ESPECIALLY MONDAYS LIKE THIS MONDAY, when we get our report cards. Most schools send out report cards by mail, so you don’t see the bad news until you get home. At my school, they hand them out first thing in the morning, during homeroom. That way you have the whole day to figure out how you’re going to explain things to your parents. “…Morrisey…Peters…Ralston…” My homeroom teacher, Mr. Meyer, was calling out our names in alphabetical order. “…Soriano…Stoshack…” I marched up to the front of the class, and Mr. Meyer handed me my envelope. Why do they even bother putting them in envelopes? I started ripping it open before I got back to my seat. What?! I had to look at it twice. Maybe the name was wrong and they gave me somebody else’s report card by mistake, I figured. No, that’s me. Maybe somebody was goofing on me and they changed my grade. I got an A in Spanish! Nina Wallace Nope, there were no signs of tampering. I, Joe Stoshack, aced Spanish! Still, it had to be a mistake, I figured.
