the boy next to me in math counts down the seconds on the clock. “WaaaaAAAHHHHH,” wails the siren. I cover my ears and wish I were with Howdy. He doesn’t cotton to loud noises. I’m sure all the dogs around him are howling, which will only make things worse. If I were there, I’d tell him the commotion would end soon. “Duck and cover,” hollers Miss Liu. For a teeny woman, she sure has a giant voice. In Gladiola, we’d move to an interior hallway, crouch with our backs to the wall, and cover our necks with our arms. Here, we’ll stay put, but protected. The desks in this room are older, wooden, heavier. Each sits two people. My desk partner and three other boys get dibs on the teacher’s weighty desk. Another boy and I push mine toward the windows. “You’re Peggy Sue, right?” “Uh-huh,” I say over the squeaks and grunts around us. “The one with the window-washing and weeding businesses?” “That’s me.” “Thanks for nothing.” I stop pushing. “What? Why?”
What do You think about Anywhere But Paradise (2015)?
