Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj

Author:Varsha Bajaj
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2019-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

CHRIS

ON SUNDAY AFTER church, I sit at my desk and stare at my math homework till the words and numbers start to swim and my eyes cross. I get frustrated and throw my eraser across the room—which is pretty dumb because I need it a few minutes later to erase what I’ve done and start again.

But I make no progress, so I head outside to shoot some hoops.

I dribble the ball from the end of the driveway toward the basket on the garage door. I have my arm raised, ready to shoot, when I am interrupted by “Chris!”

It’s Karina.

I stop what I’m doing to talk to her. “How’s your grandfather?” I ask.

“Much better than when you saw him yesterday,” Karina says. “The doctors want to make him stand tomorrow. They say it is super important to do that.”

“Oh yeah?” I say. “Will he have a cast and crutches?”

“No cast. He might need crutches or a walker, or even a wheelchair for a bit. I don’t know,” she says. “I want to be there for him, but my parents say I have to go back to school tomorrow.”

I can see she’s anxious. Her forehead is all scrunched up.

“It’ll be okay,” I say.

“Will it?” Karina asks. “School is going to be weird with everyone knowing what happened. So many kids have commented and shared my pictures—kids I’ve barely ever even talked to.”

“I don’t think it’s weird,” I tell her. “People are upset. And a lot of them want to support you.”

I don’t share the rude stuff Quinn said to me in the gym on Friday. She doesn’t need to know.

We both kind of stand there.

“Karina, it’ll be okay,” I say again, but of course I don’t really know. What I really want to say is, Karina, you shouldn’t care who knows, because you’re in the right. Plus, We’re in this together. But I don’t say any of this aloud, since I worry it’ll sound as cheesy as a plate of nachos.

Karina asks, “Did you do your math worksheet?”

“I started it,” I say. “But how do you even know about that worksheet? You weren’t in school Friday.”

“Ashley came by and brought me my homework.”

“So you know how to do those problems?” I ask.

“Yeah, I do. Papa and I are ahead of the class.”

“Ah!” I say. “Of course you are.”

Then it occurs to me—that “ah” has triggered an aha moment—if Mr. Chopra has already taught Karina the stuff we’re now learning in class, then she could teach me. It would be like passing the knowledge from Mr. C to me, only through Karina.

But first, I need to find the words to ask her.

“Good luck,” she says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nod, and she walks away.

She’s at the end of the driveway when I scream, “Karina!”

“Yes?” she says, looking startled by my desperate-sounding yell.

You’re pathetic, Daniels, I tell myself. Mr. C is in the hospital fighting to walk with a metal rod in his leg, and you just need to find the courage to ask Karina Chopra for help.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.