Sidetracked

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

Sidetracked — page 9 — fingers through it Sometimes she just forgets and her hand stays perched up there making her look confused or when she wears pink like an upside-down flamingo After gym I take about ten gulps of water at the Resource Room fountain and come in to see Mrs T in just that position position She’s holding the daily bulletin in one hand with the other one on top of her head She reads the bulletin out loud to us every day to make sure nothing important gets by us and trust me it would Attention journalists Mrs T begins as I plop into my seat Come to a meeting on September fifteenth in Room D-1 Our monthly paper The Inkwell needs writers to report the news you want to know I try to imagine what The Inkwell would look like if it really did report the news kids wanted to know The headline today would be TALL GIRL COMES TO LAKEVIEW OUTPLAYS LOCAL BULLY It would tell where she came from and what her name was and how she knew that my life was in mortal danger at that very moment Danielle Symington volunteers for The Inkwell and Mrs T says Excellent Danielle takes her hand down from its perch on her head and writes on the board in purple Danielle Sept 15 Inkwell meeting She goes on reading The Spanish Club will meet on 8

Sidetracked — page 10 — Tuesday September thirteenth in Señora Finnegan’s room at three fifteen No Spanish necessary But it’s a Spanish club says Danielle who seems way too together to be in the Resource Room How can there be no Spanish necessary Maybe you’ll learn about Spain’s beautiful culture suggests suggests Mrs T Dancing music I speak Spanish says Trevor Holcombe who’s sitting on a bookcase Taco burrito gordita Nachos chalupas enchiladas adds Sanjit Chaudary which sets off a flood of fajitas and tamales and chimichangas and makes me think of the Running of the Bulls again Okay Enough says Mrs T but she waits patiently until we’ve run down the entire list of Taco Bell menu items Moving on she says in a loud voice This is important important The renovation of our middle-school track is complete Lakeview athletics will now include a seventh-grade track and cross country team Let’s get Lakeview running Come to a meeting after school tomorrow Friday September ninth in Room D-5 Running isn’t a sport says Trevor He’s swinging his heels and they bang the shelves of the bookcase with a thunk thunk What do you mean it’s not a sport says Mrs T And get down off the bookcase please Trevor 9

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