The Science of Friendship by Tanita S. Davis

Author:Tanita S. Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-06-03T00:00:00+00:00

12

Valued and Respected

“Hey, Devon! Devon, wait up!” Rylee hustled toward her old friend, putting on a friendly smile. “So, hey, I haven’t seen you in—”

“Um, hi. My elective’s all the way in the library, and I’m going to the bathroom first, so . . .”

“Oh!” Rylee said, quickly falling into step with the other girl. “I just wanted to say hi. I can’t believe you’re in my geometry section, you math hater!”

Devon shot Rylee an odd look and walked a little faster. “I’m not a math hater. Mrs. Daily just assigned too much homework in sixth, so I didn’t feel like taking the test to get out of fundamentals. Last year Mom said I should start practicing putting in more effort since high school grades count toward colleges, so . . .” Devon shrugged.

“Oh. Well, I feel ridiculous,” Rylee admitted. She’d been certain Devon had hated math. What else was she misremembering? The bathrooms were just ahead, and Rylee was out of time. “Well, good to see you. . . . Maybe we can talk at lunch?”

“Can’t today. I have a club meeting,” Devon said, bouncing a little.

“Seriously?” Rylee blurted, surprised again. Devon had never wanted to do things like that in sixth grade. She had been totally antigroup. “Which club? I was thinking—”

“Look, Rylee, I have to go,” Devon said with heavy emphasis on the last word. “I’ll talk to you—”

“Okay, bye,” Rylee interrupted brightly, then felt her face heating. Smooth.

Devon just gave her another odd look and ducked into the bathroom doorway.

Shoulders hunched in embarrassment, Rylee hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. Ugh, that hadn’t gone the way she’d wanted it to at all.

Rylee wasn’t in any more of a good mood by the time advisory rolled around. That day, Ms. Johnston’s room was arranged with the desks in a circle, with the art supplies on the periphery of the room. Rylee mumbled an unenthused “Hey” to Ms. Johnston, then looked at the advisory Question of the Day on the board.

Konnichiwa (Japanese afternoon greeting). Grab a seat and greet the person next to you! In Japan, polite greetings are a big part of the culture and can help people feel acknowledged, valued, and respected. Question of the Day: What is something that makes you feel acknowledged, valued, and respected? Think about it and be ready to share your answer and listen to the answers of your peers before we continue working on our self-portrait projects. Welcome to advisory!

Ugh. Rylee was not in the mood for advisory again. She already spent all her free time coiling up strips of paper for her self-portrait project, and now she going to have to try and say “hello” in Japanese? Rylee hesitated before choosing a desk, nearly running into the red-haired boy from the library who was aiming for the same seat. She was surprised when he backed off and sat next to her.

“Guten Tag,” he said, and grinned, his braces catching the light.

Rylee blinked. “I know that’s not how you pronounce the word on the board.

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