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Marvin felt bad for Joe. He knew what it was like to forget a word. Once he couldn’t think of the word parade.
Mrs. North reminded the class that there would be a test on Wednesday. She asked if anybody had any questions.
Joe raised his hand.
Mrs. North smiled at him. “Yes, Joe?”
“How much does the human brain weigh?”
Mrs. North thought a long time, then said, “That won’t be on the test.”
3
Wall-ball
A plain concrete wall stood right in the middle of the playground. It wasn’t attached to anything.
Sometimes, Marvin wondered who built it, and why. But he didn’t complain. Wall-ball was his favorite game.
At recess, he got on line to play.
“I can’t believe I have to sit next to Joe!” Nick complained.
“Duh, what’s an elephant?” asked Stuart. Then he and Nick cracked up.
“Joe was just nervous because he’s new here,” said Marvin.
“Duh, how much does my brain weigh?” asked Nick.
Stuart laughed.
“His brain doesn’t weigh anything,” said Warren, who was in line in front of Stuart. “Because he doesn’t have one!”
Marvin looked around to make sure Joe wasn’t able to hear them. He saw Joe standing all by himself, on the edge of the blacktop. He looked lost. “Save my place,” Marvin said.
He walked over to Joe. “Hi. I’m Marvin.”
Joe smiled. “Hello, Marvin. I’m Joe. How do you do?” He held out his hand for Marvin to shake.
“Uh, fine,” said Marvin. He shook Joe’s hand.
Kids in Chicago were obviously more polite than they were here.
“You want to play wall-ball?” Marvin asked.
“I don’t know how,” said Joe.
“It’s easy,” said Marvin. “C’mon.”
He led Joe to the wall.
Kenny and Stuart were now playing, and Nick was first in line. Marvin and Joe got on line behind him, and in front of Travis.
“Hey!” said Travis.
“I was here,” said Marvin. “Nick saved our places, didn’t you, Nick?”
Nick looked at Marvin, then glared at Joe, then looked back at Marvin. “Yeah, I guess,” he said.
