we’re going to spend the money we made this week.
The bank was all quiet and scaredy. Ms. Delamino done most of the doing and handed Quincy and me our checkbooks. I take my check. I put it in the bank. Then I get some spending money. Quincy or Ms. Delamino or even Miss Lizzy can help me with the check-writing part.
Then we went off to a big store. I told Ms. Delamino and Quincy that I didn’t like those T-shirts that Granny bought me no more. I want to wear dresses, like a princess. But dresses that was OK to do my work in. Quincy said, “Halleluiah!” And, she sort of push me toward a row of dresses. They help me find three dresses they called jumpers. They was made of stuff like blue jeans. Then Quincy push me along to the place where there was pajamas and robes.
“Get you some pj’s and a nightie and a robe and some slippers,” she said. She took off and Ms. Delamino helped me.
When Quincy came back, she had a shopping bag in her hand, but she didn’t tell nobody what she bought.
I was out of money now. Quincy bought her some new shoes to wear at the Brown Cow. Then Ms. Delamino took us out to have lunch at a real restaurant. I showed I learned to eat like a princess.
We came back to our little house. Ms. Delamino said we done just fine our first week.
Later that evening, I went in my room. Sitting on my bed was four night-lights and an alarm clock.
Couple of weeks had gone by when Jen tapped me on my shoulder one day at work. I pulled back and give her a dirty look.
“Sorry,” she say. “I just thought you’d like to take your break with me. We could talk.”
I look over to Sandra. She nod. “It’s slow. Y’all go on.”
I take off my apron and follow Jen to the break room. She get me a Coke and put it down in front of me. “We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other,” she say.
I shrug. Ain’t nobody done this before. In school all anybody need to know is you in Special Ed.
“You been here more than a while now, and Ellen and me don’t know anything but your name.” She make a twisty-looking face. “We think you don’t like us.”
I push my straw up and down through the plastic cap and it make a squawky sound.
Jen tap her fingers on the table. “What did we do to make you mad at us?”
I didn’t know what to do. “You know stuff about me.” I didn’t look up. I kept on squawking my straw.
Jen kind of sighed and pull her paper hat off her head and rub at the place where the elastic make a red mark in her forehead. “You’re right. I know that you do your work without complaining. I know that you are fast and neat and clean. And I know that you don’t talk much. And you don’t seem to like being touched.”
I nodded. All that was right. “You left something out. You know I’m a Speddie. I know you got tole I was a special work program.”
Jen’s face got the red creeps, so I know I done hammered the right nail.
“You’re not exactly what I thought,” Jen say.
I clonked my cup down. “Right. You ’spected somebody to come in here talking all weirdy — with they mouth all hanging loose and saying they words all ‘Duh, duh, duh’ kinda like. And you thought I’d look all stupid in my face, so you could just see that I was Special Ed by giving me the eyeball. And you thought, ‘Here we go, I’m gonna have tell her a hunert times how to do every little thing and pro’lly have to do it myself anyway — shoot-a-goose, she’s so dumb she cain’t even live on her own.’ ” I crost my arms over my chest and lean back in my chair. “That about right?”
Jen rub that red crease in her forehead again. Then she smile. “That’s about right. I didn’t expect you to be so, well, normal.”
“I ain’t normal. I got problems learning. That’s what Special Ed means. We all got some kind of dys. It don’t mean we need help remembering to breathe in and out.”
“Some kind of what?”
“We all got a dys. One kind of dys means you cain’t read.
The bank was all quiet and scaredy. Ms. Delamino done most of the doing and handed Quincy and me our checkbooks. I take my check. I put it in the bank. Then I get some spending money. Quincy or Ms. Delamino or even Miss Lizzy can help me with the check-writing part.
Then we went off to a big store. I told Ms. Delamino and Quincy that I didn’t like those T-shirts that Granny bought me no more. I want to wear dresses, like a princess. But dresses that was OK to do my work in. Quincy said, “Halleluiah!” And, she sort of push me toward a row of dresses. They help me find three dresses they called jumpers. They was made of stuff like blue jeans. Then Quincy push me along to the place where there was pajamas and robes.
“Get you some pj’s and a nightie and a robe and some slippers,” she said. She took off and Ms. Delamino helped me.
When Quincy came back, she had a shopping bag in her hand, but she didn’t tell nobody what she bought.
I was out of money now. Quincy bought her some new shoes to wear at the Brown Cow. Then Ms. Delamino took us out to have lunch at a real restaurant. I showed I learned to eat like a princess.
We came back to our little house. Ms. Delamino said we done just fine our first week.
Later that evening, I went in my room. Sitting on my bed was four night-lights and an alarm clock.
Couple of weeks had gone by when Jen tapped me on my shoulder one day at work. I pulled back and give her a dirty look.
“Sorry,” she say. “I just thought you’d like to take your break with me. We could talk.”
I look over to Sandra. She nod. “It’s slow. Y’all go on.”
I take off my apron and follow Jen to the break room. She get me a Coke and put it down in front of me. “We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other,” she say.
I shrug. Ain’t nobody done this before. In school all anybody need to know is you in Special Ed.
“You been here more than a while now, and Ellen and me don’t know anything but your name.” She make a twisty-looking face. “We think you don’t like us.”
I push my straw up and down through the plastic cap and it make a squawky sound.
Jen tap her fingers on the table. “What did we do to make you mad at us?”
I didn’t know what to do. “You know stuff about me.” I didn’t look up. I kept on squawking my straw.
Jen kind of sighed and pull her paper hat off her head and rub at the place where the elastic make a red mark in her forehead. “You’re right. I know that you do your work without complaining. I know that you are fast and neat and clean. And I know that you don’t talk much. And you don’t seem to like being touched.”
I nodded. All that was right. “You left something out. You know I’m a Speddie. I know you got tole I was a special work program.”
Jen’s face got the red creeps, so I know I done hammered the right nail.
“You’re not exactly what I thought,” Jen say.
I clonked my cup down. “Right. You ’spected somebody to come in here talking all weirdy — with they mouth all hanging loose and saying they words all ‘Duh, duh, duh’ kinda like. And you thought I’d look all stupid in my face, so you could just see that I was Special Ed by giving me the eyeball. And you thought, ‘Here we go, I’m gonna have tell her a hunert times how to do every little thing and pro’lly have to do it myself anyway — shoot-a-goose, she’s so dumb she cain’t even live on her own.’ ” I crost my arms over my chest and lean back in my chair. “That about right?”
Jen rub that red crease in her forehead again. Then she smile. “That’s about right. I didn’t expect you to be so, well, normal.”
“I ain’t normal. I got problems learning. That’s what Special Ed means. We all got some kind of dys. It don’t mean we need help remembering to breathe in and out.”
“Some kind of what?”
“We all got a dys. One kind of dys means you cain’t read.
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