CHAPTER NINETEEN
(chapter title – Sara's Point of View)

Jolene and I walked back to our house, talking and laughing. I couldn't believe that my little sister was turning six next week. She was growing up so fast.

We entered the house and I saw my dad sitting on the couch, glaring in my general direction. Mom took Jolene out of the room as dad turned on me.

"When were you going to tell your mother and me about your detention?" dad asked. I felt my stomach drop to the floor.

"I-I thought I did." I said, feeling tears in my eyes. I hoped dad didn't yell at me – that would make me even more upset.

"No, you didn't. What was the detention for?" dad inquired.

"Nothing." I answered a little too quickly.

"Serephina Ashlyn Thenardier – tell me the truth right now!" dad demanded. I hated it when my full name was used – that usually meant I was in big trouble, or grounded – like 'you're grounded until the end of the centaury.'

I didn't know where to begin or what to say. I stared at my freshly painted toenails for a while before looking into my dad's face.

"I cheated off my French test. The girl sitting next to me – Carly Johnson – told me I could. She's the biggest fake in the history of fakes. Mr. Florez – my teacher – caught me and sent me to the principal's office." I answered honestly.

"Why in the hell would you copy off a test? You're smarter than that!" dad fumed. I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes.

"Mr. Florez said I could retake the test." I said after a while.

"Good – you're going to take it again, but at home, where I can make sure you don't cheat." Dad told me. I nodded and wiped the tears out of my eyes.

We were now having dinner, my parents staring at me while I ate. I could tell mom was furious, just like dad was.

"Did you cheat because of your dyslexia?" mom asked, putting broccoli onto her plate before passing the bowl to me.

"Yeah." I answered, taking some broccoli.

"I don't know what to do here." Dad said.

"Ground me! Punish me! Do something!" I yelled inside.

"I want to thank you for being honest with us, but because you cheated, we have to punish you somehow." Mom said. I looked at her and felt more tears in my eyes.

"Since this week is almost over, we won't ground you, but starting Monday, you're grounded for two weeks. After dinner, I want you to give me your phone, laptop, TV remote and anything electrical," Dad told me. "I also want you to get a copy of your French test and bring it home. I want you to take the test again, this time without cheating. What you did was wrong and I hope I can help you see that."

"That's the first week," mom spoke up. I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear what was coming next, "the second week, you will do extra chores around the house. Two weeks from today, if you do everything right and perfect, you can have your things back. However, if you mess up, you will get grounded for two more weeks. Is that fair?"

"Yes and no," I answered, pushing my plate away. I didn't feel very hungry now, "I cheated on a test and got detention. No, because I have dyslexia and it makes it harder for me to do things that my fellow classmates do."

"I could get you a tutor, if that would help." Dad said. I shook my head.

"That would make me look stupid. I know my friends would make fun of me for it." I told him.

"You're not stupid, Sara – some of the things you do are stupid. I know for a fact that your school offers a free tutoring session." Mom told me.

"May I be excused?" I asked, pushing myself away from the table.

"From the table, yes. From this conversation, no," Dad said. "Take your plate to the kitchen and come right back. We're not done talking about this."

I sighed and carried my plate and glass over to the kitchen counter. I then put them in the sink and wiped off all the food. I then put it in the dishwasher and went back over to where my parents were. I slouched in my seat and glared at my parents. I couldn't believe we were having this conversation.

After two hours, it was decided that I would have a French tutor. I wasn't happy, but I really didn't have a choice. We negotiated and came to the conclusion – either have a tutor or be grounded for two weeks.

I called Ella after we were done talking to let her know what happened.

"Really? No effing way! If they were my parents, I would've been grounded for a year!" Ella told me.

"I know. Your parents are so nice!" I told her.

"I agree. Oh, I need your help with something tomorrow – both mom and dad are gonna be out of the house. Do you think you could help me babysit? We'll get paid like 5 dollars an hour." she told me.

"What time to what time?" I asked, writing everything down so I could let my parents know.

"From three to eight. You could bring Jolene over." She answered.

"Would we need to change diapers or anything like that?" I asked, exiting my room, taking my cell phone with me.

"Yeah. Mom and dad will go over everything before they leave. My aunts Evanna and Bridget are in town, so mom is spending time with them. Dad has to be in court all day." Ella told me.

I told my parents about what was happening the following day. They told me I could go and to have a fun time. I smiled at them and went back to my room.

We chatted for a while longer before she had to go. We told each other that we would see each other the following day.

After I hung up, I watched some TV with my dad before going to take a shower and go to bed.

A week later, I started my tutoring session. I waited in the lobby, straightening the hem of my sweater every five minutes.

"Sara – I'm not going to be able to pronounce this – Thénard?" a boy's voice called, making me jump. I grabbed my shoulder bag and followed him to the back of the tutoring office.

"It's pronounced The-nar-die-r." I told him, looking at my tutor for the first time. He had chiseled features, blue eyes, sandy-blond hair, stood a half-inch taller than me. He wore jeans and a T-shirt with some sort of symbol on it that looked like an ancient rune. I caught a glimpse of a hearing aid over his right ear.

"Cool. I'm Will and I'll be your French tutor for the rest of the semester." He told me. I couldn't help but blush – he was really cute! "Oh, before you get any ideas, I'm sixteen and I have a girlfriend."

"I wasn't thinking anything." I told him a little too quickly. He smiled and had me open my French book to the chapter we were studying.

"So, if your last name's French, then that must mean you speak French in your house, right?" Will asked. I shook my head.

"The only one who spoke French in my family was my grandmother, but she passed away when I was six." I told him.

"I'm sorry," he told me, "okay. No more English – from now til 3:30, we speak French, oui?"

"Oui." I answered.

I spent the first half hour retaking my French quiz. With Will's help, things were easier for me. The second half of the hour, we played a vocabulary game, which was really fun, thanks to Will.

When we were finished, I gathered my bag and looked at his hearing aid. I had never seen one before and it fascinated me.

"We'll schedule sessions after school, starting tomorrow from 2:20-3:30, okay?" Will told me. I nodded and whispered something in the ear that had the hearing aid. "Did you say something?"

"Huh? No, I didn't." I told him, feeling really embarrassed that I had done that.

"It's a hearing aid, not a toy," he told me, running a hand through his hair, "when I was ten, my parents, sister and I went on a boat trip. We hit a wave and I was knocked off the boat. I would've drowned if my sister hadn't rescued me. I've been deaf in my right ear ever since."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." I apologized, feeling even stupider.

"It's okay. Next time ask, all right?" he told me, smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back. I then remembered my babysitting gig with Ella the following day.

"Will, do you think we could skip the tutoring session tomorrow? I have to help my best friend babysit from three to eight." I told him, making sure to speak into his left ear.

"Um, sure. We'll start Monday. Have a good weekend." He told me.

"Thanks. You, too." I said, exiting the tutoring office.

The school wasn't far from my house, so I decided to walk home. I caught up with Ruth and Taylor. The three of us giggled and talked about stuff before I reached the street I lived on. I waved goodbye to them and walked to the house.

I opened the door and found the house empty. I saw a note written in my mom's handwriting.

Jolene had a health scare. At the hospital. No idea how long we're going to be. If you're hungry, there's stuff in the fridge to make a sandwich with or there's leftovers.

Hope to see you soon.

Love,

Mom, dad & Jolene

I made myself a snack and got started on my schoolwork. I did the best I could on most of it and settled back to watch TV.

I was fast asleep when my mom, dad and Jolene entered the house. I looked at the clock on the TV – 11:30.

I said goodnight to each of my family members before going to my room to go to bed.

As I fell asleep, I dreamed of my life after middle and high school, hoping I was successful.

I turned over on my side and curled into a ball. Within minutes, I was asleep.