1 Chapter ROOM 217 Some places are off limits Area 51 Fort Knox The teachers lounge Room 217 is on that list Few people have been inside Not me Not my friend Yulia Glatt either Until now Are you sure we’re ready for this Davis Yulia asked Honestly I wasn’t sure I mean Yulia and I had talked about this since fourth grade And three years is a long time to want something and then change your mind because you chicken out All I knew was that this was a new school year And today was a milestone kind of day It was the kind of day that would be entered in the baby book my mom still keeps up My baby book is filled with interesting facts about me Like 4
the night I ditched training undies and slept in real cotton That lunch where I ate a whole sandwich instead of half of one And the time I finally went from sleeping between Mom and Dad during a thunderstorm to camping on my floor in a fort Sometimes being an only child is weird Anyway by the end of the day I would accomplish something else important I’d go from uncool nobody to supercool somebody Thinking about it gave me courage C’mon Yulia I opened the door There was no turning back now We stood inside Room 217 We were officially members of the Benton Bluff Junior High band Whoa Yulia whispered Check it out Davis Rows of trophies in lighted glass cases lined one entire wall Students hung out in chairs arranged on different levels kind of like in a movie theater except these were in a half circle They faced the desk in the center of the room where Mr Byrd 5
the band director sat As usual he was wearing a tropical shirt this one featuring not just big flowers but also pink flamingos sipping lemonade Mr Byrd looked over the rims of his glasses at Yulia and me Are you going to stand there gawking or are you going to choose an instrument Um choose an instrument I mumbled Speak up son Mr Byrd said Yulia elbowed me and whispered Don’t forget to say sir Choose an instrument sir I said louder this time Mr Byrd is an ex band geek And even though he dresses like he’s ready to hit the beach for some fun in the sun he directs his band like he’s a drill sergeant and expects everyone to call him sir That’s one of the few things that people outside of Room 217 know about what goes on inside here Mr Byrd seemed satisfied He motioned us to the back of the line where other new band members waited to choose their instruments 6
While we stood in line I made a discovery I’d always wanted to discover something new even though guys like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison pretty much knocked me out of getting the chance And then I finally did it Hey Yulia I think I’m part scientist I said Davis Beadle you can’t even spell scientist Yulia joked I don’t have to spell it to be one I said I just have to observe things Then I slowly spun around in a circle inspecting the kids and instruments that filled the room Yulia put one hand on each of my shoulders forcing me to stand still Okay what have you observed Well you know how people say dogs look like their owners I said Yulia raised an eyebrow It’s definitely true I’ve seen it Our English teacher Mrs Tudor is Exhibit A 7
