Text copyright 2012 by R. J. Palacio
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| The Deal
Mom and Mr. Tushman were talking when we got back to the office. Mrs. Garcia was the first to see us come back, and she started smiling her shiny smile as we walked in. “So, August, what did you think? Did you like what you saw?” she asked. “Yeah.” I nodded, looking over at Mom. Jack, Julian, and Charlotte were standing by the door, not sure where to go or if they were still needed. I wondered what else they’d been told about me before they’d met me. “Did you see the baby chick?” Mom asked me. As I shook my head, Julian said: “Are you talking about the baby chicks in science? Those get donated to a farm at the end of every school year.” “Oh,” said Mom, disappointed. “But they hatch new ones every year in science,” Julian added. “So August will be able to see them again in the spring.” “Oh, good,” said Mom, eyeing me. “They were so cute, August.” I wished she wouldn’t talk to me like I was a baby in front of other people. “So, August,” said Mr. Tushman, “did these guys show you around enough or do you want to see more? I realize I forgot to ask them to show you the gym.” “We did anyway, Mr. Tushman,” said Julian. “Excellent!” said Mr. Tushman. “And I told him about the school play and some of the electives,” said Charlotte. “Oh no!” she said suddenly. “We forgot to show him the art room!” “That’s okay,” said Mr. Tushman. “But we can show it to him now,” Charlotte offered. “Don’t we have to pick Via up soon?” I said to Mom. That was our signal for my telling Mom if I really wanted to leave. “Oh, you’re right,” said Mom, getting up. I could tell she was pretending to check the time on her watch. “I’m sorry, everybody. I lost track of the time. We have to go pick up my daughter at her new school. She’s taking an unofficial tour today.” This part wasn’t a lie: that Via was checking out her new school today. The part that was a lie was that we were picking her up at the school, which we weren’t. She was coming home with Dad later. “Where does she go to school?” asked Mr. Tushman, getting up. “She’s starting Faulkner High School this fall.” “Wow, that’s not an easy school to get into. Good for her!” “Thank you,” said Mom, nodding. “It’ll be a bit of a schlep, though. The A train down to Eighty- Sixth, then the crosstown bus all the way to the East Side. Takes an hour that way but it’s just a fifteen-minute drive.” “It’ll be worth it. I know a couple of kids who got into Faulkner and love it,” said Mr. Tushman. “We should really go, Mom,” I said, tugging at her pocketbook. We said goodbye kind of quickly after that. I think Mr. Tushman was a little surprised that we were leaving so suddenly, and then I wondered if he would blame Jack and Charlotte, even though it was really only Julian who made me feel kind of bad. “Everyone was really nice,” I made sure to tell Mr. Tushman before we left. “I look forward to having you as a student,” said Mr. Tushman, patting my back. “Bye,” I said to Jack, Charlotte, and Julian, but I didn’t look at them—or look up at all—until I left the building. Home As soon as we had walked at least half a block from the school, Mom said: “So … how’d it go? Did you like it?” “Not yet, Mom. When we get home,” I said. The moment we got inside the house, I ran to my room and threw myself onto my bed. I could tell Mom didn’t know what was up, and I guess I really didn’t, either. I felt very sad and a tiny bit happy at the exact same time, kind of like that laughing-crying feeling all over again. My dog, Daisy, followed me into the room, jumped on the bed, and started licking me all over my face. “Who’s a good girlie?” I said in my Dad voice. “Who’s a good girlie?” “Is everything okay, sweetness?” Mom said. She wanted to sit down beside me but Daisy was hogging the bed. “Excuse me, Daisy.” She sat down, nudging Daisy over. “Were those kids not nice to you, Auggie?” “Oh no,” I said, only half lying. “They were okay.” “But were they nice? Mr. Tushman went out of his way to tell me what sweet kids they are.” “Uh-huh.” I nodded, but I kept looking at Daisy, kissing her on the nose and rubbing her ear until her back leg did that little flea-scratch shake. “That boy Julian seemed especially nice,” Mom said. “Oh, no, he was the least nice. I liked Jack, though. He was nice. I thought his name was Jack Will but it’s just Jack.” “Wait, maybe I’m getting them confused. Which one was the one with the dark hair that was brushed forward?” “Julian.” “And he wasn’t nice?” “No, not nice.” “Oh.” She thought about this for a second. “Okay, so is he the kind of kid who’s one way in front of grown-ups and another way in front of kids?” “Yeah, I guess.” “Ah, hate those,” she answered, nodding. “He was like, ‘So, August, what’s the deal with your face?’ ” I said, looking at Daisy the whole time. “ ‘Were you in a fire or something?’ ” Mom didn’t say anything. When I looked up at her, I could tell she was completely shocked. “He didn’t say it in a mean way,” I said quickly. “He was just asking.” Mom nodded. “But I really liked Jack,” I said. “He was like, ‘Shut up, Julian!’ And Charlotte was like, ‘You’re so rude, Julian!’ ” Mom nodded again. She pressed her fingers on her forehead like she was pushing against a headache. “I’m so sorry, Auggie,” she said quietly. Her cheeks were bright red. “No, it’s okay, Mom, really.” “You don’t have to go to school if you don’t want, sweetie.” “I want to,” I said. “Auggie …” “Really, Mom. I want to.” And I wasn’t lying. |