One whispered something.
Another laughed.
I felt my face grow hot.
I kept walking.
Inside, the hallway seemed louder than usual.
Some students stared.
Others pretended not to notice.
A few approached me with questions.
“Was that really your farm?”
“Did the power go out everywhere?”
“Can your pipe actually generate electricity?”
“Did the county guy get fired?”
I didn't know how to answer half of them.
The pipe hadn't generated electricity for the entire valley.
The little hydro system supplied limited power to farm equipment and the backup radio installation.
And I had no idea what the county intended to do about Danner.
But the questions came so quickly that I began feeling trapped.
Then a boy from my science class approached.
He was one of the students who used to call me Trout Professor.
He grinned.
“Hey, celebrity.”
I stared at him.
He laughed.
“Guess all that fish stuff finally made you famous.”
For a moment, I thought about Grandpa's advice.
People are allowed to laugh.
I tried to smile.
But I couldn't.
“It's not funny,” I said.
The boy's grin faded.
He looked toward the other students.
Then back at me.
“Sorry.”
I nodded and walked away.
In science class, our teacher asked me to stay behind after the lesson.
She was a woman in her early thirties who had spent the previous semester helping students design simple water-quality experiments.
She knew about the farm.
She had once visited with our class to observe the trout ponds.
When the other students left, she sat beside my desk.
“How are you doing?”
I shrugged.
“Fine.”
She smiled gently.
“Owen.”
I looked down.
She waited.
Finally, I admitted, “I don't like everyone watching me.”
She nodded.
“That's understandable.”
I stared at the tabletop.
“They keep asking me about the video.”
“Would you like me to remind the class that you don't have to discuss it?”
I looked up.
“You can do that?”
“Of course.”
I nodded.
“Please.”
She smiled.
Then she asked whether I wanted to talk about the emergency communications system.
I hesitated.
She continued.
“Not for a presentation. Just because I'm interested.”
I looked toward the classroom window.
The mountains were visible beyond the school athletic field.
Then I began explaining.
I told her about the spring.
The gravity-fed pipe.
The small hydro generator.
The batteries.
And the relay.
I explained that the station's capacity was limited and that trained adults handled emergency communications.
I told her about the school bus.
The downed utility line.