Free Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt Page B

obviously
    wearing an ugly tie.
    Surprise.

    Mrs. Little isn’t even a teacher
    so why can she send me to Hartwick?
    Life’s mysteries
    abound.

    Suspended.
    A word that can describe medicine.
    The little bits of healthy mold
    suspended
    in pink goo
    so that the kids like the bits enough
    to swallow them.
    Suspended.
    A word that can describe stopping
    like someone hit a pause button and you are
    suspended
    in time and space
    your finger frozen inches from your
    nose.
    Suspended.
    A word that can describe
    me.

    You should have seen Mom’s face
    when she came to pick me up.
    Not red.
    Not purple.
    No forehead veins,
    like Hartwick’s.
    She just smiled really big.
    I’ll deal with him
, she said
    and then she laughed
    but I know she wasn’t really laughing.
    Unless something
    was funny
    on her phone.

DAY 17
    I dreamed about that smile last night
    and woke up
    shivering.

    Mom hasn’t talked to me
    in 24 hours.
    Dad is on call so he’ll be back tomorrow.
    Today is the first day
    of three days
    of not being allowed at school.
    Is this what it means to be
dealt with
?
    Isn’t this sort of every kid’s dream?
    Missing parents.
    No school.
    Long weekend.
    Is suspension really that big of a deal?
    Paul says yes. It is a big deal.
    But Paul never gets in trouble,
    so how does he know?

    The band is here tonight,
    Petey and his friends
    who all look the same.
    They make sounds kind of like
    the tornado did
    but noisier
    and less memorable.
    Noisier Tornado.
    That could be their band name.

DAY 19
    I guess when you’re suspended you’re supposed to
    think
    about what you’ve done.
    I am supposed to
    think
    shoving Robin under the sinks was
    not cool.
    I am supposed to
    think
    I’ll never do anything like that
    again.
    You know what I really
    think?
    Petey shoves me under the sink
    in the bathroom at home
    All.
    The.
    Time.
    No.
    Big.
    Deal.
    No.
    One.
    Cares.

DAY 20
    Get this.
    As part of my punishment
    Mom and Dad say Petey can’t drive me
    to school
    anymore.
    If I had known these were the
    severe consequences
    I’d face
    I would have gotten suspended
    a lot
    sooner.

WEEKEND
    Intervention.
    That’s what Paul called it.
    He’s taking a nighttime college class.
    It’s for nerds who want to be psychiatrists.
    It teaches them words like “intervention.”
    When he said it, I thought he meant for me
    but he meant for Petey.
    He took Petey aside
    while Petey rolled his eyes.
    Paul told him to be a better big brother,
    a better person.
    Paul is the only one who sees Petey
    as he is,
    a King Kong jerk.
    You’d think
    Philip would see the King Kong jerk part, too—
    but Philip is too busy
    with football and girls
    to notice anything
    other than cheerleaders or boobs.
    Paul told Petey to
watch it
.
    Petey said
Watch THIS
.
    And then punched a wall.
    Paul rumpled my hair.
    I think my getting suspended bothered Paul
    more than anyone else.
    More than
    me.

DAY 23
    Well.
    My notebook is not lost.
    Guess who found it?
    Shrimpy Robin.
    His face is like a dog
    with a juicy bone.
    Whatever.

    No one can hear your heart beat fast
    when you are jagged stone.

    Mrs. Little put 50 pounds of books
    in my arms.
    Shelve them
, she said.
    Her mouth was tight,
    puckered
    like a cat
    (’s
    butt).
    This is part of the punishment.
    Not just suspension.
    Becoming Mrs. Little’s slave
    for two weeks
    after school.
    So boring
    I might
    die.

DAY 24
    I did not die.
    But now I might.
    Robin made copies of some pages from my
    notebook.
    COPIES.
    Gave them to everyone.
    EVERYONE.
    Guess who’s going to get to watch his nose
    EXPLODE OFF HIS FACE?

    At least Robin didn’t copy my secret
    about messing up the books.
    And at least he didn’t copy Petey’s crying secret.
    Even with Petey in high school
    he would still find out
    from someone’s big mouth.
    I’m sure of it.
    So now I’m worried
    because Robin knows my secrets.
    And I know he