Sidetracked

Sidetracked — page 5 — Charlie gives me a vengeful look then gets up and runs after the girl but there’s no way he can catch her She’s big not fat but tall and strong And she’s fast faster than the boys faster than everybody She’s down the field now and the only one with a chance to stop her is Billy Hayward He’s small and wiry and he’s stayed back to guard the goal He sticks out his leg to steal the ball or trip her up or both but she gives him a nudge with her hip the same nudge she must have given Charlie and Billy is launched three feet in the air It’s as if a tornado picks him up twirls him around and plunks him back down again The boys stop in their tracks staring The girls glare at this new girl because they like Billy and they don’t want to see him tossed in the air like a Hacky Sack Sally MacNamara the goalie is sending out vibes of mortal terror now that Billy her last line of defense is down She doesn’t even take a step toward the ball as it flies into the net It’s a goal but nobody cheers Coach De Salvo blows his whistle What’s everybody staring at he calls out Nobody says anything but the answer answer is obvious Even I know they’re staring at the new girl and if anybody’s not going to be clued in it’s me Haven’t you ever seen a hip check before It has a name mutters Billy Jeez adds his friend Zachary 4

Sidetracked — page 6 — Young lady says Coach DeSalvo I hope you’ll be trying out for the girls soccer team She belongs on the football team says Billy She belongs on the Godzilla team says Zachary and all the boys laugh The tall girl shrugs and looks at the ground Her sandy colored hair falls forward so I can’t see much of her face It occurs to me that Coach DeSalvo could put a hand on her shoulder and introduce her since she’s new and doesn’t know anybody but he doesn’t Instead he blows his whistle again points to the gym door and tosses the ball to Charlie to carry in And I guess because he has to reestablish his rank in our seventh-grade world Charlie calls my name and fakes a hard throw right at me He doesn’t even have to let go of the ball He just holds it over his head and jerks it forward and I instinctively duck triggering a wave of laughter The crowd separates into boys and girls The girls are whispering whispering to each other and the boys are crashing in through the back door racing for the water fountain Trailing the girls is the new girl Trailing the boys is me 5

Sidetracked — page 7 — Chapter 2 MY MOUTH FEELS LIKE A SANDPIT BUT I DON’T get in line at the gym water fountain There are trade-offs you have to make in middle school and sandpit mouth beats whatever Charlie has in mind for me any day Fortunately someone knew enough to give us LD kids our own water fountain outside the Resource Room my next-period class LD stands for learning differences It used to stand for learning disabilities before they decided to make us sound a little less tragic The Resource Room is where LD kids go to get organized catch up and not get yelled at so much Everyone in the Resource Room has issues or as my mother says stuff that gets in the way Mine is ADD attention deficit disorder ADD is a lot like ADHD which might be even worse because that H stands for hyperactivity meaning you have way too much energy for your own good My H isn’t really so bad though so I’m just ADD People think having ADD means I can’t focus but that’s not really true I focus very well just on the wrong things

Sidetracked — page 8 — Instead of hearing the assignment I’m watching a ladybug crawl along the windowsill When I’m supposed to be reading the chapter in our textbook called Changes Down the Road The Assembly Line I’m staring at the head-on picture of a Model T thinking how it looks like my great-uncle Herman Also I flinch at loud sounds can’t fit my writing between the lines and hate the feel of scratchy wool but I don’t know if that’s the ADD or something else altogether For me every day in middle school is a little bit like the Running of the Bulls That’s something I saw on TV that happens happens in a place called Pamplona in Spain Once a year they let a whole herd of bulls out free in the streets and people try to outrun them or else duck into a back alley to avoid being gored to death That’s kind of how I feel I try to keep up or stay out of the way or find someplace to hide My back alley is the Resource Room My teacher here is Mrs T Her real name is Mrs Teitelbaum but she likes Mrs T better She’s an upbeat person who dances down the extra extra help hallway singing songs like All the Single Ladies I know she’s married though because she has a picture of her husband on the wall by her desk along with her two dogs George and Ringo Mrs T likes polka dots and the color pink Her hair is short and a little spiky and she has a habit of running her 7

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