I read a short story in English class around 1998-2001. The main character was a girl named Margot. The setting was a settlement on another planet - maybe Jupiter or Mars? The planet was excessively rainy, and the sun shone once every few years (i don't remember how many years). Among her classmates, Margot was the only one who talked about the sun and what it was like - warm, bright, shiny, etc. - but the other kids didn't believe her. It was hinted Margot may have lived on Earth, and that's why she knew what the sun was like, but most of the kids had lived their entire lives on this other planet, so that's why they didn't believe any of it. On the day the sun was going to shine, the kids tricked Margot and locked her in a closet. At the time of the sun glimpse, the kids filed outside to watch, forgetting about Margot. They enjoyed their time outside in the brief glimpse of sun, and then suddenly remembered Margot. Humbly they let her out of the closet to face x number of years before the next sun viewing.
Answer
That sounds like "All Summer in a Day", by Ray Bradbury. I remember reading it when I was in elementary school, and being enraged at the [string of expletives deleted] members of Margot's class.
Wikipedia plot synopsis:
The story is about a class of school children on Venus, which in this story is a world of constant rainstorms, where the sun is only visible for two hours every seven years.
One of the children, Margot, moved to Venus from Earth five years earlier, and she is the only one in her class to remember sunshine, since the sun shone regularly on Earth. She describes the sun as "a penny", or "like a fire in the stove", and the other children, being too young ever to have seen it themselves, refuse to believe her account of it. She is bullied and ostracized by the other students and is locked in a closet.
As the sun is about to appear, their teacher arrives to take the class outside to enjoy their only two hours of sunshine and, in their astonishment and joy, they all forget about Margot. They run, play, skip, jump, and prance about, savoring every second of their newly found freedom. "It's much better than sun lamps!" one of them cries.
Suddenly, a girl catches a raindrop in her hands. Thunder sounds, and they run back inside. At this point one of them remembers Margot who is still locked in the closet. Ashamed, they let her out of the closet, standing frozen, embarrassed over what they have done, and unable to "meet each others glances."
The precious sun has come and gone and, because of their despicable act, Margot, who loved the sun the most has missed it.
All Summer in a Day -- Wikipedia
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