Story Time by Edward Bloor Read Free Book Online Page B

interest in the building's mysteries vanished as soon as she hit the night air. Shortly into the ride home, she turned around in the front seat and leveled another piercing look at George. "So, George Melvil? Did he win you over? Are you going to be one of Dr. Austin's little super test takers?"
    George was offended, but he tried to hide it. "No. But you must admit, he was nice to me. He treated me like somebody important."
    "So what? You don't think the same thing would happen at Lincoln?"
    "No, I don't think it would," George answered sincerely. "I think I'd be just another geeky little sixth grader. Someone to make fun of and to push into the lockers. Then I'd be a geeky seventh grader, and then a geeky eighth grader."
    Kate couldn't think of anything to say to that. She told him, "Fine, then. You should go to the Whittaker Magnet School, for ten thousand dollars a year. If it's the best school for you, you should go there. Lincoln's the best school for me, so I should go there. For free."
    George replied bluntly, "But you can't go there. You no longer live in the Lincoln school district. You live in the Whittaker district now."
    "I live exactly where I've always lived!"
    "But the district lines have changed, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's over, Kate. What's done is done."
    Kate stared at him angrily for five more seconds, then she turned away. As they drove along next to the dark river, she thought about her uncle's words,
What's done is done.
She answered them silently:
And what's done can be undone, too. Some way. Somehow.

11. The First Class, the First Test
    The first day at the Whittaker Magnet School began with an assembly in the lobby. Dr. Austin made some remarks about the school's "national championship test scores." He read aloud e-mails from the state's governor, two senators, and seven representatives congratulating Whittaker on its success. He urged everyone to "keep Whittaker's winning streak going."
    Kate wasn't really listening until she heard him say, "It is especially important for indigent students, such as Kate Peters and George Melvil, to use every minute here wisely. Their parents will be performing menial tasks right here in front of them in hopes that young Kate and George can someday lead better lives."
    Kate could only look down at her feet, so complete was her humiliation. George whispered, "It's going to be okay, Kate."
    "No, it isn't. Didn't you hear him? He just made us the poster kids for poverty."
    Dr. Austin next introduced the school's teachers, but not by name. He called them simply "the Dozen." The Dozen stepped forward and formed a straight line in front of the students. Each teacher wore an identification badge showing his or her subject and grade. Each held out a list of names at arm's length, like a medieval proclamation.
    The returning Whittaker students knew what to do, and George followed their lead. He approached all the teachers with 6s on their badges —MATH 6, SOCIAL STUDIES 6, READING 6, and SCIENCE 6. He found his name on each teacher's list and noted when he was scheduled to attend each class.
    Kate remained sitting in her chair amid the swirl of students. George knew better than to talk to her at that moment. Instead, he approached the teachers with 8s on their badges and compiled Kate's schedule for her. Then he sat down and asked her gently, "Are you going to be okay?"
    "No."
    "What can I do to help you?"
    "Uncle George, what if I just walked out of here and took a bus to Lincoln?"
    "They wouldn't let you register at Lincoln. Taxpayers' dollars for the education of Kate Peters go to Whittaker now."
    "This can't be happening. I'm supposed to be at Lincoln. With normal kids. There must be a way out of here."
    "There might be. But for now, you're stuck. You have to accept that."
    The lobby grew quiet as students poured down the stairwell, like grain down a chute. George pressed Kate's schedule into her hand. "You start with math eight; I start with math six.