Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea Read Free Book Online

said.
    “Yeah, and like, then I never woulda got hit in the tushie,” Lexie told him.
    Peter grinned. “But that was the best part.”
    “All right, all right, you two. That’s enough,” Mr. Terupt said.
    “How do you know all that stuff, Jeffrey?” I said, even before I knew I was asking the question. I felt instantly bad. Jeffrey wasn’t looking for extra attention.
    Jeffrey didn’t answer. He was quiet again.

Danielle
    L exie was in my group going to the Collaborative kids. Part of me was happy about that. Part of me wasn’t. Things were a little confusing.
    Every time we went to the Collaborative Classroom, and every time we came back, Lexie would talk bad about Jessica—even Anna sometimes.
    “Don’t you think Anna belongs in this room? She’s, like, so stupid,” Lexie said one day.
    Even if I wasn’t supposed to be friends with Anna, I knew she wasn’t stupid. I knew because she was my plant partner, and she helped me a lot during that unit. Plus, Anna was the only girl not involved in Lexie’s schemes, which made her brave, too.
    “Like, Jessica should just stay down here. She doesn’t have any normal friends,” Lexie said.
    The weirdest thing of all was that Lexie was really nice to the boys and girls in the Collaborative Classroom. Joey loved her. Okay, Joey loved everyone, but he always smiled and hugged Lexie. And she was really patient with Emily, too. Seeing Lexie like that helped me feel more comfortable in the room, and I had a good time with the kids—especially James.
    Jeffrey told us that James had certain things he was really into, and one of them was farms. His brain was crammed with information about tractors and machines and cows and milking. So I brought in a bunch of pictures from home and James went nuts. He spouted off facts nonstop as he looked at each picture.
    “Udders. These are the cow’s udders. Clean her off and use teat dip.…”
    Next picture.
    “Hay. Find it in bales or rolls. It’s hard work to hay. Throw the bale off the wagon and put it on the elevator. Stack the bales in the hayloft.…”
    Next picture.
    “John Deere tractor. Classic green and yellow. Lots of horsepower …”
    James talked more to himself than anyone else, but that was okay. His mind was racing. When our time was up, I tried to take the pictures and he started screaming. Really screaming, not words, just noise—really loud noise. It scared me. I let go of the pictures and Mrs. Warner came right over. I got out of the way. “He can keep them,” I said.
    “That’s very nice of you, sweetie,” Mrs. Warner said. “James, can you say thank you to your friend?”
    “Aargh!” James yelled, and struggled to free his body from Mrs. Warner.
    “James has a hard time knowing when time is up and switching to another activity,” she said.
    I felt bad for James, watching him have this meltdown. “It’s okay,” I said, “you can keep the pictures, James. Bye.”
    More yelling and crying and screaming. I hoped he would calm down soon, but I had to leave. I wanted to go. I didn’t like seeing that.
    The whole situation upset me, and I think that was what gave me the courage to say something. We had just gone out into the hall when Lexie started right in.
    “Like, what a weirdo. We better fix him up with Jessica. She’s the weirdest one in our class.”
    “Just stop it!” I exploded. “Why do you always have to be so mean? You’re nice in the room with them. Why do you have to be mean now?” Fighting back tears, I turned and ran down the hall.
    “He likes cows,” Lexie yelled after me. “Maybe he should date a cow like you, then.”
    Hot tears streamed down my cheeks. I ran upstairs and into our bathroom. Jessica was there.
    “Are you okay?” she asked as I came through the door crying.
    Here was my true friend. I knew it now.
    “I’m sorry I’ve been mean to you, Jessica. I won’t do it again.”
    She walked over to me and we hugged. I felt better.
    Dear God
,
    It’s