packed her bags to head out of the class.
“Ruth? Can I speak to you for a moment?”
Ruth reluctantly walked to the front of the class as the rest of her classmates were leaving. Ruth stood nervously at Mr. Lucus’ desk while he started his lecture.
“Ruth, this is the second time in a week that you’ve rushed through your homework. I’m worried that this talent show is getting in the way of your grades. You’ve dropped an entire letter since you signed up. If you don’t start to pick back up, I’m going to have to talk to your parents.”
Ruth thought she might cry. This was the last thing that she needed today. “Mr. Lucus, please don’t, I promise I’ll do better.”
He nodded with annoyance. “Meet me after your last class in here. I’ll let you re-do your homework, and I won’t take any points off.”
Ruth began to protest. “But Mr. Lucus! I have practice!”
“Well, you’re just going to have to miss part of practice – unless it’s more important than your math grade.”
Ruth shook her head as she felt her eyes watering. “No sir. I’ll meet you in your classroom.”
“Very good. You can go to class now.”
Ruth let the teardrops fall as she walked slowly to the hallway.
Ruth finished her last problem and put her pencil down. It only took about 20 minutes, so she was still making good time. She looked over her problems again and walked up to Mr. Lucus’ desk. She handed him the paper. He glanced at it quickly.
“This looks much better. That didn’t take long, did it?”
Ruth shook her head.
“Next time you’ll do your homework at home so you don’t have to miss practice, yes?”
“Yes sir.”
“Ok, go on.”
Ruth grabbed her backpack and ran across school to the band room. She kept a careful eye out for any teachers that were on duty. Her band mates were already playing, and she couldn’t afford to miss another minute. She burst into the room and threw her back pack on the ground. Her band mates came to a halt as she tried to catch her breath.
Ruth’s mom picked her up from practice. Ruth saw their van and barely contained an eye roll. Practice was lousy, and she saw her mom’s huge smile through the windshield. She took a deep breath as she opened the door.
“How was practice sweetie?” Ruth climbed in the back seat even though she normally stayed up front.
“Ok.”
“Did your day ever get better?”
“Not really.”
“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Alberto are coming over for dinner. You and Charlie are going to eat early and then finish your homework upstairs. Daddy and I are going to have a grown-up dinner.”
Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. “No problem.”
Ruth ate quickly. She had received a get-out-of-jail-free card, and she was going to use it. She ate so quickly that she couldn’t even taste whatever her mom had decided to cook that night. It looked a little like spaghetti, but it had been baked or something. Ruth didn’t ask. She swallowed it down, thanked her mom, and ran upstairs claiming she had a lot of homework to do.
Ruth rushed into her room and saw her drum sticks sitting on the bed. She didn’t want to practice anymore. She didn’t want to do anything but go to sleep and forget this day ever happened. She looked at her back pack and slumped onto her bed. The house was quiet. Charlie must have been playing video games in his room. She heard the doorbell ring and heard her mom rush to answer the door.
Ruth looked up at the clock. It was 6:50. It was still way too early to go to sleep, but she didn’t feel like doing anything else. She could hear the laughs already from downstairs. She needed to brush her teeth, but that meant possibly disrupting Charlie without having any parental backup. It would have to be a sly operation.
Ruth turned her door handle with the greatest of care. She knew that she needed an extremely gentle touch to avoid the dreaded door squeak. She breathed a sigh of relief once the door was
“Ruth? Can I speak to you for a moment?”
Ruth reluctantly walked to the front of the class as the rest of her classmates were leaving. Ruth stood nervously at Mr. Lucus’ desk while he started his lecture.
“Ruth, this is the second time in a week that you’ve rushed through your homework. I’m worried that this talent show is getting in the way of your grades. You’ve dropped an entire letter since you signed up. If you don’t start to pick back up, I’m going to have to talk to your parents.”
Ruth thought she might cry. This was the last thing that she needed today. “Mr. Lucus, please don’t, I promise I’ll do better.”
He nodded with annoyance. “Meet me after your last class in here. I’ll let you re-do your homework, and I won’t take any points off.”
Ruth began to protest. “But Mr. Lucus! I have practice!”
“Well, you’re just going to have to miss part of practice – unless it’s more important than your math grade.”
Ruth shook her head as she felt her eyes watering. “No sir. I’ll meet you in your classroom.”
“Very good. You can go to class now.”
Ruth let the teardrops fall as she walked slowly to the hallway.
Ruth finished her last problem and put her pencil down. It only took about 20 minutes, so she was still making good time. She looked over her problems again and walked up to Mr. Lucus’ desk. She handed him the paper. He glanced at it quickly.
“This looks much better. That didn’t take long, did it?”
Ruth shook her head.
“Next time you’ll do your homework at home so you don’t have to miss practice, yes?”
“Yes sir.”
“Ok, go on.”
Ruth grabbed her backpack and ran across school to the band room. She kept a careful eye out for any teachers that were on duty. Her band mates were already playing, and she couldn’t afford to miss another minute. She burst into the room and threw her back pack on the ground. Her band mates came to a halt as she tried to catch her breath.
Ruth’s mom picked her up from practice. Ruth saw their van and barely contained an eye roll. Practice was lousy, and she saw her mom’s huge smile through the windshield. She took a deep breath as she opened the door.
“How was practice sweetie?” Ruth climbed in the back seat even though she normally stayed up front.
“Ok.”
“Did your day ever get better?”
“Not really.”
“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Alberto are coming over for dinner. You and Charlie are going to eat early and then finish your homework upstairs. Daddy and I are going to have a grown-up dinner.”
Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. “No problem.”
Ruth ate quickly. She had received a get-out-of-jail-free card, and she was going to use it. She ate so quickly that she couldn’t even taste whatever her mom had decided to cook that night. It looked a little like spaghetti, but it had been baked or something. Ruth didn’t ask. She swallowed it down, thanked her mom, and ran upstairs claiming she had a lot of homework to do.
Ruth rushed into her room and saw her drum sticks sitting on the bed. She didn’t want to practice anymore. She didn’t want to do anything but go to sleep and forget this day ever happened. She looked at her back pack and slumped onto her bed. The house was quiet. Charlie must have been playing video games in his room. She heard the doorbell ring and heard her mom rush to answer the door.
Ruth looked up at the clock. It was 6:50. It was still way too early to go to sleep, but she didn’t feel like doing anything else. She could hear the laughs already from downstairs. She needed to brush her teeth, but that meant possibly disrupting Charlie without having any parental backup. It would have to be a sly operation.
Ruth turned her door handle with the greatest of care. She knew that she needed an extremely gentle touch to avoid the dreaded door squeak. She breathed a sigh of relief once the door was
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