The Other Way Around by Sashi Kaufman Page A

the second comment might have been the better choice. Especially since I had no idea what a pedophile was. Mrs Pettengill did. Her jaw just about hit the floor as she hustled me out of the room and down to the principal’s office.
    It was a lot different than the first time I got sent to the principal’s office. There were no punitive consequences except Mom had to come pick me up. It was a couple weeks before Christmas vacation. I remember Dad was on the computer a lot, trying to find a new place to live. Mom got pretty red in the face when she found out about my comment, but even she didn’t bother to punish me. It was the first time, throughout the whole divorce, I remember thinking she had really let me down. Needless to say that class project was canceled. Something the other kids held against me for the rest of the year. I was the Grinch who stole their orphan.
    ***
    Just then Tim shouts out, “TENS!!!”
    â€œAll right,” Jesse says. “I think there’s a rest stop up ahead.”
    â€œTens is like ten minutes until you need a bathroom,” Tim explains. “Fives is like five minutes. And if you yell turtles, thatmeans it’s an emergency and whoever is driving should pull over at the nearest good-sized bush or tree.”
    This is good information to have. I flip ahead a few pages in the notebook and make a new list that I title
Useful Information
. I like to title things. Maybe because it seems to be an indication of something promising. I write down Tim’s explanation for getting the van to stop when you have to crap. A few minutes later the bus pulls in at a gas station and everyone piles out to stretch their legs. Tim jogs off to find the key to the bathroom. G follows Tim, while Emily and Lyle walk over to a picnic bench. I lean back against the side of the van, trying to get my back to crack.
    â€œI think I pissed Emily off,” I say off handedly to Jesse. “I feel bad.”
    â€œReally?” he says and cocks his head to one side.
    â€œWell, I feel bad if she’s upset. But I don’t really feel bad about arguing with her,” I clarify.
    â€œGood,” Jesse says. “You shouldn’t. Emily’s got to learn that she can’t just shout her opinions at people to make them agree with her. She can get really preachy sometimes, and more often than not, it has the opposite effect. She ends up turning people off to the things she’s saying because the way she’s saying them is so …” he pauses.
    â€œIn your face?” I offer.
    â€œYeah, pretty much,” he says. “Still,” he offers after a few minutes have passed. “If you think you might have hurt her feelings, it never hurts to apologize.”
    â€œYeah, I know.” I was kind of hoping Lyle was going to head for the bathroom so I could talk to Emily alone. “I really liked talking to Emily this morning.”
    â€œI bet,” Jesse says.
    I look up quickly to see if there’s any hint of suggestion in his comment. But there’s none. He simply gives me another ultra-sincere smile and then gestures to Lyle with a wave of his hand. “Hey, man,” he shouts. “Can you take a look at the exhaust pipe for me? I think I heard a clunking noise that last mile or so.”
    I look curiously at Jesse. Did he read my mind? I walk casually over to where Emily is sitting and sit down next to her. I clap my hands together nervously, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry,” I start. “I’m sorry if I was too sarcastic or whatever, and I pissed you off.”
    â€œThanks, Drew,” Emily says. She’s twisting one of her dreadlocks back and forth between her fingers. “I shouldn’t have gotten on your case either.” She sighs loudly. “Jesse says I can be too preachy, and it turns people off from what I’m saying.”
    â€œI’m interested in what you’re saying,” I say.