فصل هفتم

Chapter 7

Jeff sat at the round table. The counselor sat across from him.

“So how do you like Red Hill School?” she asked.

He stared straight ahead. There’s a boy in the girls’ bathroom echoed inside his head.

“I imagine it must seem a little scary,” said the counselor.

He didn’t answer.

“I think it’s scary,” she said. “It seems so big! Anytime I try to go anywhere, I get lost.” He smiled weakly.

“It’s hard for me because I’m new here,” she explained. “Today is only my second day of school. I don’t know anybody. Nobody knows me. The other teachers all look at me strangely. It’s hard for me to make friends with them. They already have their own friends.” “I know what you mean,” Jeff said.

“Maybe you can help me,” said the counselor.

“Me?” said Jeff. “How can I help you? I’m the one who needs help!” “Well, maybe we can help each other. What do you think about that?” “How?”

“We’re the two new kids at school,” she said. “We can share our experiences and learn from each other.” Jeff smiled. “Okay, Miss Davis,” he said.

“Jeff,” she said, “if we’re going to be friends, I want you to call me Carla, not Miss Davis.” He laughed.

“Do you think Carla is a funny name?”

“Oh, no! I just never called a teacher by her first name, that’s all.” “But we’re friends. Friends don’t call each other Miss Davis and Mr. Fishkin, do they?” Jeff laughed again. “No,” he said, then he frowned. “The kids in my class call me Fishface.” “Have you made any friends?” asked Carla.

“I sort of made one friend,” said Jeff, “but I don’t like him.” “How can he be your friend if you don’t like him?” “Nobody likes him. At first I felt sorry for him because nobody wanted to sit next to him. Mrs. Ebbel said it out loud right in front of the whole class. ‘Nobody likes sitting there,’ she said. It was like he wasn’t even there. It’s bad enough when a kid says something like that, but a teacher.” “It must have hurt his feelings,” said Carla.

“No. He just smiled.”

“He may have been smiling on the outside, but do you think he really was smiling on the inside?” “I don’t know. I guess not. I guess that’s why I tried to be friends with him. I told him I liked sitting next to him. But then he said, ‘Give me a dollar or I’ll spit on you.’ “ “What did you do?”

“I gave him a dollar. I didn’t want him to spit on me. But then, later, he said, ‘I’ll give you a dollar to be my friend.’ So I took it. It was my dollar! So does that mean I have to be his friend, even though I just broke even?” “What do you think friendship is?” Carla asked him.

“I don’t know. I mean I know what it is, but I can’t explain it.” “Is it something you can buy and sell? Can you go to the store and get a quart of milk, a dozen eggs, and a friend?” Jeff laughed. “No. So does that mean I don’t have to be friends with him?” “I won’t tell you what to do,” said Carla. “All I can do is help you think for yourself.” “I don’t even know if Bradley wants to be my friend,” said Jeff. “Today, at recess, we hung around together but we didn’t do anything. He acted like I wasn’t there. Then, when it started to rain, he ran around trying to push little kids into the mud.” “Could you share your feelings with him?” asked Carla. “That’s the real way to build a friendship: by talking, and by being honest and by sharing your feelings. Like the way we’re talking and being honest with each other now. That’s why we’re friends.” “But Bradley’s different than you and me,” said Jeff.

“I think you’ll find that if you’re nice to Bradley, he’ll be nice to you. If you are honest and friendly with him, he’ll be honest and friendly with you. It’s just like with the dollar. You always break even.” Jeff smiled. “Are you going to see Bradley, too?” he asked.

“Yes, later today.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to help him?” “I don’t know.”

“I hope so. I think he needs help even more than me. You won’t tell him anything I said, will you?” “No, that’s one of my most important rules. I never repeat anything anyone tells me here, around the round table.” “Never?”

She shook her head.

“What about to other teachers?”

She shook it again.

“What about to the principal?”

“Nope.”

“Okay,” said Jeff. He took a breath. “Here goes.” He grimaced. “On the way here, I got a little lost, and, um, accidentally went into the girls’ bathroom!” He covered his face with his hands.