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Benjamin sighed. “Ben-ja-min Nush! Mutt!” he shouted.
“I’m sorry,” said Miss Nogard. “I must have been distracted. What did you say?”
Benjamin pressed his lips together. He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
“His name is Benjamin,” said Jason. “Benjamin Nushmutt.”
“Thank you,” said Miss Nogard. “That’s a very nice name, Benjamin. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
Benjamin covered his red face with his hands.
She turned to Jason. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
“I don’t think so,” said Jason.
She stared at him, as if she were trying to remember. “You’re Justin, right?”
“I’m Jason. Justin’s my older brother.”
“So you’re Justin’s baby brother!” said Miss Nogard.
Everybody laughed.
“I remember Justin. I substituted for his class once. He was the brightest student I ever taught. You must feel very lucky to have such an exceptional brother.”
His feet stink, thought Jason.
For the rest of the day, Miss Nogard kept accidentally-on-purpose calling Jason “Justin.”
One by one, she made every child in the class feel miserable. She called Calvin to her desk and asked in a whisper if he had to use the restroom. Whenever she passed D.J., she hummed and the song stuck in his head. Whenever Bebe finally stopped thinking about her itch, Miss Nogard would walk by and scratch her own leg.
“It looks like it might rain,” she said as she stared out the window at the bright blue sky.
Darn, I’ll never get to go horseback riding! thought Jenny.
“I have a nephew who went horseback riding on a day like this,” said Miss Nogard. “There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, it started thundering and lightning. It spooked the horse terribly.”
“What happened to your nephew?” asked Jenny.
“Oh, he’s fine,” said Miss Nogard. “He just broke both his arms and legs. He’ll be in a cast for a year. But he has a very positive attitude; that’s the important thing. Remember, always keep a positive attitude.”
By the end of the day, nobody had a positive attitude. The whole class was glum and blah.
The children walked out of the school building, heads down. Except Jenny, who looked up at the sky, worrying about the weather, although she didn’t know if she was more worried about rain or sunshine.
Even D.J. was frowning.
“What’s the matter?” asked Louis, the yard teacher.
“Nothing,” muttered D.J. “I guess I just had a bad day.”
“Don’t you like your new teacher?” asked Louis.
“She’s real nice,” said Dana. It’s not her fault I’m the ugliest girl in the world!
“I like her a lot,” said Jason. It’s my brother I hate.
“Me too,” said Benjamin. I hate myself!
