Back in bed with one hand wrapped around the acorn, I open the book to the first page, the page before the story even starts, the page with the cursive writing. My eyes are drawn to the largest word in the sentence. I study it and notice how the letters group together, and the last set has the special sound, shun. With hardly any effort, I read this word: dedication. It makes my body quiver with excitement. It’s such a long word, bigger than any I read to Dad. Maybe Mrs. Zinc won’t be so angry when she finds out how much this book has helped me with reading.
“Madelyn,” Father calls from the other side of my bedroom door, “I’ll be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. You’re feeling okay, right?”
“I’m feeling great.” I slip the acorn into the front pocket of my jumper. I pull my coat on, but it doesn’t feel right; it’s heavy and uncomfortable. Outside my window, it’s sunny, but still it’s cold out. Maybe Paulette’s right, it is sort of ugly, but she has no idea how warm and safe it keeps me. I slide it off and place it on a hanger in my closet and grab a sweater from my drawer. I check once more to make sure I have everything I need in my book bag, including The Fairy Angel’s Gift.
Father glances over at me as we turn off the dirt road and onto the paved street leading to town. I give him a nervous smile. He doesn’t know that I’m trying to figure out how to tell Mrs. Zinc and Paulette. But first, I’ll have to go to the office to get a late slip. Thoughts are racing through my mind when my hand falls upon the acorn in my pocket.
“So, you’re feeling better?” Father asks.
“Yeah. I had a headache, but now it’s all better.” Three more blocks . . . a little worm twists in my stomach.
“I hope you’re not worrying too much about next year. You need to do the very best you can every day.”
I look at him, now wishing we had not yet reached town.
“Dad.”
“Maddie.”
“Remember what you told me about acorns, how amazing they are?”
“That they’re a reminder of God’s many miracles, such a little seed that grows into something as large as a tree?” he asks.
“Yeah. Well, I had this dream last night about reading, and this morning, I found an acorn in my bed.”
“Hmm, that sounds promising.”
“Look.”
He gives a quick look. I then realize he can’t really look and still drive.
“It’s perfect,” I continue, wishing he could see it the way I do. “I’m keeping it to remember.”
“To remember?”
“Yeah, to remember that something that starts out small can grow to be really big.” I take a deep breath. “I think I can catch up with reading.”
He doesn’t say a single word as he pulls the car over to the curb in front of the school to drop me off. When the car stops, he keeps looking straight ahead instead of at me. I open the door to leave, he turns to me, and I see sadness in his eyes. He says, in a friendly way, a way that I can tell he really means it, “Have a good day.”
~CHAPTER 49~
1967
I PACK AWAY my nervousness and skip toward the school building, holding The Fairy Angel’s Gift upright in my left arm as my school bag dangles from my shoulder. I want whoever is around to notice that I’m carrying a real chapter book. The halls are full of children lined up for lunch, with teachers standing in the front waiting for quiet. I walk fast to the office to get a late slip and return to see the back of Mrs. Zinc’s head as she leads my class toward the lunchroom.
I sigh heavily; I had hoped to have a quiet moment to talk with Mrs. Zinc. Instead, I step into the empty classroom and take one last look at The Fairy Angel’s Gift. I run my hand over the cover and whisper, “I know the secret. Yram is Mary spelled backward.” I walk over and place the book on top of a stack of papers on Mrs. Zinc’s desk. I shove my school bag in my cubby and head for lunch.
I’m not at all hungry but take my tray of lunch food to the girls’ table anyway, where I always sit. While looking for a clear space to set my tray down, Paulette spots me.
“Madelyn, what happened?”
“I had a headache, so my dad brought me late.”
“No, I mean, you’re not wearing that ugly coat.”
“Oh. Well, it’s nice outside.”
“But you always wear it. You look different without it. We can scoot over for you to sit here.” Paulette motions Lisa and Carol to move over. I twist like a pretzel to get my legs into the space without kicking anyone.
As soon as I’m wedged in, Paulette leans over whispering, “Madelyn.” She then turns to Lisa and says, “Excuse me, I need to have a private talk with Madelyn.” My stomach lurches. “Madelyn, Mrs. Zinc is still waiting to get her book back. You said you would tell me.”
I take a bite of mashed potato and decide for sure I’m not hungry. I turn toward Paulette, and in my normal talking voice I say, “I put it on her desk before coming to lunch.”
Paulette stares at me. Everyone else is now busy eating and chitchatting. I crane my neck over to the boys’ table to find Bobby. He eats as fast as he does his reading worksheets. I start to shift around.
“But you said you’d tell me who took it.”
Before I answer, I squeeze out from the table. “Paulette, I’m all done eating. If you want, you can have my cookie.”
Paulette swipes it up and continues to give me the look. She’ll make a good teacher all right, but not the kind I ever want to have.
“Tell me,” she says. Now I’m standing with my lunch tray, ready to dump the food and chase after Bobby.
“I took it. I only borrowed it so that I could work on my reading skills.”
“But Madelyn, that book’s way too hard for you, and you know that. Besides, it’s stealing. I hope Mrs. Zinc doesn’t give you a week of detention or expel you.”
I have no idea what expel means, but it makes me shiver. I can’t think about it.
“I did read it. I can read now.” I race out as fast as I can without getting a speeding ticket. Once I hit the playground, I tear toward upper field. I see Bobby galloping with a small group of followers. I make my legs gallop, and I give a whinny so he knows I’m coming to join the herd.
The bell rings, and Bobby and I hold back from the others. He turns toward me.
“I think you’re faster without your coat.”
“Thanks, Bobby. I probably can hang on the bars better too.” I then reach into my jumper pocket, not the one with the acorn, and hand him a stack of homemade flash cards. “These are the cards I promised you, and the answers are on the back.”
“Cool. Thanks. Did you give Mrs. Zinc her book?”
“Yep. I put it on her desk. I might have to be expelled.”
“What’s that?”
“Paulette told me. It’s pretty bad. We better get going.”
Mrs. Zinc stands holding the door open while we all file in after lunch recess. “Madelyn, welcome back.” She gives me a funny look, and I wonder if she can read my mind and knows I need to talk to her. I hand her my late slip. “I see you’re not wearing your coat. Did you decide to hang it in the coat closet?”
“No, I left it at home. I didn’t feel like wearing it today.” I follow her into the room where she stands in front of the class. I scan my classmates. Paulette’s within earshot, aiming her eyes at me. Bobby’s flipping through the cards I made him.
“Mrs. Zinc, I need to tell you something.”
“It’ll have to wait; it’s time for math right now.” Mrs. Zinc turns to the class. “The bell has rung; I expect you all to be in your seats taking out your math book.”
I scurry over to my seat next to Paulette, who leans over and whispers, “Aren’t you going to tell her?” It’s now too late. At her desk, Mrs. Zinc is lifting up The Fairy Angel’s Gift.
“Well . . . ,” Mrs. Zinc says, not in a loud voice; hers doesn’t need to be loud to catch our attention. She moves her eyes across each row of desks as if reading a large book. The class is as quiet as
a string of periods. “It appears that whoever took The Fairy Angel’s Gift has made the right decision. I’m glad to have my book back, but I would like to talk with the individual who took it without asking.”
I raise my hand, and my stomach begins churning so loud I’m sure Paulette hears it. I just hope I won’t throw up.
“Yes, Madelyn?” she says in the same tone of voice as when I ask to see the nurse.
“I . . .” Everyone is staring at me.
“Are you wanting to go to the nurse’s office? You look a little pale.”
“No.” I see Paulette out of the corner of my eye leaning forward. She can’t wait to tattle. “I’m wanting to say . . . I’m sorry. I took the book, but I was only borrowing it, and now I can read some of the words.”
Mrs. Zinc looks at me as if I were someone new in class, as if she’s never seen me before. With everyone’s eyes upon me, I feel my face burn red. I look over at the door and imagine myself racing out. But I don’t. I stay cemented to my chair.
“Madelyn, I appreciate your honesty. However, what you did was not borrowing, even if you did bring it back. You’ll need to talk with me after school.”
My heart beats hard and fast. After school. Father will find out.
“Turn to page eighty-nine in your math books,” Mrs. Zinc says, as if she has no idea my world is about to end.
In between the stacks of numbers that need to be added or subtracted, I keep a lookout for my special teacher. After adding up three columns of triple-digit numbers, Mrs. Zinc whispers down at me that Mrs. Ellen is waiting. Seeing Mrs. Ellen standing in the doorway with a brilliant smile, even as it catches the attention of most everyone in class, I can hardly stop myself from skipping out of the classroom.
“Madelyn, I’m so happy you’re here today.”
“Me too. Mrs. Ellen, I have something to share with you,” I say before we even reach the closet.
“Wonderful, what is it?” I plop down to tell her and then remember—it’s between the pages of The Fairy Angel’s Gift. Suddenly, the heaviness of it all crashes down upon me as if someone tied an anchor around my waist and tossed me into the lake. I can’t take my eyes off the floor.
“Sweetheart, is something wrong?” The book, staying after school to talk to Mrs. Zinc, expel, my father.
“I made my own Read It list,” I stammer.
“That’s fabulous. Did you want to share it with me?”
I nod. “But I accidently left it in my teacher’s book.”
“What book is that?”
“The Fairy Angel’s Gift. It’s a very special book. Even to Mrs. Zinc. And I borrowed it without first getting permission, so now I’m in big trouble.” My eyes return to the floor. Will Mrs. Ellen still like me?
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
I can’t tell if she’s mad or disappointed. I sigh. “It’s my most favorite story, and I practiced reading some of it and wrote out four pages of words.”
“Oh my. I’d love to see them.”
I look up, and the usual twinkle has returned to her eyes, and I feel myself being lifted back to the surface. She scoots out of her chair and writes the word star on the blackboard. She then places a piece of paper in front of me. Is she going to make me write my list again? “This is the word star.” She underlines the letters a-r. “I want you to think of as many words as you can that have the same vowel sound as star and write them down on your paper. You wait here, and I’ll be back.” I hear her heels clicking down the hall.
Mrs. Ellen has no idea that star is already on my word list. I quickly begin to write more words: far, car, part, and then the word smart. I’m about to read them aloud when Mrs. Ellen bursts through the door with a smile on her face and lays my Read It list in front of me. I begin reading word after word, glancing up now and then to see Mrs. Ellen nodding with a grin on her face.
When the three o’clock bell rings, I say two more prayers to Saint Rita, begging her to keep Mrs. Zinc from calling my parents or making me miss my bus. Paulette’s slower than usual in gathering her things and for sure she’s hoping to listen in on the scolding. Then I see Bobby dodging students and desks to make his way over to me.
“Don’t worry,” he mumbles. “We’ve . . .”
I look at him. He’s looking stuck and out of place, but what I heard him say is weave. It’s Ethan reminding me to not forget that I read the biggest word in the entire Fairy Angel’s Gift just this morning all on my own. Even though my stomach’s flipping over and my heart is beating fast, I feel excitement because I’m remembering what it felt like to read that word, and I want to do it again. I grin at him.
He smiles back and says, “We’ll talk tomorrow.” He turns to leave.
But I want him and Paulette to hear what I can now read. I move like lightning, and before he can take two steps away, I slide to the front of the room where the book sits on Mrs. Zinc’s desk. Yram’s calling to me.
“Mrs. Zinc,” I say in a voice that even I hardly recognize as my own. Paulette, Bobby, Lynn, Cheryl, and a few others on their way out stop cold. Mrs. Zinc, who is collecting a pile of papers from the back table, also stops and looks up at me in a funny way. I grab the book, pause to look at Yram on the cover, and then open it to the first page.
“I really didn’t mean to steal this. I wanted to practice my reading. Let me show you.”
“Madelyn, now’s not a good time. I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.” Mrs. Zinc turns back to the papers.
I look over at Bobby, who’s staring straight at me with a smile. He understands what I’m about to do. In a quiet voice, he calls out, “Read it.” Maybe he’s daring me, or maybe he wants to see what Mrs. Zinc does. Either way, I look around the room and notice everyone is waiting. The silence is so loud that Mrs. Zinc places the stack of papers aside and stands up facing me. I don’t wait for her to say a thing. I look down at the first page and read word by word my very best reading.
“In dedication to those who chase after their dreams.” I feel my chest expand. I did it! Every word right.
Mrs. Zinc is making her way to the front of the classroom. She looks over my shoulder at the open page. “Nice reading, Madelyn. You read a very big word, dedication. Do you know what that word means?”
Of course I know. Miss Stanley had used the word about women who chose to be nuns, that they had dedication.
“Yes, I do. It means when you choose to offer your life to something important. This is a book about dedication to catching your dreams.” I look up at Mrs. Zinc and see a small smile form on her face. She gazes back at me, and this time I think she really sees me.
“You’re right, Madelyn.”
When I glance at the others who have stayed behind, they too are looking at me in a different way. Maybe it’s because I don’t have my coat on. I think even Bobby sees me differently. I imagine him yelling out, “Madelyn is so smart.”
What I do hear him say loud and clear is, “Cool.”
“I’m sure all of you have buses to catch and places to go. Madelyn and I need a few minutes to ourselves.” Mrs. Zinc glances at the clock. “And we need to do this quickly so she can catch her bus.”
Thank you, Saint Rita.
“I’ll let the bus driver know she might be late,” says Lynn.
“Thank you, Lynn.” Mrs. Zinc motions me to the corner.
“Madelyn, Mrs. Ellen showed me the words you wrote down from the book. I want you to know that I’m very proud of how hard you’re working at becoming a reader. If you keep this up, it won’t be long until you can read a book like The Fairy Angel’s Gift yourself. This doesn’t, however, excuse you from consequences for not asking to borrow it.” Mrs. Zinc forgot that I did ask. I keep my eyes pinned to the floor waiting to hear the word expel. And then I notice she’s waiting to hear something more from me.
“Mrs. Zinc, I’m very sorry. I didn’t know. I thought to you it was just another book. But now I know I was wrong.” There’s something I want to ask her, but t
he words aren’t coming.
“It’s a very special book, the only copy I know of. My mother gave it to me just as I was graduating from college.”
“Was teaching your dream?”
Her face softens, and I wish she looked like this more often.
“Yes, teaching was a dream that came true for me.” Her face changes back to the serious Mrs. Zinc. “I’ll expect you to stay in from morning recess for one week starting Monday. Now, you need to move quickly if you’re going to catch your bus.”
~CHAPTER 50~
1967
ROB CLIMBS OUT of Mom’s green station wagon and looks the same as he always does. Thank you, Saint Rita. Danny, Jack, and I have been waiting all afternoon for him and Mom to come home. Jack and Danny didn’t even watch TV. Instead, the three of us played Red Light, Green Light, and then I Spy in the driveway.
Once Rob is in the house, he pulls out a funny-shaped pipe thing he calls an inhaler. He says that if he has trouble breathing, all he has to do is breathe through it. Mom lets him show us once. It makes a funny whizzing noise.
“Does this mean you can go to track meets?” asks Jack.
“We’re working on that. We need to see how it goes,” Mother answers.
“Mom, you heard what the doctor said—he said it would be fine,” Rob says.
“I know, but we need to talk with your father to make sure he’s comfortable with it.”
Jack and Danny head for the TV; Rob goes toward his bedroom. I dash back to my room for the dream catcher I’ve made.
Rob’s stretched out on his bed, head propped up with a pillow. He’s holding a thick book. His space is bathed in the dim light of the lamp on his bed stand.
“Rob, I made you something.” I hold out the dream catcher.
“What in the world is this?” He takes the embroidery hoop with colored yarns stretched across and honey dribbled over. He turns it over several times, but he’s careful with it, and it doesn’t fall apart.
“It’s called a dream catcher. It holds on to your dreams and makes strong the dreams you want to have happen.”
Once Upon a Time a Sparrow Page 26
