Someday Angeline by Louis Sachar Read Free Book Online Page A

and wash your face. I’ll go with you if you want.”
    Angeline didn’t have the strength to move.
    “Boy, I hate Mrs. Hardlick, don’t you?” said Christy. “She’s so mean. That’s because she’s such a lousy teacher. She covers up what a crummy teacher she is by being mean.”
    Angeline gulped.
    “You shouldn’t let a crummy teacher like her upset you,” said Christy. “I mean, you being so smart and everything. Someday you’re going tobe so brilliant and famous, anyway.”
    Angeline wiped her face on her sleeve. “You never know,” she said.
    “Philip calls her Mrs. Hardboiled,” laughed Christy.
    Angeline laughed.
    Christy helped her stand up. They slowly walked to the girls’ bathroom together.
    “I like your earrings, Christy,” said Angeline.
    “They’re real gold,” said Christy. “If they weren’t, my ears would turn green.”

Twelve
More Fish
    With her lunch bag gripped tightly in her hand, Angeline waited at the bus stop in front of the school. She was still feeling a little shaky. She felt like she was losing her balance.
    When the bus finally came, she stepped up onto the first step only. “Which bus do I take to the aquarium, please?” she asked the driver.
    He told her, “Take this bus to Richmond Road, and then transfer to the number eight line going north. It will take you right there.”
    She sat down at the front of the bus. “Everything will be all right when I get to the aquarium,” she thought. When the driver told her that Richmond Road was the next stop, shereached up and pulled the cord above her. That was her favorite part about riding the bus.
    She got on the number eight heading north and sat by herself toward the middle of the bus. It was practically empty. She opened Mrs. Hardlick’s note and read it for the first time.
    Dear Mrs. Persopolis
,
    Despite my best efforts, Angeline has been unable to adjust to the intellectual and emotional level of the sixth grade. She does not cooperate well with the other children and has stubbornly refused all special assistance I have offered her. She has been a troublemaker all year, but due to her age I have tried to be tolerant and understanding. However, today she did something which I cannot condone. While the rest of the class was out having recess, Angeline remained inside, where she proceeded to throw a temper tantrum, knocking over furniture and destroying other children’s property
.
    Now, I don’t know how she behaves at home, but here at school I cannot tolerate suchcounterproductive and antisocial behavior. I trust you’ll see that she is properly disciplined so that this kind of thing does not happen again
.
    Sincerely,
Margaret P. Hardlick
    Her eyes burned from reading the letter. Her hand shook as she held the note in front of her, wondering what to do. But really, she didn’t have any choice. She tore the note into little strips of paper and stuck them under the bus seat. If her father saw that letter, it would kill him.
    “When I get to the aquarium,” she thought, “somehow everything will be all right.”
    The bus wheezed to a stop and let off a passenger. It started up again, turned right, and passed a garbage truck going in the opposite direction.
    Abel flicked on the radio and tried to find a good station.
    “Donna’s sister, Lisa, is in town,” said Gus. “How about the four of us having dinner tonight?”
    “No, I’m worried about Angeline,” Abel replied.
    “You worry about her too much,” said Gus. “You never have any fun. You owe it to yourself.”
    “Yeah, well, yesterday I was worried because I never talked to her, so I talked to her like you said, and now I’m even more worried.”
    “Why? What did you talk about?”
    Abel shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Okay, for one thing, do you want to know what she does at school? She collects the garbage. She’s school garbage collector.”
    Gus laughed. “She wants to be like you,” he said.
    “I don’t want her to