Free Ungifted by Gordon Korman Page B

Katie explained that it was just a bubble in the amniotic fluid. Latrell was convinced he saw twins. Kevin and Jacey saw nothing at all.
    Donavan wouldn’t even try. “I’ll have plenty of time to look at it after it’s born. It’s going to be my niece. Or nephew. Whatever.”
    Noah stepped forward for a closer look. “If it’s a girl,” he said finally, “then what’s that ?” And we could all see exactly what he was pointing at.
    Katie looked both startled and forlorn at the same time. “We didn’t want to know the sex. We wanted it to be a surprise.”
    â€œHe could be wrong,” Oz managed without much conviction.
    The rest of us nodded in agreement, but we knew better. Noah was never wrong unless he wanted to be.
    â€œBetter start knitting blue bootees,” Donovan told his sister.
    She looked daggers at her brother. “Wipe that grin off your face, Donnie. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you. So everything that happens is your fault!”
    << Hypothesis: Brothers and sisters forge family bonds through a complex byplay of accusations and insults .>>
    It wasn’t all business. Katie wanted to see the robot, so we gave her a little demonstration. And while Donovan was operating Tin Man, I ended up next to his sister.
    â€œWhat’s he like at home?” I whispered.
    â€œHe’s a barrel of laughs,” she replied. “He drinks orange juice out of the bottle, carpets his room in old socks, watches poker on TV, and has never said the words thank you in living memory. Should I go on?”
    I felt my face flushing as I stuck up for him. “He’s doing an amazing thing bringing you here for our class.” She cast me a piercing look that instantly had me on the defensive. “What?”
    â€œNothing, really.” She smiled at me. “It’s just—interesting to see your brother through someone else’s eyes.”
    And suddenly, just as Tin Man was deploying the mini-bot, she became very still, her expression far away.
    â€œAre you okay?” I whispered in concern.
    â€œThe baby’s kicking.” She took my hand and placed it on the sweater over her rounded abdomen.
    I could feel it tapping against my hand, like little hiccups. It was strange, but also kind of beautiful. I was so much more than just one hour closer to my Human Growth and Development credit. In those sixty minutes, I’d learned what a brand-new human life felt like.
    << Hypothesis: And a certain tank commander in Afghanistan will soon find out he’s having a son .>>

UNFAILING
NOAH YOUKILIS
IQ: 206
    T hese were my math test results for the semester so far: 0 out of 20, 1 out of 15, 4 out of 35, and incomplete.
    This was my math grade on my progress report: A-plus.
    I explained to Ms. Bevelaqua that my score was actually 4.52 percent, a solid F-minus on any reasonable scale. She just laughed, and changed the A-plus to A-plus-plus. Then she wrote in the “comments” section: “Computes averages without aid of calculator.”
    How unfair was that?
    I found a clip on YouTube called “Failing Math.” But when I watched it, it was completely unhelpful. They didn’t teach you how to fail math; they taught you how to pass! I expected more from YouTube, which usually had great stuff, like wrestling videos, oranges that talk, and people putting out oil-well fires.
    There was another video called “Failing Schools,” but it turned out just to be this news story about how our education system isn’t any good. I could have told them that. And not for the reasons they gave. The problem with our education system is if you score one little 206 on one little IQ test, everybody goes nuts about it. You have to go to a special school, only they call it an “Academy,” which really just means the same thing. And then the pressure starts: Do better, reach for the stars, live up to your