SEPTEMBER 2008 Everyone complains about Mondays, but Tuesdays are just as bad, the weekend worn off and nothing but worksheets ahead. Mom reminded me to bring my wellness poster downstairs, but somehow it never made it out the door, so Mrs. Closer’s on my case. Avoid stress: Skip health class. But there’s nowhere to hide. Kathy groans about staying up half the night studying for the social studies quiz. “What quiz?” I whisper. I quietly pull out my social studies textbook during the movie about responsible personal choice. It opens to Nawra’s letter. God, I didn’t even finish reading it. Maybe Nawra was telling me to study. Mrs. Closer spots me, so now I’m in double trouble for forgetting the poster and trying to bone up on justice for Ms. DeBarkalonis instead of watching the teens on the screen skip a party full of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll so they can go roller-skating in full body armor. Where you really need a helmet is in social studies, where Ms. DB fires questions at us nonstop.
