Chen 1

Adrienne Chen
Frances McCue
HON 205A
26 November 2014
No I in Group
Alex Lee sat on the bench outside the principals office, feet swinging just above the
ground as the toes of her shoes scuffed against dark carpet.
Alex, your mothers here. Mrs. Pearson, the bespectacled office lady, called out as a
high-heeled businesswoman strode towards the bench, long hair swaying with each step.
Hopping onto the floor, Alex walked over to her mom, taking the outstretched hand and
looking up at her face. The expression she saw there did not bode well for her. Alex smiled at her
hesitantly, lips pulling up without really reaching her eyes.
Sorry?
Her mother did not smile back.
Well talk about it when we get back home.
Ever since shed been a toddler, Alex had been a precocious little thing. Her parents
would always tell stories about it at neighborhood gatherings, how they should have seen these,
ah, difficulties coming after they saw how she played in the preschool sandbox. Apparently, and
Alex had absolutely no memory of this so her parents definitely could have been making this up,
she used to take up the whole sandbox, keeping other kids out with sand walls as she sat in the

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middle, building little houses by herself. Happy as a clam, they said, ruler of a one-person
kingdom. The neighbors always seemed to find it charming, for some reason.
Can you really blame little me, though? Those other kids probably messed up my
masterpieces all the time before I figured out how to stop them.
Wow, and my parents think Im obnoxious.
Shut up, Luke.
The thing was, Alex was generally a pretty good kid. She did her homework, got up on
time for school (usually), ate her vegetables during dinner, that sort of thing. Honestly, Alex
thought her parents were lucky to have her. At least she wasnt like Robbie Donovan, who
always showed up for class late, too busy gelling his hair in the boys bathrooms, or the Lau
brothers who often didnt bother showing up at all. To be quite frank, her parents should have
been counting their lucky stars she hadnt turned out like Alice Meadows from down the street,
who got detention every other week for listening to music on her phone and falling asleep instead
of paying attention in class. There were a lot of ways students could go wrong at school, is all
she was saying.
You know, Alex, you cant just keep doing group projects by yourself. Youre depriving
yourself of the opportunity to learn from others, her dad said wearily, scraping carrots onto her
plate for her before passing it across the table to her mom.
Sorry, Dad, I swear Ill do better next time, she says sulkily.
It wasnt like Alex thought she was smarter than everyone else. She knew there were kids
who were just as smart, if not smarter than her. And when groups were assigned by the teacher

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for a project in class, she didnt go out of her way to do everything by herself. In all honesty, it
was just that every time there was a project, inevitably her group would try to do something
completely wrong and shed have to take over. That was it. Well, eventually it got to a point
where shed gained a tiny reputation for doing all the work and showing up to class with an end
product that looked totally different from what had been planned, but Alex didnt get why the
teachers were always upset. It wasnt like the project was incomplete, after all.
At first, Alex had tried to understand the problem, she really had. Luke, her best friend
and part-time sloth, had done his level best to explain it to her sometime in seventh grade. She
remembered one sunny afternoon, bright rays playing over the amber tones in his hair as they lay
in the grass side by side, spread-eagle.
I think that might be the issue, if you think about it, Luke had said.
What, that everythings done?
No, that you basically just ignore what everyone else wants and go off and do your own
thing. Like, other people have good ideas too.
But what if mine are better? It was an honest question.
Luke had sighed in a way that she would get used to over the next couple years.
Im sure youll get it at some point. Youre smart enough.
Beyond the occasional talking-to, though, her particular brand of overzealous selfsufficiency didnt ruffle many feathers. Most kids in her classes preferred to let the class knowit-all do her thing, and Alex was perfectly content to let them chat while she pulled irritatingly
long hair out of her eyes, ready to get down and dirty with the group assignment. For the entirety

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of middle school and most of her freshman year, she never really came up against much
resistance. Unfortunately for her, that was all about to change.
So Alex, why arent you working with Davis on the lab?
I am, Mr. Evans. Without looking away from the computer screen, Alex continued to
type up her chemistry lab report, distractedly flipping through the pages of collected data before
typing something else. It wasnt until the screen was lowered on top of her rapidly shifting
fingers that she stopped to look up. Mr. Evans smiled down at her benignly.
I think you and I should talk for a bit. Walk with me to my office.
Frown twisting her lips, Alex slid off her stool slowly, sparing a withering glance behind
her for the blonde boy with his arms crossed before striding out the door after Mr. Evans.
Following him to a desk, she stood at the rounded edge, bouncing just slightly on the balls of her
feet, anxious.
Swiveling to face her in his chair, Mr. Evans spoke.
Ive noticed you seem to have a problem with group work.
She probably should have paid a little more attention to what followed.
I think youre failing to understand that working with other people is an important part
of how science is done. This is supposed to be for your development, and to be blunt, your
attitude up until this point hasnt been conducive to that process at all.
Alex, having stopped listening in favor of continuing to write her report in her head,
nodded as she had always done with talks like these, smiling in mock-understanding.
Of course, Mr. Evans. I understand completely.

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The events of the next few weeks that followed this little exchange, Alex probably should
have predicted, given the pride with which she regarded her own intelligence. In fact, she
complained to Luke, it was patently unfair, the whole thing. So what if she had maybe, perhaps
rewritten some of her lab partners analysis of alkali metal properties without telling them. She
hadnt exactly gone Martin Luther on the flaws of her partners reasoning, and honestly, people
couldnt expect her to let that be graded, could she? It was so not a big deal.
She probably should have expected the long-suffering sigh she received in answer.
Alex also probably should have expected to make a mistake at some point or another, but
that was the thing about self-assurance. You never saw it coming when you did mess up.
Are you kidding me? This has got to be your fault, theres no way we shouldve gotten a
C on this report! Outrage was not a good look on Alex, the nostril-flaring and wide eyes only
serving to underscore the ugly twist to her mouth.
Miss Lee, Im going to need you to calm down immediately. A stern voice cut through
Alexs rather noisy tirade.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU oh.
Having whirled around with all the fury of a raging inferno, Alex deflated almost
instantly at the sight of Mr. Evans unamused face. Well. Unamused might have been
understating it a bit.
So it seems were due for another talk. There wasnt a smile this time.
The reprimand would sting, no matter how Alex sliced it.

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From what I heard out there, you seem to be under the impression that your partner is
responsible for the grade you received on your latest lab report. And you would be wrong. Ive
asked you before to work together with your lab partners and you seriously need to understand
that youre hindering your own education by refusing to do so. Mistakes like these arent
uncommon, they happen all the time, especially with kids who are as smart as you. But thats not
the point Im trying to make here. Its important to remember that no scientist is ever very
successful working alone.
That last bit had seemed significant, in as much as she could process the advice over the
pounding flush in her cheeks, embarrassment palpably real. In retrospect, Alex probably should
have appreciated that little pearl of wisdom a little more in the moment. Then again, there were a
lot of should haves that had gone unnoticed up until that point.
Its not about doing better, Alex. Group work is called group work for a reason, you
need to understand that. I dont want you to be getting in trouble with the principal just because
youre not letting other people pull their weight.
Okay, I get it, Dad. I said Im sorry already, will you let it go so we can all eat?
The ensuing visit to the principal after her little talk with Mr. Evans was nothing short of
excruciating. Alex had never dealt well with authority figures expressing their disappointment in
her, how they had expected so much better from someone like her. As a tiny kid in first grade,
getting scolded by a teacher used to bring on a storm of bawling, the likes of which usually
required a call to her parents in order to calm her down. Just thinking about it made her cringe.
Having gotten through elementary school on pure bluster when it came to handling similar

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disciplinary action, Alex knew from the get-go that this particular one wasnt going to be a walk
in the park.
I think this will be good for you, her mom said, getting her two cents in. You were
going to need to learn at some point how to work with other people properly, now is as good a
time as any.
That is so not the point, Alex grumbled.
What is the point exactly, Alex? That I had to take time off work to pick you up from
the principals office? Because you apparently dont know how to work in a group?
This is not my fault. I do the work, I get things done, and I still dont understand why
everyone seems to think theres something wrong with that!
Well, you better figure that out soon because in the meantime, youll be doing your new
assignments as instructed. No buts.
I know already, oh my god, I am not six years old anymore.
The next few months passed in a blur for Alex. Reluctant or not, she was a perfectionist
at heart, and doing sub-par work just to spite this whole, pointless group project exercise was
never in the cards. And thus, Alex found herself entrenched in various labs outside of class, all of
which required working together with other students from different classes. That is not to say
that everything went smoothly, of course.
Can you not touch that? Im trying to observe the behavior, we need to record this.
Do you even know what that is, Alex? Chris and I already finished that part. Were
supposed to be writing about this thing now.

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Oh.
It was strange, to say the least. Alex was pretty sure it was intentional on Mr. Evanss
part but the people she worked with genuinely cared about doing their part on the projects. It was
definitely a change from the kids who used to just gossip for the whole class while she worked,
nose to the proverbial grindstone. A nice change, if a little jarring. Certainly made for an easier
workload though.
Hey, why dont you guys handle the numbers and then Ill get started on writing out the
analysis for the reaction, yeah?
Sure thing, Alex.
Yeah, you got it!
All enthusiasm and prompt replies; jarring didnt really begin to cover it for Alex.
That aside, for what felt like the first time in as long as she could remember, Alex was
having fun, as trite as that sounded. Not in general, because obviously she had fun outside of
schoolwork. She was a nerd, but she still had a life after all. But for once, working in a group
didnt feel like trying to pull off a one-man-band performance.
I swear, its like the weirdest thing, Luke. For some reason, these projects dont make
me feel like having to drag myself through mud to work with these people. Its like Ive stepped
into a crazy alternate universe where group work isnt the worst thing in the world.
It was another sunny afternoon, barely-there breeze making itself known as it rustled
through the trees. Luke closed his eyes before staring back up at the upright Alex from where he
was lying on his stomach.

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Youre finally getting it. Smug. That was the only word for it.
Alex punched him in the arm. Alright, smart guy, save the I told you so for later,
huh?
He just laughed.
I did tell you though, didnt I?
Alex felt the corner of her lip pull up despite herself.
So, Miss Lee, how do you feel about all your projects so far?
Mr. Evans looked far more amiable than the last time they had spoken. Which was to be
expected when the last time they had seen each other was over how to get Alex to not do other
peoples work. She didnt want to think about a scenario where shed have to see him any less
amiable.
You know what, Mr. Evans? Alex flashed a cheeky grin. I feel pretty great.
Of course, old habits die hard, or so the saying goes. Proved true enough for Alex, who
had some trouble not slipping back into the old routine of shouldering all the work at once. Help
was nothing if not forthcoming though.
I swear, Alex, if you even think about starting my part without me, so help me I will
sing Taylor Swift songs every time you walk into the room and you will hate it.
Alex, back away from the spectrometer or your cupcake is dead to this world. There will
be no mercy.
It was a delicate balance, but it was effective nonetheless.

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Beyond attempting to maintain this new attitude, Alex knew there was something to be
learned from all this. It had been said repeatedly after all, but of course, she only really puts it
together after the fact. Above anything else though, what resonates with Alex is that one little
pearl from Mr. Evans.
No scientist is ever very successful working alone.
You know, I called this so long ago. Im basically a prophet.
Oh my god, Luke, get over it already.