âFortunately itâs lunch time.â
âIâm not even half finished,â Maeve managed to say in a panicked voice. She wished she could vanish like a rabbit in a hat. Like Marty in the magic hat at the talent show. She wished she could run out the back of the school through a secret, hidden tunnel.
And at the mention of lunch, Maeve swallowed the lump rising from her stomach to her throat. She had to get away from this test. Feeling very weird, she shook her head, grabbed her things, and ran, leaving her test on her desk. Ms. Curtis could give it to Mr. Sherman. She didnât even know if sheâd put her name on it, but heâd know it was hers. She had scribbled all in the margins. No one else in the class would turn in a half finished test.
She stopped short of running all the way to the office. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming in short panting huffs. Please, please, donât let me faint in the hall. Let me be humiliated in private.
âMaeve?â Ms. Sahni, Mrs. Fieldsâs secretary, ran to help her as she stumbled into the office. âAre you sick?â
Maeve nodded her head. She pointed to Mrs. Fieldsâs office door.
âMaybe the nurseâs office would be a better place to go. You can lie down.â Maeve could tell that Ms. Sahni was afraid that she was going to throw up, and that she wanted to turn Maeve over to the nurse rather than send her in to Mrs. Fields.
Maeve shook her head and pointed to the principalâs door again. Fortunately, the door opened like magic, and Principal Fields stepped out.
âWhy, Maeve, come in. Are you sick?â Mrs. Fields took one look at Maeve and knew something was very wrong.
Maeve nodded, walked past Mrs. Fields, and collapsed in a chair before she could faint dead onto the floor.
Mrs. Fields brought a cup of water and placed it before her. She watched as Maeve drank the entire cup. Then Maeve got out a tissue and mopped her head again.
âIâIââ
âDonât try to talk for a minute, Maeve. Just relax.â Mrs. Fields closed her door, walked around, and sat in her desk chair. She gave Maeve another couple of minutes to compose herself and then began to talk softly.
âYou know, Maeve, I am sitting here doing the budget for next semester. These figures are making my head swim. I canât make any sense of them. Would you like another glass of water?â
Maeve nodded. Her heart was slowing down and her throat was beginning to feel like normal. It must be the water , she thought. Avery told her once that water had amazing healing powers.
âDid you take your math test today, Maeve?â
Ruby Fields had been a junior high principal forever.She read kidsâ minds. Seldom did they actually have to tell her their problems. She knew before they spoke. She knew that Maeve struggled with math, that she had a math tutor, and that she had dyslexia, since she had been the one to give permission for Maeve to use a laptop in class.
Maeve nodded in between gulps of her âhealing water.â She promised herself she was going to start drinking more water every day. It couldnât hurt, she reasoned. Maybe it would even help her with math.
âYes, math tests can be very stressful sometimes. I canât tell you how many kids come in here worried about failing.â
Maeveâs eyes widened. She wasnât the only student who was freaking out about math. âMath makes me sick.â
âThe test made you sick? Or the idea that you may not have passed the test?â Mrs. Fields asked.
âBoth. Iâm sure I failed the test, Mrs. Fields. I didnât even get it finished, but I just couldnât work any longer. Does that mean Iâm going to flunk seventh grade, that I have to take it over again next year? Iâll just die if I have to stay back and all my friends go to eighth grade without me.â Maeve slumped back in the chair.
âIâm
âIâm not even half finished,â Maeve managed to say in a panicked voice. She wished she could vanish like a rabbit in a hat. Like Marty in the magic hat at the talent show. She wished she could run out the back of the school through a secret, hidden tunnel.
And at the mention of lunch, Maeve swallowed the lump rising from her stomach to her throat. She had to get away from this test. Feeling very weird, she shook her head, grabbed her things, and ran, leaving her test on her desk. Ms. Curtis could give it to Mr. Sherman. She didnât even know if sheâd put her name on it, but heâd know it was hers. She had scribbled all in the margins. No one else in the class would turn in a half finished test.
She stopped short of running all the way to the office. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming in short panting huffs. Please, please, donât let me faint in the hall. Let me be humiliated in private.
âMaeve?â Ms. Sahni, Mrs. Fieldsâs secretary, ran to help her as she stumbled into the office. âAre you sick?â
Maeve nodded her head. She pointed to Mrs. Fieldsâs office door.
âMaybe the nurseâs office would be a better place to go. You can lie down.â Maeve could tell that Ms. Sahni was afraid that she was going to throw up, and that she wanted to turn Maeve over to the nurse rather than send her in to Mrs. Fields.
Maeve shook her head and pointed to the principalâs door again. Fortunately, the door opened like magic, and Principal Fields stepped out.
âWhy, Maeve, come in. Are you sick?â Mrs. Fields took one look at Maeve and knew something was very wrong.
Maeve nodded, walked past Mrs. Fields, and collapsed in a chair before she could faint dead onto the floor.
Mrs. Fields brought a cup of water and placed it before her. She watched as Maeve drank the entire cup. Then Maeve got out a tissue and mopped her head again.
âIâIââ
âDonât try to talk for a minute, Maeve. Just relax.â Mrs. Fields closed her door, walked around, and sat in her desk chair. She gave Maeve another couple of minutes to compose herself and then began to talk softly.
âYou know, Maeve, I am sitting here doing the budget for next semester. These figures are making my head swim. I canât make any sense of them. Would you like another glass of water?â
Maeve nodded. Her heart was slowing down and her throat was beginning to feel like normal. It must be the water , she thought. Avery told her once that water had amazing healing powers.
âDid you take your math test today, Maeve?â
Ruby Fields had been a junior high principal forever.She read kidsâ minds. Seldom did they actually have to tell her their problems. She knew before they spoke. She knew that Maeve struggled with math, that she had a math tutor, and that she had dyslexia, since she had been the one to give permission for Maeve to use a laptop in class.
Maeve nodded in between gulps of her âhealing water.â She promised herself she was going to start drinking more water every day. It couldnât hurt, she reasoned. Maybe it would even help her with math.
âYes, math tests can be very stressful sometimes. I canât tell you how many kids come in here worried about failing.â
Maeveâs eyes widened. She wasnât the only student who was freaking out about math. âMath makes me sick.â
âThe test made you sick? Or the idea that you may not have passed the test?â Mrs. Fields asked.
âBoth. Iâm sure I failed the test, Mrs. Fields. I didnât even get it finished, but I just couldnât work any longer. Does that mean Iâm going to flunk seventh grade, that I have to take it over again next year? Iâll just die if I have to stay back and all my friends go to eighth grade without me.â Maeve slumped back in the chair.
âIâm
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