A Boy.
Chapter 7
Page 27-30

5. Story

Chapter 7

Page 27

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.’ ”

Page 28

“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,

Page 30

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.