Free Lockdown by Diane Tullson Page B

survive...”
    Josh interrupts. “The mother had enough food. The babies were strong.” He jabs his hand at the class. “They scared her. They wouldn’t leave her alone.”
    Chase rolls his eyes. “This is a science class. The hamster is an experiment. Why did you have it in here if we weren’t supposed to look?” He crosses his arms and leans back in his desk. “So we scared it. Big deal. We didn’t mean to kill the babies.”
    Josh goes totally still. He looks from one student to the next. When he gets to me, I have to look away. There’s something different about Josh, and it’s like I don’t recognize him anymore. He looks at each and every one of us. Then, without a word, he leaves the classroom.
    After Josh leaves, Chase makes a mocking sound. “Oooh. I’m so scared.”
    People laugh.
    Ms. Topett goes to the front of the classroom and, with a sigh, distributes her handouts. When the stack comes to me, I take one and hand the rest over my shoulder.
    Then it occurs to me what was different about Josh. It wasn’t that he looked different.
    It was that he didn’t stutter.

Chapter Two
    At class change, I’m heading to the back door of the school when I feel Zoe slip up beside me. Gorgeous green-eyed Zoe. She smiles at me and threads her arm through mine. “Looks like you’re making a break for it, Adam.”
    I nod. Second block is gym. Mr. Ellington makes us run when he doesn’t feel like teaching, which is often. No pain, no gain, he always says. And he swears under his breath but you know what he’s saying, and that’s why everyone calls him Mr. Effington, eventhe jocks—but not to his face. I say to Zoe, “I’m going to grab a coffee. You can come along if you want.”
    Zoe looks at me for a second and then shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to miss art class. We’re working with clay. I love ceramic art. I love that it is what it is.”
    â€œLike a bowl,” I say. “Or an urn.”
    She says, “Or you.” Zoe breaks into a huge grin.
    I probably like Zoe more than she likes me, but she’s good at being a friend. She looks so happy, and the thing is, Zoe
is
happy. She could be heading into math or history, and she’d be happy. I say to her, “I’m happy for you that art class holds such appeal. For me, gym class holds only pain.”
    Zoe slings her pack over her shoulder. “Meet me back here for lunch, then.”
    â€œCaf is serving shepherd’s pie today.” I shudder. “Today is a really good day not to eat at school.”
    Zoe shrugs. “I brought a lunch. I’ll share it with you.”
    And the thing is with happy people,they expect you to be happy too. I smile. “Okay.”
    I imagine Zoe and I could be a couple if I ever gathered the nerve to take our friendship up a notch. Of course, I could be imagining that Zoe likes me. For me, it’s easier to keep things the way they are. Less risky. Less to lose.
    Zoe says, “Since you’re here now, and you’re meeting me for lunch, you may as well stay and go to second block.”
    I say, “That sounds like something Mr. Connor would say.”
    Mr. Connor is the principal. I’ve seen a fair bit of him lately. Apparently my attendance is a concern. More like my lack of attendance. Sometimes I cut gym and don’t come back the rest of the day. Some days it’s just easier not to go to school at all. I figure so long as I’m passing my courses, no one needs to get in a knot. Mr. Connor doesn’t share my theory. Neither does Zoe, apparently. She says, “I like Mr. Connor. He brought his baby in to show us. He’s not afraid to reveal he’s human.”
    â€œMr. Connor is human?”
    She rolls her eyes.
    I say, “I just need to get out of the school for a while. Science this morning was brutal.” I tell Zoe about Josh and