Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar Read Free Book Online

“It’s because they’re killing the whales,” she thought. “It affects everything.”
    She took a breath, then boldly opened thedoor to the classroom. Immediately she burst into tears as she saw the mess she had made. She took a couple of steps, then stopped as Mrs. Hardlick coldly stared at her. It was as if Mrs. Hardlick’s silent stare prevented her from going any farther.
    The rest of the class were all in their seats except for Nelson Ford, whose desk Angeline had turned over. He was standing next to it, trying not to laugh. Mrs. Hardlick had evidently told everyone to leave everything exactly as it was.
    Angeline wished that Mrs. Hardlick would say what she had to say and get it over with. The silence was killing her.
    All the other sixth-graders tried their best to be quiet but she could hear a few muffled snickers. “The freak freaked out,” someone whispered. Then someone else, thinking it was funny, copied the same joke. “The freak freaked out,” she heard again.
    “You did this!” shouted Mrs. Hardlick. “You can’t fool me! You did it, didn’t you?”
    Angeline wasn’t trying to fool anyone. If she hadn’t done it, she wouldn’t be standing there crying.
    “Well, young lady, what have you got to sayfor yourself?” Mrs. Hardlick demanded.
    Angeline sniffled back some tears. “I wish to resign as Secretary of Trash.”
    Mrs. Hardlick looked furious. “Oh, you think you are so smart, don’t you?” she said. “Smarter than everybody else in the class—even me!” She snorted. “Well you’re not! This wasn’t so smart now, was it? You don’t belong in the sixth grade. A sixth-grader doesn’t throw a temper tantrum when there is nobody else around. A sixth-grader doesn’t rip down other people’s compositions just because they got a better grade. A sixth-grader doesn’t suck her thumb or cry at the drop of a hat! Babies do that! Maybe you’re not as smart as you thought you were.”
    Angeline stood trembling and crying, waiting for Mrs. Hardlick to finish. Mrs. Hardlick had loved it when Angeline sucked her thumb and cried, but she loved this the most.
    “Look at poor Nelson,” Mrs. Hardlick continued. “He doesn’t have a place to sit.”
    Nelson had to turn his face away to keep from laughing.
    “I think you owe him an apology,” Mrs. Hardlick demanded.
    “I’m sorry,” sobbed Angeline.
    Nelson shrugged.
    “I’m sending you home now,” said Mrs. Hardlick. “I’ve written a note to your mother telling her what you did. I want you to bring it back tomorrow, signed by her.”
    “My—my mother’s dead,” said Angeline.
    Mrs. Hardlick looked annoyed. “Do you have a father?” she asked.
    Angeline nodded.
    “Well then, I don’t care, have
him
sign it.”
    Angeline shakily walked to Mrs. Hardlick’s desk and took the note from her. Carefully she walked outside.
    “Can I leave my desk like this, Mrs. Hardlick?” asked Nelson.
    Once outside, Angeline took several steps, then collapsed against the corner of the red brick building. It felt cold against her face. She thought about her mother. She remembered her having a very soft face and great big eyes. Her mother and father went out one day while she stayed at her grandmother’s. Her father came home alone. She remembered him telling her that her mother was dead. She could still see his face, pale and quivering as he told her, but henever told her how she died. She didn’t want to ask.
    There are some things you know before you are born, and there are some things you never know.
    Christy Mathewson found Angeline just around the corner, sitting against the building. The bricks were wet from her tears. “I brought you your lunch, Angeline,” she said. “You forgot it.”
    Angeline looked up at her and smiled. That was the second time Christy had done something nice for her, for no reason. “Thank you,” she said, almost in a whisper.
    “Are you all right?” Christy asked. “Maybe you should go to the bathroom