he wasn’t yelling, he was teaching us about some country—I think it was in South America. But as hard as I tried, at the end of the period I couldn’t recall a single fact he’d mentioned.
That wouldn’t have been a big problem, except that as the class was ending, Mr. Langhorn strutted from desk to desk, firing questions at us. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who’d failed to absorb the lesson. Nobody came up with answers. This definitely didn’t please him. By the time he got to me, he was not a happy teacher.
“You,” he snapped, bending over until his face was just inches from mine. He smelled like stale tobacco and sugar-free gum. “Tell me one thing you’ve learned today.”
I looked around the room, hoping for a clue. The walls were lined with travel posters. There were beautiful pictures of exotic places—Portugal, Singapore, New Guinea.
“Are you an idiot?” Mr. Langhorn asked. He grabbed my jaw and yanked my head back toward him. “Don’t look around the room. Look at me when I’m talking to you. Did I just waste my time? Can’t you give me one simple fact?” He let his hand drop from my face.
“Here’s a fact,” I yelled. “You’ve never been to any of these places. You just talk about them.” It was a shot in the dark. I mean, most people don’t get to travel a lot. I’d never been anywhere. For all I knew, maybe Mr. Langhorn had flown all over the world. But it was like Torchie’s picture of Mars. You don’t fill a room with posters of places you’ve been. You fill it with dreams. Still, as the words I’d just shouted echoed in my mind, I figured it wasn’t something that would get me in much trouble.
Wrong again.
Mr. Langhorn got redder. He leaned closer and grabbed the edges of my desk. I expected him to pick up the desk and break it across his
knee. Apparently, I’d hit on the truth, and it didn’t make him happy. He stared at me for another minute. The bell rang. He stood up and backed away. “Class dismissed,” he snarled.
I got up slowly. I still expected him to hit me or twist my head off. But I got out through the doorway in one piece.
“Martin, wait up.”
I turned toward Mr. Briggs, who was jogging down the hallway.
“See you upstairs,” Torchie said. He headed off. Cheater went the other way down the hall. I guess he was going to the library.
“Yeah?” I asked Mr. Briggs when he reached me.
“What you said before. Maybe part of that is true.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s all true. But what I said was true, too. I am here if you need someone to talk to. Okay?”
“Sure.” I backed up a step. Just because he understood physics and chemistry didn’t mean he had any chance of understanding me. “Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
I made my escape and headed off toward the stairs. One thing at Edgeview was no different from any other school I’d been to—I had homework. Not a lot, but I had some math problems to do and some reading for English. From what I’d seen, at least half the kids didn’t bother doing their homework, but I figured it would help kill some time. I decided to go back to the room and get started on it.
As I reached the top of the stairs, a door down the hall flew open with a bang. Nobody came out of the room. I glanced inside as I passed the open doorway. That kid Trash, the one I’d asked about in the cafeteria, was in the room, sitting at a desk, hunched over with a pencil in his hand.
Just after I turned my eyes away, I heard this fluttering whoosh, followed by a bang that made me duck and cover my head. Something had slammed into the wall right behind me, hitting hard enough to knock out a piece of plaster.
TORCHIE FLICKS AWAY
I spun and looked down at the math book lying on the floor. Talk about a deadly weapon. I picked it up and stared back into the room. Okay—I’d taken enough crap for one day. More than enough. I walked in. The kid glanced up, watching me with empty eyes.
“You trying to hit
That wouldn’t have been a big problem, except that as the class was ending, Mr. Langhorn strutted from desk to desk, firing questions at us. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who’d failed to absorb the lesson. Nobody came up with answers. This definitely didn’t please him. By the time he got to me, he was not a happy teacher.
“You,” he snapped, bending over until his face was just inches from mine. He smelled like stale tobacco and sugar-free gum. “Tell me one thing you’ve learned today.”
I looked around the room, hoping for a clue. The walls were lined with travel posters. There were beautiful pictures of exotic places—Portugal, Singapore, New Guinea.
“Are you an idiot?” Mr. Langhorn asked. He grabbed my jaw and yanked my head back toward him. “Don’t look around the room. Look at me when I’m talking to you. Did I just waste my time? Can’t you give me one simple fact?” He let his hand drop from my face.
“Here’s a fact,” I yelled. “You’ve never been to any of these places. You just talk about them.” It was a shot in the dark. I mean, most people don’t get to travel a lot. I’d never been anywhere. For all I knew, maybe Mr. Langhorn had flown all over the world. But it was like Torchie’s picture of Mars. You don’t fill a room with posters of places you’ve been. You fill it with dreams. Still, as the words I’d just shouted echoed in my mind, I figured it wasn’t something that would get me in much trouble.
Wrong again.
Mr. Langhorn got redder. He leaned closer and grabbed the edges of my desk. I expected him to pick up the desk and break it across his
knee. Apparently, I’d hit on the truth, and it didn’t make him happy. He stared at me for another minute. The bell rang. He stood up and backed away. “Class dismissed,” he snarled.
I got up slowly. I still expected him to hit me or twist my head off. But I got out through the doorway in one piece.
“Martin, wait up.”
I turned toward Mr. Briggs, who was jogging down the hallway.
“See you upstairs,” Torchie said. He headed off. Cheater went the other way down the hall. I guess he was going to the library.
“Yeah?” I asked Mr. Briggs when he reached me.
“What you said before. Maybe part of that is true.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s all true. But what I said was true, too. I am here if you need someone to talk to. Okay?”
“Sure.” I backed up a step. Just because he understood physics and chemistry didn’t mean he had any chance of understanding me. “Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
I made my escape and headed off toward the stairs. One thing at Edgeview was no different from any other school I’d been to—I had homework. Not a lot, but I had some math problems to do and some reading for English. From what I’d seen, at least half the kids didn’t bother doing their homework, but I figured it would help kill some time. I decided to go back to the room and get started on it.
As I reached the top of the stairs, a door down the hall flew open with a bang. Nobody came out of the room. I glanced inside as I passed the open doorway. That kid Trash, the one I’d asked about in the cafeteria, was in the room, sitting at a desk, hunched over with a pencil in his hand.
Just after I turned my eyes away, I heard this fluttering whoosh, followed by a bang that made me duck and cover my head. Something had slammed into the wall right behind me, hitting hard enough to knock out a piece of plaster.
TORCHIE FLICKS AWAY
I spun and looked down at the math book lying on the floor. Talk about a deadly weapon. I picked it up and stared back into the room. Okay—I’d taken enough crap for one day. More than enough. I walked in. The kid glanced up, watching me with empty eyes.
“You trying to hit
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