Friends of a Feather Read Online Free Page A

she
does
perch on her bottom and make herself as tall as she can.
    â€œYes, Lexie?” Mrs. Webber says.
    â€œI have a comment, not a question,” Lexie says. “It’s about my bruise. Do you remember my bruise? From last week, when you kicked me in the head?”
    Mrs. Webber sighs. “I did not kick you in the head, Lexie, and we’re not here to talk about your bruise. Those days are over.”
    â€œNo, because it hasn’t gone away yet,” Lexie says. “See?”
    She pushes her hair off her forehead, and her bruise is a good one, I admit. It’s bluish purple in the middle, but turning yellow around the edges.
    â€œOoo-eee! Makin’ bacon!” Taylor says.
    â€œAbsolutely not, Taylor,” Mrs. Webber says sternly. “Now. Who has a real question?”
    Taylor sticks up his hand. Mrs. Webber gives him a look, and he slumps and puts it down.
    Claire raises her hand. Claire is a good kid and not too rascally, so Mrs. Webber says, “Joseph, would you like to call on Claire?”
    â€œUm, Claire?” Joseph says.
    â€œAre you better now?” she asks.
    â€œWell, my doctor says I’m cured,” Joseph says. “So . . . yeah.”
    â€œDid it hurt?” Elizabeth says.
    â€œDid what hurt?” Joseph says.
    â€œBeing in the hospital.”
    â€œOh. Um, I guess.”
    Chase raises his hand.
    â€œChase?” Joseph says.
    â€œMy sister went to the hospital when she had appendicitis, and she had one of those pole things that gives you fluids,” Chase says.
    â€œAn IV?” Joseph says.
    â€œYeah, that. It made her have to go to the bathroom
all
the time.”
    Everyone laughs. Joseph does, too, but he twists his hands at the same time.
    He calls on Lexie, even though she's already had a turn to talk. She says, “Did you know that a bruise means having dead blood trapped under your skin? That’s why bruises turn different colors. It’s the blood dying more and more until it goes away.”
    â€œOh,” Joseph says.
    â€œI’m not sure that’s entirely accurate, Lexie,” Mrs. Webber says.
    â€œIt is,” Lexie says. “Red, blue, purple, green, yellow, and brown. I’m almost to the brown stage.”
    Mrs. Webber says we should get back on topic. She calls on Natalia.
    â€œNot to be rude,” Natalia says, “but are you bald?”
    Joseph blushes. “No. But . . . sort of.”
    Excitement ripples around the room. I raise my hand.
    â€œTy,” Joseph says.
    â€œI think being bald is cool,” I say. “All the way bald
or
partway bald.”
    He’s glad I said that. I can see it on his face.
    â€œIn fact, I’ll probably shave my head when I grow up,” I continue. “I’ll have a shiny bald head, and it’ll be awesome.”
    â€œMe too!” Taylor says. “
And
I’ll be a race-car driver.”
    Beside me, John tugs on his hair. I can tell he’s thinking that he might want to be bald, too. Lexie tells everyone that if she was bald, we could see her bruise better, and Taylor says, “Shut up about your bruise already!”
    â€œHey!” Lexie says.
    â€œTaylor, we don’t say ‘shut up’ in this classroom,” Mrs. Webber says. “You know that.” She picks up the egg timer she uses for time-outs, and Taylor says, “Aw, man.” Then he calls Lexie a weenis. I don’t know what a weenis is, but it’s a word that makes everyone giggle and talk out of turn.
    Mrs. Webber closes her eyes.
    Elizabeth raises her hand and doesn’t wait to be called on. She cries, “Mrs. Webber, Mrs. Webber, Lester escaped again!”
    â€œWhat?!” Mrs. Webber says. Her eyes fly open. “No. Please tell me he didn’t.”
    â€œHe’s not in his aquarium,” Elizabeth says, pointing. “He’s gone!”
    There is a madhouse of girls squealing and drawing