What Comes Up, Must Come Down; Chapter Eleven
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David sat down on the bench and sighed. He looked over the long list and then his planner. "There is no way."
Ezra walked up. "Hey, David," Ezra said cheekily.
David growled. "Go away. I've gotta study," he snapped.
Ezra laughed and they heard another laugh, this time behind both of them. "You study? That's a first. So what was your punishment?" She asked.
"What the hell is this? Usually you guys can't stand me. Anyways, I didn't really get a punishment. I just have to get my grades up this week...To avoid a phone call home to the sergeant. I have like a hundred assignments to do," David whined.
"Tsk, tsk. No wonder you're failing math. By the way, don't leave your grade reports in the bathroom anymore. There's only twenty assignments here, David," Ezra said with a smirk.
"Go away!"
Laughing, Ezra and Daisy walked away.
David wiggled around a little bit then decided to do what Roger had suggested he do the year before. Color-code all his assignments, based on the subject. So he took out a yellow, orange, pink, and blue highlighter and colored them. "Okay. Ten maths; three sciences; four English, and three history. Not to bad. I guess I'll do easiest first," David said and took out his history book.
For awhile, David just sat there, trying to read, and getting frustrated. He heard someone walk up behind him and got even more agitated. "Listen, how come the one time I'm doing work everyone wants to bug me?!" David demanded and turned around. It was Roger.
"Hey, calm down, David," Roger said. "Sorry. I'm just having a hard time," David admitted.
"Well, I don't have ADD, but I do have what Auggie has," Roger started. David nodded. "Dyslexia, right?"
Roger nodded and continued. "Although the two aren't really similar at all, I'm sure some things could help you that helped me. I see you color- coded everything."
"Yeah. That's made it easier," David admitted.
"Well, I see you're in history. For subjects like this, where you have to read a lot, try doing this," Roger said and sat down next to him. He took a sheet of paper from David's notebook and folded it. He then tore a piece out of the center that was about the height of a line in the textbook, going almost all the way across.
"This will help you when you have to read. I know how hard it is to try to read and see all those words. Read one line at a time, slowly, and then just move the piece down when you finish the line. When doing questions, you can do the same thing, so you see JUST that question and can concentrate. Got it?"
David nodded. "Thanks, man," David said and took the sheet of paper. "No problem. Make sure you tell me how you do next week. Peter told me about your assignment."
David nodded and Roger grinned as he saw that David was struggling to concentrate. He walked away so he wouldn't disturb him.
Kyle started talking. His pace slowed so Kristin didn't have to work quite as hard to keep up with him. His eyes got a weird, far-away look about them.
"I don't remember my biological mom. She died when I was one or so. I don't even know how—my dad never told me. I had an older sister named Kate. My dad had remarried by the time I was two, so that made me suspicious when I got older. If you really love someone, you don't just forget about them a year later.
Things were relatively normal. Then, they discovered this really, really weird church group. These people were insane. They shamed upon everything that the country encouraged, stuff like education, reform and government. They made us move into this tiny shack when I was six or seven. By now, we also had a little sister named Kerri. So it was five of us in this two bedroom shack, that had no electricity. My parents-my dad forced me to call that 'woman' mom-took me and my sister out of public schooling so we were so-called home schooled. I probably read at a sixth grade level now, because of that. Well then the group started talking about bad discipline in the world. My parents, basically, turned psychotic. There is seriously no other way to describe it. They had these bizarre punishments. Like, stand in...VERY...hot water for something like stepping outside without permission. Sometimes they would beat us until we couldn't move.
We didn't get out of that situation until I was sixteen. Kate was 18 and had finally told authorities. So me, Kerri, and the three boys were taken away. Kerri is 17 now. I'm twenty-three, so that'd make...Joshua 14, Timmy 11 and Xavian is only seven. My parents are in jail, but I only know where Josh is. He lives with my grandma. He's the one coming. I see him a lot. My grandma was just getting old, and ya know, couldn't take all the kids and Josh is the one that will be legal age soon enough. I know Timmy and Xavian are with relatives, but that's about it. No one wants to tell me anything. I haven't seen Xavian since he was a little baby."
Kristin was quiet. She didn't really know what to say but felt closer to Kyle after that.
"When is Josh coming over?"
"Ahh, today. He'll be here for two weeks so I'm sure you'll see him again."
"Why would I? I'm going back tomorrow," she pointed out.
Kyle's face grew confused. "Well, yeah, but to pick up your stuff, right? Your mom said you were coming to live with us."
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David sat down on the bench and sighed. He looked over the long list and then his planner. "There is no way."
Ezra walked up. "Hey, David," Ezra said cheekily.
David growled. "Go away. I've gotta study," he snapped.
Ezra laughed and they heard another laugh, this time behind both of them. "You study? That's a first. So what was your punishment?" She asked.
"What the hell is this? Usually you guys can't stand me. Anyways, I didn't really get a punishment. I just have to get my grades up this week...To avoid a phone call home to the sergeant. I have like a hundred assignments to do," David whined.
"Tsk, tsk. No wonder you're failing math. By the way, don't leave your grade reports in the bathroom anymore. There's only twenty assignments here, David," Ezra said with a smirk.
"Go away!"
Laughing, Ezra and Daisy walked away.
David wiggled around a little bit then decided to do what Roger had suggested he do the year before. Color-code all his assignments, based on the subject. So he took out a yellow, orange, pink, and blue highlighter and colored them. "Okay. Ten maths; three sciences; four English, and three history. Not to bad. I guess I'll do easiest first," David said and took out his history book.
For awhile, David just sat there, trying to read, and getting frustrated. He heard someone walk up behind him and got even more agitated. "Listen, how come the one time I'm doing work everyone wants to bug me?!" David demanded and turned around. It was Roger.
"Hey, calm down, David," Roger said. "Sorry. I'm just having a hard time," David admitted.
"Well, I don't have ADD, but I do have what Auggie has," Roger started. David nodded. "Dyslexia, right?"
Roger nodded and continued. "Although the two aren't really similar at all, I'm sure some things could help you that helped me. I see you color- coded everything."
"Yeah. That's made it easier," David admitted.
"Well, I see you're in history. For subjects like this, where you have to read a lot, try doing this," Roger said and sat down next to him. He took a sheet of paper from David's notebook and folded it. He then tore a piece out of the center that was about the height of a line in the textbook, going almost all the way across.
"This will help you when you have to read. I know how hard it is to try to read and see all those words. Read one line at a time, slowly, and then just move the piece down when you finish the line. When doing questions, you can do the same thing, so you see JUST that question and can concentrate. Got it?"
David nodded. "Thanks, man," David said and took the sheet of paper. "No problem. Make sure you tell me how you do next week. Peter told me about your assignment."
David nodded and Roger grinned as he saw that David was struggling to concentrate. He walked away so he wouldn't disturb him.
Kyle started talking. His pace slowed so Kristin didn't have to work quite as hard to keep up with him. His eyes got a weird, far-away look about them.
"I don't remember my biological mom. She died when I was one or so. I don't even know how—my dad never told me. I had an older sister named Kate. My dad had remarried by the time I was two, so that made me suspicious when I got older. If you really love someone, you don't just forget about them a year later.
Things were relatively normal. Then, they discovered this really, really weird church group. These people were insane. They shamed upon everything that the country encouraged, stuff like education, reform and government. They made us move into this tiny shack when I was six or seven. By now, we also had a little sister named Kerri. So it was five of us in this two bedroom shack, that had no electricity. My parents-my dad forced me to call that 'woman' mom-took me and my sister out of public schooling so we were so-called home schooled. I probably read at a sixth grade level now, because of that. Well then the group started talking about bad discipline in the world. My parents, basically, turned psychotic. There is seriously no other way to describe it. They had these bizarre punishments. Like, stand in...VERY...hot water for something like stepping outside without permission. Sometimes they would beat us until we couldn't move.
We didn't get out of that situation until I was sixteen. Kate was 18 and had finally told authorities. So me, Kerri, and the three boys were taken away. Kerri is 17 now. I'm twenty-three, so that'd make...Joshua 14, Timmy 11 and Xavian is only seven. My parents are in jail, but I only know where Josh is. He lives with my grandma. He's the one coming. I see him a lot. My grandma was just getting old, and ya know, couldn't take all the kids and Josh is the one that will be legal age soon enough. I know Timmy and Xavian are with relatives, but that's about it. No one wants to tell me anything. I haven't seen Xavian since he was a little baby."
Kristin was quiet. She didn't really know what to say but felt closer to Kyle after that.
"When is Josh coming over?"
"Ahh, today. He'll be here for two weeks so I'm sure you'll see him again."
"Why would I? I'm going back tomorrow," she pointed out.
Kyle's face grew confused. "Well, yeah, but to pick up your stuff, right? Your mom said you were coming to live with us."
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