combination
on my locker when K.T. and her “girls” swing their way down the
hall, spreading attitude ahead of them like confetti. They sweep
around me, slam open the swinging door to the girls’ restroom and
file inside. I had considered a quick bathroom break before my next
class, but I change my mind.
Tossing my geometry book at
the back, I lean in to retrieve chemistry and while I have my head
stuck inside K.T.’s voice booms loudly. She’s coming toward me, so
I stay put.
“I’m creaming her next time
I catch her anywheres alone.”
“You got a plan?” That
sounds like her main sidekick, the tall girl with big teeth. I
worry about bites when she’s near me.
“Do I got a plan?” Today
K.T. sounds like she’s chewing on gristle. I hope I have nothing to
do with her mood. “Whaddya think?” She’s one of the most physical
people I’ve ever met, so even though I’m not looking at her I know
she womps Big
Teeth in the arm.
“Hey! Des, you sniffin’
something’ in that locker of yours.”
I step back and close the
door. “Very funny.”
“I’m going to do you a
number one favor.”
Please don’t. I hold my chemistry book to my chest like a
shield.
“Do not pee in any of these
bathrooms starting today. Go to the annex.” K.T. smiles but humor’s
not involved.
“Excuse me?”
“Something’s goin’ down in
here soon.” She leads her gang away, but calls over her shoulder.
“Don’t want our star to get messed up.”
When her back’s to me I
make a face. Some favor . Now I have to plan an extra walk
around the back of the school to the so-called annex if I have to
use the toilet. And for what? Is she
pulling some kind of newbie joke on me?
At least in chemistry I
have a nonviolent lab partner—nonviolent but very unfriendly. He’d
been working alone until I arrived, then Mr. Mendoza stuck him with
me, the future English major.
“Hi Doc.” I keep trying to
soften him up. I nicknamed him Doc because he’s already decided to
be an Orthopedist and plans to apply to Columbia University. He
didn’t tell me; I overheard him. He talks to other kids, just not
me.
While he sets out the
experiment he grunts commands at me. I’m not allowed to touch the
set up. He may let me hand him stuff.
“So what’s the—”
“Combustion experiment.” He
sets a Bunsen burner on the counter along with small square pieces
of screen.
“Can I—”
“Light the burner when I
tell you.”
Mr. Mendoza strolls past as
I hold the matches at the ready, looking productive. “Remember to
use all the fire safety precautions during this experiment,” he
says.
“Okay, light it now.”
Without looking at me Doc adjusts the flame, something else he
won’t let me do. Then, using tongs, he slowly lowers one of the
screen pieces onto the flame. “Make notes.”
“Like what?” I grab my
notebook and a pencil. He snorts, but I ignore him and say, “Just
tell me so I don’t screw up your lab report, okay?”
“Flame doesn’t penetrate
screen when lowered from above.”
I write, then wait for the
next step.
By the end of the
experiment I have one page of dictation. “So why did we do this?” I
know my question annoys him, but how else am I to learn anything in
this lab?
“We’re observing heat
dispersion.”
“Hmm.” I’ll have to read
the chapter to find out what I need to know. Doc’s already packing
away the Bunsen burner and preparing for the next experiment. We’re
always ahead in lab. He’s always ahead in lab. I begin to plot how I can
screw up his A in this class.
After chemistry I have one
more stop at my locker before I can quit the stuffy halls of Las
Pulgas High until tomorrow. I stack the books I’ll need for
homework into the crook of my arm, close my locker door and chart
my passage to freedom. When I’m near the girls’ bathroom the door
swings open and with the force of an explosion hits the wall. I
jump back. The loud scream is mine.
A blonde wearing
on my locker when K.T. and her “girls” swing their way down the
hall, spreading attitude ahead of them like confetti. They sweep
around me, slam open the swinging door to the girls’ restroom and
file inside. I had considered a quick bathroom break before my next
class, but I change my mind.
Tossing my geometry book at
the back, I lean in to retrieve chemistry and while I have my head
stuck inside K.T.’s voice booms loudly. She’s coming toward me, so
I stay put.
“I’m creaming her next time
I catch her anywheres alone.”
“You got a plan?” That
sounds like her main sidekick, the tall girl with big teeth. I
worry about bites when she’s near me.
“Do I got a plan?” Today
K.T. sounds like she’s chewing on gristle. I hope I have nothing to
do with her mood. “Whaddya think?” She’s one of the most physical
people I’ve ever met, so even though I’m not looking at her I know
she womps Big
Teeth in the arm.
“Hey! Des, you sniffin’
something’ in that locker of yours.”
I step back and close the
door. “Very funny.”
“I’m going to do you a
number one favor.”
Please don’t. I hold my chemistry book to my chest like a
shield.
“Do not pee in any of these
bathrooms starting today. Go to the annex.” K.T. smiles but humor’s
not involved.
“Excuse me?”
“Something’s goin’ down in
here soon.” She leads her gang away, but calls over her shoulder.
“Don’t want our star to get messed up.”
When her back’s to me I
make a face. Some favor . Now I have to plan an extra walk
around the back of the school to the so-called annex if I have to
use the toilet. And for what? Is she
pulling some kind of newbie joke on me?
At least in chemistry I
have a nonviolent lab partner—nonviolent but very unfriendly. He’d
been working alone until I arrived, then Mr. Mendoza stuck him with
me, the future English major.
“Hi Doc.” I keep trying to
soften him up. I nicknamed him Doc because he’s already decided to
be an Orthopedist and plans to apply to Columbia University. He
didn’t tell me; I overheard him. He talks to other kids, just not
me.
While he sets out the
experiment he grunts commands at me. I’m not allowed to touch the
set up. He may let me hand him stuff.
“So what’s the—”
“Combustion experiment.” He
sets a Bunsen burner on the counter along with small square pieces
of screen.
“Can I—”
“Light the burner when I
tell you.”
Mr. Mendoza strolls past as
I hold the matches at the ready, looking productive. “Remember to
use all the fire safety precautions during this experiment,” he
says.
“Okay, light it now.”
Without looking at me Doc adjusts the flame, something else he
won’t let me do. Then, using tongs, he slowly lowers one of the
screen pieces onto the flame. “Make notes.”
“Like what?” I grab my
notebook and a pencil. He snorts, but I ignore him and say, “Just
tell me so I don’t screw up your lab report, okay?”
“Flame doesn’t penetrate
screen when lowered from above.”
I write, then wait for the
next step.
By the end of the
experiment I have one page of dictation. “So why did we do this?” I
know my question annoys him, but how else am I to learn anything in
this lab?
“We’re observing heat
dispersion.”
“Hmm.” I’ll have to read
the chapter to find out what I need to know. Doc’s already packing
away the Bunsen burner and preparing for the next experiment. We’re
always ahead in lab. He’s always ahead in lab. I begin to plot how I can
screw up his A in this class.
After chemistry I have one
more stop at my locker before I can quit the stuffy halls of Las
Pulgas High until tomorrow. I stack the books I’ll need for
homework into the crook of my arm, close my locker door and chart
my passage to freedom. When I’m near the girls’ bathroom the door
swings open and with the force of an explosion hits the wall. I
jump back. The loud scream is mine.
A blonde wearing
Similar Books
