Twelve by Lauren Myracle

Author:Lauren Myracle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

October

SAY THE WRONG NAME,” Louise whispered, leaning across the aisle and breathing into my ear.

“What?”

“When she calls roll. Pass it on.”

I glanced at the front of the room. The “she” Louise was referring to was Ms. Braddy, who was subbing for our English teacher, Ms. Duncan, who had the flu. Ms. Braddy was large and smelled like Vaseline, and it was clear from the blinkiness of her eyes that she wasn’t the type of sub who knew how to hold her own. Plus, it was the week of Halloween—not a good week for the best of subs. Kids were trying on all sorts of fiendish behaviors, and it wasn’t pretty.

Louise kicked my desk. “Pass it on.”

I leaned forward and told Sydney, who told Malena, who told Ansley, who widened her eyes and nodded before starting it down the next row.

“If I could only find—” Ms. Braddy said to herself. She shuffled again through the papers on the desk, then straightened up with a look of surprise. “Gracious, it’s been here all the time.” She peered at the attendance sheet. “Sydney LeBey?” she began.

“Actually, I go by Cindy,” Sydney said. Malena snorted, and Sydney kicked her shin.

“Cindy,” Ms. Braddy said. She made a mark on the sheet. “William Everett?”

“Bill,” William said, who never went by “Bill” or even “Will.” From the class came a ripple of glee.

“Bill,” Ms. Braddy repeated. She moved on down the list. “Malena Willingham?”

“It’s Melanie,” Malena said.

“But it says here—”

“It’s a typo.”

“Oh. My, I can’t get anything right, can I?”

“Nope,” William said under his breath. “’Cause you’re a loser.” He stretched the word out the way guys do when they’re trying to be funny, and it worked. Everyone laughed. Ms. Braddy grew more flustered.

“Louise Naylor?” she said.

Louise cast her eyes around the room. “Lulu,” she said. “I prefer to go by Lulu.”

Ms. Braddy did her blinking routine.

“She does,” William said. “She goes by Lulu.”

“Lulu,” Ms. Braddy said aloud. There were titters all around.

By the time it was my turn, there was a faint sheen on Ms. Braddy’s wide forehead.

“Winifred Perry?” she called.

Louise looked at me, while to my left Malena smiled with her pink braces. It was the first time she’d ever smiled at me.

“Winifred?” Ms. Braddy said again.

“Uh, Wendy,” I blurted. “I go by Wendy.”

A noise escaped from behind Sydney’s hand, which Ms. Braddy heard.

“The name on the list is Winifred,” she said. “I don’t believe I’ve ever—”

“We call her Wendy,” Louise interrupted. “We always have.”

My face burned. I really didn’t need Louise getting into it. “Well,” Ms. Braddy said. “Wendy.” Her hands shook as she put the attendance sheet away. “It says here that you’re to start off in your workbooks. Is that right?”

“No,” Louise said. “Ms. Duncan lets us talk.”

“I don’t think so,” Ms. Braddy said.

“She does,” Louise said.

“Workbooks,” Ms. Braddy said in a too-tight voice. “Begin, please.”

By half past the hour, Ms. Braddy had regained her composure. She moved from desk to desk, commenting on “Melanie’s” neat penmanship and “Bill’s” excellent spelling. She had something nice to say to everyone, and I felt bad for how we’d treated her.

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