obviously
wearing an ugly tie.
Surprise.
Mrs. Little isnât even a teacher
so why can she send me to Hartwick?
Lifeâs mysteries
abound.
Suspended.
A word that can describe medicine.
The little bits of healthy mold
suspended
in pink goo
so that the kids like the bits enough
to swallow them.
Suspended.
A word that can describe stopping
like someone hit a pause button and you are
suspended
in time and space
your finger frozen inches from your
nose.
Suspended.
A word that can describe
me.
You should have seen Momâs face
when she came to pick me up.
Not red.
Not purple.
No forehead veins,
like Hartwickâs.
She just smiled really big.
Iâll deal with him
, she said
and then she laughed
but I know she wasnât really laughing.
Unless something
was funny
on her phone.
DAY 17
I dreamed about that smile last night
and woke up
shivering.
Mom hasnât talked to me
in 24 hours.
Dad is on call so heâll be back tomorrow.
Today is the first day
of three days
of not being allowed at school.
Is this what it means to be
dealt with
?
Isnât this sort of every kidâs dream?
Missing parents.
No school.
Long weekend.
Is suspension really that big of a deal?
Paul says yes. It is a big deal.
But Paul never gets in trouble,
so how does he know?
The band is here tonight,
Petey and his friends
who all look the same.
They make sounds kind of like
the tornado did
but noisier
and less memorable.
Noisier Tornado.
That could be their band name.
DAY 19
I guess when youâre suspended youâre supposed to
think
about what youâve done.
I am supposed to
think
shoving Robin under the sinks was
not cool.
I am supposed to
think
Iâll never do anything like that
again.
You know what I really
think?
Petey shoves me under the sink
in the bathroom at home
All.
The.
Time.
No.
Big.
Deal.
No.
One.
Cares.
DAY 20
Get this.
As part of my punishment
Mom and Dad say Petey canât drive me
to school
anymore.
If I had known these were the
severe consequences
Iâd face
I would have gotten suspended
a lot
sooner.
WEEKEND
Intervention.
Thatâs what Paul called it.
Heâs taking a nighttime college class.
Itâs for nerds who want to be psychiatrists.
It teaches them words like âintervention.â
When he said it, I thought he meant for me
but he meant for Petey.
He took Petey aside
while Petey rolled his eyes.
Paul told him to be a better big brother,
a better person.
Paul is the only one who sees Petey
as he is,
a King Kong jerk.
Youâd think
Philip would see the King Kong jerk part, tooâ
but Philip is too busy
with football and girls
to notice anything
other than cheerleaders or boobs.
Paul told Petey to
watch it
.
Petey said
Watch THIS
.
And then punched a wall.
Paul rumpled my hair.
I think my getting suspended bothered Paul
more than anyone else.
More than
me.
DAY 23
Well.
My notebook is not lost.
Guess who found it?
Shrimpy Robin.
His face is like a dog
with a juicy bone.
Whatever.
No one can hear your heart beat fast
when you are jagged stone.
Mrs. Little put 50 pounds of books
in my arms.
Shelve them
, she said.
Her mouth was tight,
puckered
like a cat
(âs
butt).
This is part of the punishment.
Not just suspension.
Becoming Mrs. Littleâs slave
for two weeks
after school.
So boring
I might
die.
DAY 24
I did not die.
But now I might.
Robin made copies of some pages from my
notebook.
COPIES.
Gave them to everyone.
EVERYONE.
Guess whoâs going to get to watch his nose
EXPLODE OFF HIS FACE?
At least Robin didnât copy my secret
about messing up the books.
And at least he didnât copy Peteyâs crying secret.
Even with Petey in high school
he would still find out
from someoneâs big mouth.
Iâm sure of it.
So now Iâm worried
because Robin knows my secrets.
And I know he
wearing an ugly tie.
Surprise.
Mrs. Little isnât even a teacher
so why can she send me to Hartwick?
Lifeâs mysteries
abound.
Suspended.
A word that can describe medicine.
The little bits of healthy mold
suspended
in pink goo
so that the kids like the bits enough
to swallow them.
Suspended.
A word that can describe stopping
like someone hit a pause button and you are
suspended
in time and space
your finger frozen inches from your
nose.
Suspended.
A word that can describe
me.
You should have seen Momâs face
when she came to pick me up.
Not red.
Not purple.
No forehead veins,
like Hartwickâs.
She just smiled really big.
Iâll deal with him
, she said
and then she laughed
but I know she wasnât really laughing.
Unless something
was funny
on her phone.
DAY 17
I dreamed about that smile last night
and woke up
shivering.
Mom hasnât talked to me
in 24 hours.
Dad is on call so heâll be back tomorrow.
Today is the first day
of three days
of not being allowed at school.
Is this what it means to be
dealt with
?
Isnât this sort of every kidâs dream?
Missing parents.
No school.
Long weekend.
Is suspension really that big of a deal?
Paul says yes. It is a big deal.
But Paul never gets in trouble,
so how does he know?
The band is here tonight,
Petey and his friends
who all look the same.
They make sounds kind of like
the tornado did
but noisier
and less memorable.
Noisier Tornado.
That could be their band name.
DAY 19
I guess when youâre suspended youâre supposed to
think
about what youâve done.
I am supposed to
think
shoving Robin under the sinks was
not cool.
I am supposed to
think
Iâll never do anything like that
again.
You know what I really
think?
Petey shoves me under the sink
in the bathroom at home
All.
The.
Time.
No.
Big.
Deal.
No.
One.
Cares.
DAY 20
Get this.
As part of my punishment
Mom and Dad say Petey canât drive me
to school
anymore.
If I had known these were the
severe consequences
Iâd face
I would have gotten suspended
a lot
sooner.
WEEKEND
Intervention.
Thatâs what Paul called it.
Heâs taking a nighttime college class.
Itâs for nerds who want to be psychiatrists.
It teaches them words like âintervention.â
When he said it, I thought he meant for me
but he meant for Petey.
He took Petey aside
while Petey rolled his eyes.
Paul told him to be a better big brother,
a better person.
Paul is the only one who sees Petey
as he is,
a King Kong jerk.
Youâd think
Philip would see the King Kong jerk part, tooâ
but Philip is too busy
with football and girls
to notice anything
other than cheerleaders or boobs.
Paul told Petey to
watch it
.
Petey said
Watch THIS
.
And then punched a wall.
Paul rumpled my hair.
I think my getting suspended bothered Paul
more than anyone else.
More than
me.
DAY 23
Well.
My notebook is not lost.
Guess who found it?
Shrimpy Robin.
His face is like a dog
with a juicy bone.
Whatever.
No one can hear your heart beat fast
when you are jagged stone.
Mrs. Little put 50 pounds of books
in my arms.
Shelve them
, she said.
Her mouth was tight,
puckered
like a cat
(âs
butt).
This is part of the punishment.
Not just suspension.
Becoming Mrs. Littleâs slave
for two weeks
after school.
So boring
I might
die.
DAY 24
I did not die.
But now I might.
Robin made copies of some pages from my
notebook.
COPIES.
Gave them to everyone.
EVERYONE.
Guess whoâs going to get to watch his nose
EXPLODE OFF HIS FACE?
At least Robin didnât copy my secret
about messing up the books.
And at least he didnât copy Peteyâs crying secret.
Even with Petey in high school
he would still find out
from someoneâs big mouth.
Iâm sure of it.
So now Iâm worried
because Robin knows my secrets.
And I know he
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