James be quiet Grandpa snapped Finally Greg came out He hurried in the van behind James and slammed the door shut Grandpa Greg began buckling his seat belt I thought about it and I don’t want to skip to the sixth grade Nonsense Grandpa said smiling You’re just nervous You worked very hard last year and you were able to advance to the sixth grade You don’t think that’s a good thing It is Greg shrugged But I’m only eleven and the other kids will be bigger and the work will be harder James sucked his teeth He was a year older than Greg but in the same class Don’t be such a crybaby he told Greg He placed his hands behind his head and 6
leaned back on the headrest Besides it’s not so bad Yeah because you’re repeating the sixth grade April called from the passenger seat It will probably seem like a breeze She started to laugh And Greg is in your grade It must be embarrassing to repeat a grade and to have your younger cousin skip and be in your classes You must really be stupid Alright you two Grandpa warned Grandpa pulled up to the curb along the school Then he faced Greg You’ll be fi ne Grandpa said How about you give it a week If you still feel uncertain we will talk with the principal about placing you in the fi fth grade 7
Thanks Grandpa Greg said with a weak smile Greg hurried inside James brushed past him and swaggered into their fi rst class Greg noticed a beautiful woman writing on the chalkboard Greg read Ms Clemens Sixth Grade History Ms Clemens turned toward the class When she saw Greg watching her she smiled at him Her smile made Greg feel that she was a patient caring teacher He smiled back and headed for a seat Okay class Ms Clemens raised her hand to warn the students to quiet down As sixth graders you will be graduating this year In addition you will be taking an important nationwide test She paced back and forth between the desks 8
That does not include what we will be covering in my class I believe that you all can do the work When she eyed James she tried to smile I hope this means you too James James merely shrugged and pretended to look interested Greg knew James was acting but he couldn’t help but to feel sorry for James He did his best to avoid his cousin all summer and now they were in the same class together Greg again wondered if skipping a grade was a good idea To see where everyone is in their learning we will have a pop quiz She walked back to her desk and picked up a small stack of papers Right now Greg blurted On the fi rst day of school 9
