Read Online The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Veera Hiranandani
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note back to her that says
So will you!
, with only one set of
xo
s because I’m not ready to hug and kiss Kate three times, when Mrs. Langley calls my name.
“Sonia,” she says, her back still turned as she writes on the board. “Come here, please.”
I suck in my breath. I’ve never gotten in trouble at school before. Once in a while Jack had to tell me and Sam to stop talking, but that was it. What I know is this—Mrs. Langley gives detentions for passing notes in class. I’m not sure what goes on during a detention, but I’ve seen other kids get them and they don’t look happy about it. I imagine them being sent down into a dusty dungeon where Mrs. Langley forces them to memorize thousands of vocabulary words.
With all eyes on me, I go up to her desk.
“May I have the note, please,” she says, thrusting out her hand, wiggling her fingers. I hand it over.
“This is the only warning I’m giving you. Next time, detention,” she says. Then she rips up my note and throws it into the garbage. I stand there for a second, wondering if people can see my heart pounding through my shirt.
“Please return to your seat,” she says, turning to face the board again. Mrs. Langley must really have eyes in the back of her head. Walking back to my desk on shaky legs, I wonder if Mrs. Langley’s actually a robot.
At the end of the day Kate and Jess wait for me by the lockers and we all go into the gym together. Jess smiles at me. A first.
“You’re so lucky you didn’t get detention. You would’ve missed tryouts,” she says while she chews on the corner of her thumbnail.
“Yeah,” says Kate. “I would have felt
so
bad.”
I give her a small laugh and shrug.
“It’s no big deal, though,” Jess says.
“What’s no big deal?” I ask her.
“Detention. I’ve had two. She just makes you copy words out of the dictionary for a half hour.”
“Oh, you’re such a juvenile delinquent,” Kate says to Jess, and pokes her in the shoulder. Then they crack up.
“Just remember I was the one who pretended they weremy notes. Basically I did your detentions,” Jess says. Kate smiles a funny lopsided smile and quickly looks down.
“I know, I owe you,” she says, and pats Jess on the back. Jess beams.
I sit cross-legged on the gym floor while the eighth-grade cheerleading captain explains the rules. The seventh- and eighth-grade cheerleading captains are judging our tryouts, along with Mr. Totono, the gym teacher. Everyone is supposed to do two cheers, a toe-touch, and a cartwheel split. Kate is asked to go first, since her last name is Anderson. She stands fearlessly tall in front of the judges with her hands on her hips, waiting for the signal to go. They nod to her and she starts, her face glowing, her voice ricocheting off the gym walls. Her moves are sharp and strong.
I can tell the judges love her, the way they stare hard and smile. When she’s done they clap and I wonder if they’ll clap for everyone. Kate bounds back to her place in between me and Jess and grabs our hands. “You were great,” I say, squeezing her hand. A few more girls go and the judges clap, but not in the same way. Then it’s Jess’s turn. She stands up and starts before she’s told to. She goes through the cheers quickly, without smiling, and doesn’t even touch her toes during her jump. At the end she smiles and sticks out her chest. The judges clap politely. When Jess sits back down Kate gives her a hug. I smile and hope that maybe Jess won’t make the team, but then I remember that Mom always says that if you wishmean things on other people, bad energy will come back to you. My stomach does a flip knowing my turn is coming up. I just try to focus on what Dad said this morning.
The eighth-grade captain stumbles through my last name. Mr. Totono corrects her. She says it one more time incorrectly, “Nah-da-da-hoomy,” gives me a squinty glance, and gestures for me to begin. Not a good start. But Mr. Totono smiles his
So will you!
, with only one set of
xo
s because I’m not ready to hug and kiss Kate three times, when Mrs. Langley calls my name.
“Sonia,” she says, her back still turned as she writes on the board. “Come here, please.”
I suck in my breath. I’ve never gotten in trouble at school before. Once in a while Jack had to tell me and Sam to stop talking, but that was it. What I know is this—Mrs. Langley gives detentions for passing notes in class. I’m not sure what goes on during a detention, but I’ve seen other kids get them and they don’t look happy about it. I imagine them being sent down into a dusty dungeon where Mrs. Langley forces them to memorize thousands of vocabulary words.
With all eyes on me, I go up to her desk.
“May I have the note, please,” she says, thrusting out her hand, wiggling her fingers. I hand it over.
“This is the only warning I’m giving you. Next time, detention,” she says. Then she rips up my note and throws it into the garbage. I stand there for a second, wondering if people can see my heart pounding through my shirt.
“Please return to your seat,” she says, turning to face the board again. Mrs. Langley must really have eyes in the back of her head. Walking back to my desk on shaky legs, I wonder if Mrs. Langley’s actually a robot.
At the end of the day Kate and Jess wait for me by the lockers and we all go into the gym together. Jess smiles at me. A first.
“You’re so lucky you didn’t get detention. You would’ve missed tryouts,” she says while she chews on the corner of her thumbnail.
“Yeah,” says Kate. “I would have felt
so
bad.”
I give her a small laugh and shrug.
“It’s no big deal, though,” Jess says.
“What’s no big deal?” I ask her.
“Detention. I’ve had two. She just makes you copy words out of the dictionary for a half hour.”
“Oh, you’re such a juvenile delinquent,” Kate says to Jess, and pokes her in the shoulder. Then they crack up.
“Just remember I was the one who pretended they weremy notes. Basically I did your detentions,” Jess says. Kate smiles a funny lopsided smile and quickly looks down.
“I know, I owe you,” she says, and pats Jess on the back. Jess beams.
I sit cross-legged on the gym floor while the eighth-grade cheerleading captain explains the rules. The seventh- and eighth-grade cheerleading captains are judging our tryouts, along with Mr. Totono, the gym teacher. Everyone is supposed to do two cheers, a toe-touch, and a cartwheel split. Kate is asked to go first, since her last name is Anderson. She stands fearlessly tall in front of the judges with her hands on her hips, waiting for the signal to go. They nod to her and she starts, her face glowing, her voice ricocheting off the gym walls. Her moves are sharp and strong.
I can tell the judges love her, the way they stare hard and smile. When she’s done they clap and I wonder if they’ll clap for everyone. Kate bounds back to her place in between me and Jess and grabs our hands. “You were great,” I say, squeezing her hand. A few more girls go and the judges clap, but not in the same way. Then it’s Jess’s turn. She stands up and starts before she’s told to. She goes through the cheers quickly, without smiling, and doesn’t even touch her toes during her jump. At the end she smiles and sticks out her chest. The judges clap politely. When Jess sits back down Kate gives her a hug. I smile and hope that maybe Jess won’t make the team, but then I remember that Mom always says that if you wishmean things on other people, bad energy will come back to you. My stomach does a flip knowing my turn is coming up. I just try to focus on what Dad said this morning.
The eighth-grade captain stumbles through my last name. Mr. Totono corrects her. She says it one more time incorrectly, “Nah-da-da-hoomy,” gives me a squinty glance, and gestures for me to begin. Not a good start. But Mr. Totono smiles his
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