiku as well.
    Thump.
Meredith landed on the mat.
    Thump.
Bonnie landed.
    Thump, thump.
Jessica and Mary Ellen eased themselves down from the ropes, and the four girls