Out of My Mind (The Out of My Mind Series) by Draper Sharon M

Author:Draper, Sharon M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

After school that day I was grumpy and mean. Mrs. V had prepared a new stack of word cards for me. Penny was wearing one of Mrs. V’s turbans, and she looked ridiculous. Plus, she kept singing some stupid baby song at the top of her lungs. I took my arm and swept the whole pile of cards to the floor.

“Who put salt in your Kool-Aid, Miss Thing?” Mrs. V asked. She did not pick up the cards.

Penny stopped singing and stood there blinking at me.

I switched the Medi-Talker to off and looked away.

“Fine. Be like that. But you’re going to pick up every single one of those cards!”

I stuck out my lip and stared at the wall.

Penny reached out and shook my arm. I tugged it loose. She didn’t seem to care and started singing again:

“Happy, happy, happy, clap your feet,

Happy, sappy, pappy, blow your nose,

Biddy-boddy-bowdee, jump and jump.”

She jumped. She stomped her feet. Then she sang the song again. And again.

She was really getting on my nerves. I wished she would just shut up! Talking all the time. Walking all the time. Jumping and bouncing and singing. Just quit it! For just one moment, please STOP!

But she wouldn’t. “Hi, Dee-Dee,” she said. She put Doodle on my tray.

I pushed the toy to the floor.

“Doodle, Dee-Dee.” She picked up the stupid raggedy thing and placed it on my tray once more.

I knocked it off again. Leave me alone! I wanted to scream.

Penny was used to things falling off my chair, so she couldn’t know I was being just plain horrible. The third time she put Doodle on my tray, I swept it off with such force that my arm brushed Penny’s head. She toppled over and fell to the floor.

She looked at me, surprise on her face, grabbed Doodle, and ran to Mrs. V in tears.

“What’s gotten into you, Melody?” Mrs. V asked as she rocked Penny on her lap.

How could I explain?

I didn’t want to cry, but I did. I turned my wheelchair so it faced the wall just as the phone rang. Mrs. V looked from me to the phone, sighed, and got up to answer it.

“Oh, hello, Catherine.”

Catherine? I turned my chair slightly to listen better.

“Out of sorts?” Mrs. V asked. “Well, as a matter of fact, she does seem a little mopey this afternoon. No, I take that back. She’s downright monstrous.” Mrs. V caught my eye and made a funny face at me.

I just glared at her.

“I’m not surprised she got all the questions right—the child is brilliant!”

Lotta good it does me.

“The teacher said what?”

Great, now everybody would know. Just thinking about it made me feel like pond scum again.

“In front of her classmates? What kind of professional is he supposed to be?” Mrs. V looked furious.

“How did she react? Never mind. I already know. She’s sitting here looking like one of those blowfish we saw at the aquarium—all puffed up and spiny.”

That’s actually kinda close to how I felt.

“Thanks so much for calling, Catherine,” Mrs.

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.