The Mighty Quinn by Robyn Parnell Read Free Book Online

out the GameBox Tay got for Christmas.
    â€œI wonder what they’re talking about,” Quinn said.
    â€œThe community service project,” Tay said. “She’ll pass it off on him, that and the ESL kids. You get all the dumb stuff when you volunteer. You don’t see my parents volunteering.”
    â€œWhat did he say that Neally’s mom does?” Sam asked.
    â€œHow would I know and why would I care?” Tay tapped the side of the GameBox. “No way the battery could be dead already.”
    â€œNursing recruitment,” Quinn said. “My mom works with community groups. I heard her tell my dad that nurses are needed to ...”
    â€œNursing recruitment programs design ways to get people interested in becoming nurses.”
    The boys looked up to see Neally looking down on them. To Quinn’s surprise, Tay held up his GameBox. Neally turned it over in her hand for a moment, said, “Cool,” and gave it back to Tay. Tay seemed to have a newfound if grudging respect for Neally. She’d played four square doubles with him at recess, and they’d lasted eight rounds before another team got them out.
    â€œWhat do your parents do?” Neally asked Quinn. “I know yours,” she said to Sam, “are both history teachers.”
    â€œWho cares what parents do.” Tay punched the reset button on his GameBox. “A thousand points; yes! Bonus round is mine!”
    â€œMy mom works for CSO, which is the Community Services Organization. They help people find jobs and housing, doctors, all kinds of things—whatever people need.”
    â€œWhat a great thing to do,” Neally said.
    â€œI guess so.” Quinn looked around the circle. It felt good to talk about his family. Tay and Sam weren’t paying any attention, but at least they weren’t interrupting. “Dad’s a financial advisor at a bank downtown, the onein the big gray brick building, I forget its name. He tells people what to do with their money. He says he talks to people all day long, which is weird, ’cause he doesn’t talk a lot at home.”
    â€œMaybe he gets all his words out at work,” Neally said.
    â€œYour mom recruits nurses?” Sam asked Neally. “What’s up with that?”
    â€œBlah blah blah,” Tay droned.
    Looking at Sam and Neally, Quinn felt a surge of confidence. “You can leave if we’re boring you,” he suggested to Tay.
    â€œMaybe he can’t leave,” Neally said. “Maybe his butt is super-glued to the field.”
    Sam guffawed. Tay, looking as if he didn’t know whether to give Neally a thumbs-up or a noogie, scooted over and made room for her to join their circle.
    â€œThanks.” Neally sat on the ground between Sam and Quinn. “We moved here because of my mom’s job. She has a doctorate in nursing.”
    â€œA doctor in nursing?” Sam scratched his head.
    â€œDoctor-ate,” Neally said. “That’s a college degree, a much bigger degree than the regular one. She’s designing a plan to get more men to go into nursing programs. She’s always trying to get my dad to sign up, but after the first time I cracked my head open ...”
    â€œThe first time?” Tay lowered his GameBox.
    Quinn glared at Tay and shook his head. Tay loved to hear blood and guts stories, but they made Quinn feel woozy.
    â€œI’ve done it several times.” Neally acted as if she were talking about a no big deal thing, like mixing applesauce with oatmeal. “You get used to the gauze pads. The trick is to use the first-rate kind of gauze to stop the bleeding, not the discount brands with the threads coming off. Cheap gauze sticks to blood when it dries.”
    Quinn began humming to himself.
    â€œDad gets dizzy when he sees blood. It’s such a joke, my mom thinking my dad could make it through even one day of the first year of nursing school. He’d have to run