6 Extraordinary Ellen why don’t we talk about this later Dad said to Mom It takes guts to be a true individual Thanks I said I sat up a little straighter in my seat A true individual That’s what I needed if I was on my way to being extraordinary Dad winked at me Mom sighed and set her phone down So we were thinking Dad said glancing at the clock Do you want me to give you a ride on your first day A ride I looked up from my bagel To school Sure Dad said but he looked away busying himself with folding up the newspaper Since it’s your first day of fifth grade and all Oh The first day of a new school year without Anna is what he meant The old Pansy would have taken him up on it Instead I said I told Andy I’m meeting him like always Oh okay Dad said We were just wondering No I mean yeah I’m fine I glanced up at the clock Cutting off my hair had taken longer than I thought I gulped down the last of my breakfast and ran to the shoe basket next to the door I strained my ears to hear my parents conversation as I slipped on my shoes but couldn’t make out their words I was sure they were talking about me Bye Mom Bye Dad I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door Luckily Greenview Elementary was
Miriam Spitzer Franklin 7 only a few blocks away I took off in a run hoping Andy Anna’s twin brother hadn’t left without me I spotted him as I rounded the corner He was waiting on his front porch glancing at his watch as he paced back and forth Hey I stopped to catch my breath Sorry I’m late Mrs Liddell stuck her head out the door Hi Pansy Hi Mrs Liddell How’s Anna doing today Mrs Liddell smiled Great She’s already had a big breakfast and she has a therapy appointment this morning Oh wow I love your new haircut Thanks I cut it this morning This morning Her eyes opened wide You did it yourself Mom we gotta go Andy said Mrs Liddell gave Andy a hug and he squirmed away as fast as he could Come on Pansy he said hopping off the porch Have a great day Mrs Liddell called to us When we got to the end of the driveway I ran my hand over my short hair and smiled at Andy So what do you think Do you like it He stared at me for a minute Then he shook his head No You look weird I rolled my eyes and started walking again faster this time You’re just like my mom She tried to make me an appointment this afternoon with her hairdresser
8 Extraordinary It’s not that Andy said I don’t get why you’d cut it off that’s all For Locks of Love I said You know like Anna did Andy sucked in his breath and looked away from me I wanted to explain why I had to cut my hair that I’d over heard my mom talking to his mom on the phone and that I knew all about Anna’s brain surgery I wanted to tell him about my plans to become extraordinary so Anna would for give me But the words got stuck in my throat We walked the rest of the way in silence I hope we don’t have a lot of homework this year Andy finally said as we neared the front doors I hope Miss Quetzel’s not as bad as some of the other fifth-grade teachers Last year I heard that Mrs Sandora assigned a five page paper for homework on the very first day of school I raised an eyebrow at him Five pages On the first night I bet someone made that up to scare you It’s true Jacob Lambuca had her last year Everyone had to write about how they spent their summer vacation I don’t believe it I shook my head wondering how I’d fill up five pages about my vacation Pushed Anna on the swing Handed Anna a toy Talked to Anna even though she didn’t understand what I was saying Played with Andy in his treehouse Went home and thought about Anna Besides Miss Quetzel’s a new teacher She’s probably much nicer than Mrs Sandora Maybe Hey Pansy
Miriam Spitzer Franklin 9 What Why are you wearing two different colored shoes I stopped in front of the school and looked down at my feet One pink sneaker and one blue Uh-oh My stomach dropped to my toes Would people be like Dad and think that I was a true individual Or would they think I was plain weird Anna would have laughed and then she would have offered to switch one of her shoes so it would be like we’d mixed everything up on purpose Andy just shrugged and pushed open the doors with out saying another word Miss Quetzel stood in the doorway of Room 5A Her red hair fell past her shoulders in bouncy ringlets and her green eyes sparkled as she smiled at me I could already tell she was a lot nicer than old Mrs Sandora Welcome to fifth grade she greeted us Look for your nametag and then you can start on some fun activity sheets that are on your desk I smiled back and walked into the room Maybe if I pretended I didn’t notice my shoes no one else would either As I wandered around looking for my nametag a punch landed smack on my shoulder I turned to find Zach Turansky the most obnoxious boy in the fifth grade standing behind me Just my luck He pointed at my lopsided haircut an ugly grin on his face
