Ms. Zephyr's Notebook by KC Dyer Read Free Book Online Page B

too much. But mostly he was friendly.
    There are two other kids in here right now, plus a baby in ICU, but that isn’t our ward so it doesn’t count. I tried to talk to the girl yesterday but I think she was sleepy. She doesn’t like poker, that’s for sure. I checked her door again. It says her name is Cleopatra, but she said that for the last time didn’t I know that almost everyone here is an idiot and they got her name wrong and would I get lost. So I tried to talk to the other guy, but he was busy with the janitor patching the big hole he kicked in the wall of your office.
    At least I can tell you what he looks like. He’s a bitscary looking. His name is Logan. He had white dust in his hair from the work he and the janitor were doing, and he is at least seven feet tall, so he must be a teenager. He seems cool, but he was very mad about having to fix the wall, so I left. I hate getting punched.
    And that’s it. Two kids plus me.
    From, Kip.
    November 14
    Jacqueline H-M.
    5:17 p.m.
    Dear Ms. Zephyr,
    For my journal entry today I am writing to protest the withholding of my homework. I assure you, three days is more than enough recovery time from a minor fainting spell. As you know, it was NOT a heart attack. I am very ready to get back to work. Please relent.
    Oh, and while I am down on my metaphorical knees, could you also help arrange the return of my red sweater? It’s always freezing in here. Thank you.
    Yours impatiently,
    Jacqueline
    November 14
    Jacqueline H-M.
    6:04 p.m.
    Dear Ms. Zephyr,
    I have just completed the final page of Moby Dick and in addition to having no homework to work on, I now officially have nothing to read. As it seems you have gone home for the day, and I can’t even locate an old Reader’s Digest in this godforsaken place, I will be forced to read the contents of this notebook.
    Jacqueline
Evergreen Hospital
X-Ray and Laboratory Services
Office: 101-45l6-7890
November 14
To: Ms. Abigail Zephyr,
Evergreen Hospital,
Education Department Head
Re: In-hospital school work schedule change
Dr. Valens has requested that Kip Graeme be withdrawn from any schoolwork tomorrow morning, due to a scheduled series of blood tests. Kip will be able to resume full activity by tomorrow afternoon. Thank you.
S. Isaacs, Lab Tech.
    November 15
    Jacqueline H-M.
    8:59 a.m.
    Dearest Ms. Zephyr,
    Thank you so much for relenting! I will start on the math that I have missed right away. Will have it in to you by this afternoon, a full day before it is due, I hope you note!
    However, I have another request to make. Due to your slow acquiescence on the homework front, I read all the way through this notebook. I must say I am feeling quite hurt by Mr. Kemp’s journal entries. Couldyou please ask Mr. Kemp to cease referring to me as “the little weirdie”? First of all, “weirdie” is not a word. My name is Jacqueline Hornby-Moss. He may refer to me as Ms. Hornby-Moss or even Ms. Jacqueline if his tiny brain can’t manage the whole thing.
    And secondly, though I am indeed physically smaller than he is, I am most assuredly not little. Adine Terrepini at my school wears a size zero and I wear at least a size three — higher on my fat days. And not only that, I checked Mr. Kemp’s chart when he was playing Xbox (as usual) and discovered that he is a mere fifteen months my senior. Less than a year and a half is hardly enough to give him such a superiority complex.
    Thank you for allowing me to redress this misunderstanding.
    ~Jacqueline Hornby-Moss
    Postscript: Ms. Zephyr, when you do have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kemp, you might also mention to him that Carl Sagan would say no such thing as “I’m outta here”? I speak from experience as he was an acquaintance of our family and, according to my Nona, he was a deeply thoughtful man.
Dr. Rob Valens
Evergreen