Free Bee Season by Myla Goldberg Page B

likes to think that giving Eliza her occasional flower gives them a special bond.
    The pre-bee service happens to fall on a birthday week, so there is cake. When it is Eliza’s turn Mrs. Schwartz, who is the de facto slicer and prides herself on not playing favorites, actually cuts a piece out of sequence in order to give Eliza a flower, saying that it will bring luck.
    Aaron tells himself he isn’t jealous. Dad’s announcement is no big deal. Eliza deserves the attention, she doesn’t usually get any, and the state bee is important. Except that Aaron has been to the state science fair a few times and Saul has never told the congregation about it. When Mrs. Schoenfeld offers him her flower he declines. He’s too old to care about such things.
    Once Eliza loots the
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table, she generally drifts outside to play tag until it’s time to go home. Usually this is no problem, but tonight grownups want to talk to her. Mrs. Lieberman corners Eliza by the Siddur table and kisses her on both cheeks. Eliza wonders if her lipstick has left pucker marks.
    “… is a wonderful thing that can open doors to wonderful places.”
    Eliza misses the first half. She has been watching Aaron, an
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pro, walk outside with neither cake flower nor good cookie, a sure sign that something is amiss. She feels a strange mixture of anxiety and pride at the thought that she may have something to do with it.
    Mr. Schwartz announces he is going to quiz her, one spelling champion to another. Up close, he has a brown front tooth and more wrinkles than Eliza thought. He sips his tea so loudly that she has to repeat NEIGHBOR three times before Mrs. Schwartz comes to her rescue, admonishing Phil for tiring Eliza out before the real thing. The sound of Mr. Schwartz’s until now unknown first name allows Eliza to picture Mr. Schwartz in some place other than the synagogue, wearing something other than a brown-striped tie with a stained tip.
    Eliza is steps away from freedom when George finds her. George, who lives in the apartment complex nearby, isn’t Jewish but comes to services every Friday and attends Saul’s adult education classes. Eliza once overheard him talking to her father about religious conversion, and George’s belief that if he is going to do it, he wants to “go all the way,” but that he isn’t sure he is “strong enough.” Eliza has no idea what George was talking about even though Aaron has told her he was once in the bathroom when George was peeing and saw that George was uncircumcised.
    George tells Eliza she will be representing not only her district tomorrow but Her People. George holds Eliza’s shoulders as he speaks and spits in his earnestness, the wetter syllables arcing harmlessly over Eliza’s head.
    “For centuries, the Jewish nation has been persecuted and exiled. Tomorrow is your chance to manifest the same spirit that has kept the Chosen People alive and faithful through their wanderings in the desert. What you’re doing is courageous.”
    Eliza’s eyes are at the level of George’s zipper. She squelches the urge to shout “Uncircumcised,” though still unsure of its meaning. Instead she silently spells the word. She smiles and nods at George as the letters dance and swirl inside her head until they are perfect, the word that is George’s secret spelled out in all its mysterious glory.
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    The Philadelphia Spectrum serves as concert venue, hockey rink, basketball court and, every so often, books the Ice Capades. Aaron has not attended a Flyers game since learning first hand that blood bounces on ice.
    The morning of the area finals is the closest the stadium comes to the best-of-breed tent at a county fair. Friends and relatives scan the spellers, trying to predict the blue ribbon winner. Eyes travel between contestants, gauging preparedness, intelligence, and spelling savvy. Some parents attempt last-minute changes to their entries. One speller stands frozen beneath a hand smoothing a cowlick. Another