on Floor Five are focusing on their History to Type projects,” Jana says. I watch as a bright red blotch appears on each of her cheeks.
“Sorry, Jana, I guess I forgot,” Emily says. She picks up a few library books from the floor and begins flipping through one. “Want to go work on our project?”
“Sounds good,” Jana says. While I know she’s talking to Emily, her words are clearly meant for me. I feel a shiver run up and down my back. Watch out for her .
CHAPTER TWELVE
Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. So he said to his mother,‘I am running away.’ ‘If you run away,’ said his mother,‘I will run after you.’
—Margaret Wise Brown
As I sit down to breakfast one day, I notice a small piece of paper jammed under my cereal bowl. It’s been folded over a few times and has my name written across the top. I quickly open it, hoping for a message from Aaron. When I read what it says, my heart does a flip inside my chest.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID
I glance over at Jana, but she is busy talking to Heather and doesn’t have a guilty look about her. I’m usually good at sniffing out guilty looks. I crumple up the paper into a ball and stuff it into my blazer pocket. I want to glance around the room but I’m too afraid to. Better not to know.
A few days later at breakfast, there it is again. A note, shoved under my bowl. This time I’m not so excited to see what it says. I grab it and unfold it under the table.
I STILL KNOW
Again, I look over at Jana, but she’s busy putting jam on her toast. Still. If this is someone’s idea of a joke, it’s not funny .
After thinking about it more, I realize that it could be Aaron’s way of getting back at me for what I did. It would be just like Aaron to need to punish me in some way in order to ease his own conscience. Just like what he’d probably do to some stupid criminal, before telling the police or even worse, the Dean ! Thinking about him tattling in that way makes me angrier and angrier, until I feel ready to explode. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with!
I wait outside our History of Type room before class and grab Aaron’s arm before he walks into the room.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I don’t care if you think I’m a bad or a horrible person or whatever for what I did. I don’t even care if you don’t want to be my friend anymore. You better stop leaving me those stupid notes, or you’ll be in trouble!” My words spill out quickly, like a red-hot flood. My throat feels tight and I can tell that tears are building right behind my eyes.
“Talk softer!” Aaron whispers. “Someone might hear you!”
“So you care about someone hearing me but you don’t care about someone seeing your stupid-head notes?” I say. My tears spill over and I wipe at them angrily with my sleeve.
“Shhhh!” he whispers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I think you’re going crazy!”
“Yes you do know, so stop lying! The notes!”
“I didn’t leave you any notes! And don’t you ever say I’m lying. Unlike you, I never lie! Now just leave me alone!” Aaron pulls away from me and rushes into the classroom. I lean against the wall, wiping at my eyes. Why can’t I stop crying already? Noah, the boy whose father died, walks by, staring at me. I glare at him in response, before heading into class.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws…
—Maurice Sendak
“Good to see you all again, First Years,” Dr. Witmer says. “I trust you have all done your readings for today?”
Over thirty heads nod up and down in unison.
“Of course you have,” Dr. Witmer smiles. “Such a silly question to ask my ISTJs!” He laughs and over thirty voices join him. “Now, to get back to where we left off last time. As I said, children in the Era of Social Media were highly dissatisfied by the society
“Sorry, Jana, I guess I forgot,” Emily says. She picks up a few library books from the floor and begins flipping through one. “Want to go work on our project?”
“Sounds good,” Jana says. While I know she’s talking to Emily, her words are clearly meant for me. I feel a shiver run up and down my back. Watch out for her .
CHAPTER TWELVE
Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. So he said to his mother,‘I am running away.’ ‘If you run away,’ said his mother,‘I will run after you.’
—Margaret Wise Brown
As I sit down to breakfast one day, I notice a small piece of paper jammed under my cereal bowl. It’s been folded over a few times and has my name written across the top. I quickly open it, hoping for a message from Aaron. When I read what it says, my heart does a flip inside my chest.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID
I glance over at Jana, but she is busy talking to Heather and doesn’t have a guilty look about her. I’m usually good at sniffing out guilty looks. I crumple up the paper into a ball and stuff it into my blazer pocket. I want to glance around the room but I’m too afraid to. Better not to know.
A few days later at breakfast, there it is again. A note, shoved under my bowl. This time I’m not so excited to see what it says. I grab it and unfold it under the table.
I STILL KNOW
Again, I look over at Jana, but she’s busy putting jam on her toast. Still. If this is someone’s idea of a joke, it’s not funny .
After thinking about it more, I realize that it could be Aaron’s way of getting back at me for what I did. It would be just like Aaron to need to punish me in some way in order to ease his own conscience. Just like what he’d probably do to some stupid criminal, before telling the police or even worse, the Dean ! Thinking about him tattling in that way makes me angrier and angrier, until I feel ready to explode. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with!
I wait outside our History of Type room before class and grab Aaron’s arm before he walks into the room.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I don’t care if you think I’m a bad or a horrible person or whatever for what I did. I don’t even care if you don’t want to be my friend anymore. You better stop leaving me those stupid notes, or you’ll be in trouble!” My words spill out quickly, like a red-hot flood. My throat feels tight and I can tell that tears are building right behind my eyes.
“Talk softer!” Aaron whispers. “Someone might hear you!”
“So you care about someone hearing me but you don’t care about someone seeing your stupid-head notes?” I say. My tears spill over and I wipe at them angrily with my sleeve.
“Shhhh!” he whispers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I think you’re going crazy!”
“Yes you do know, so stop lying! The notes!”
“I didn’t leave you any notes! And don’t you ever say I’m lying. Unlike you, I never lie! Now just leave me alone!” Aaron pulls away from me and rushes into the classroom. I lean against the wall, wiping at my eyes. Why can’t I stop crying already? Noah, the boy whose father died, walks by, staring at me. I glare at him in response, before heading into class.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws…
—Maurice Sendak
“Good to see you all again, First Years,” Dr. Witmer says. “I trust you have all done your readings for today?”
Over thirty heads nod up and down in unison.
“Of course you have,” Dr. Witmer smiles. “Such a silly question to ask my ISTJs!” He laughs and over thirty voices join him. “Now, to get back to where we left off last time. As I said, children in the Era of Social Media were highly dissatisfied by the society
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