Page 70-74
New Words
1.
sighed
(嘆氣)
2.
quality
(品質)
3.
a jerk
(大傻瓜)
4.
quantity
(數量)
5.
pretending
(假裝)
6.
considered
(考慮)
7.
chuckled
(呵呵笑)
8.
besides
(和…相比)
9.
announced
(公佈)
10.
shuddered
(打寒顫)
11.
threatens
(狗仗人勢)
12.
supposed to be
(應該)
13.
don’t belong
(不屬於)
14.
raised children
(養小孩)
15.
the short version
(長話短說)
16.
a waste of money
(浪費錢)
17.
I don’t keep score.
(不介意)
18.
sign the form
(在表格上簽名)
19.
returned to normal
(恢復正常)
20.
stop bothering me
(自暴自棄)
Definitions
1.
returned to normal
became the same
as before,
went back to the way
it should be 
2.
shuddered
a person’s body shook
when thinking about
a bad thing,
trembled
3.
pretending
acting,
making someone believe
you are something
that you are not
4.
announced
said,
let many people
know something
5.
I don’t keep score.
when someone
doesn’t count
how many things
he or she has
6.
considered
what someone thought
about something
7.
quality
how good
or bad a thing is
8.
quantity
how much
of something there is
9.
stop bothering me
telling someone
to leave you alone,
to not give you trouble,
to stop annoying you
10.
threatens
when someone
tells a person
that he will hurt
him or her,
or will
do something bad
11.
the short version
only telling the most
important parts of a story,
giving a summary
12.
chuckled
laughed happily
13.
a jerk
a person who enjoys
making other people unhappy,
a horrible person
14.
sign the form
writing one’s name
on a piece of paper
to show that
you have read it
15.
a waste of money
when you pay
for something
but it’s not worth it,
buying something
that is useless
16.
raised children
things that parents
have done
to help their kids
grow up,
taken care of them
17.
sighed
made a sound
by breathing out,
showing that
you are not happy
or you are tired
18.
besides
other than,
not counting this,
over and above this,
next to
19.
supposed to be
meant to be,
should have been,
was planned to be
20.
don’t belong
when things
are in the wrong place,
they should not
be there
Page 70
Everything returned to normal.
Bradley scribbled,
cut up bits of paper,
and taped things together.
He hated everyone
and everyone hated him.
That was the way he liked it.
He shuddered
whenever he remembered
that he actually had
almost done his homework.
He couldn’t imagine anything more horrible than that!
And he was glad Jeff wasn’t his friend anymore.
He realized he was better off without friends.
In fact, he never was friends with Jeff!
I was just pretending to be his friend.
He decided he’d never pretend to be anybody’s friend again.
Jeff was normal now too.
That was what he told Carla.
He walked into her office and announced,
“I don’t need any help anymore.
I have eight friends now.
We play basketball every recess and lunch,
and I’m the best player.”
“Good for you, Jeff,”
said Carla.
“I’m very proud of you.”
“How many friends have you made?”
he asked.
“I don’t keep score,” said Carla.
“I’ve made eight,” said Jeff.
“I’ve always considered quality
to be more important than quantity
when it comes to friendship,” said Carla.
Page 71
“Eight,” Jeff repeated.
“And I’m not friends with Bradley anymore either.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Why? I’m not.
I hate him.
In fact”—he looked around the room—
“I gave him a black eye!”
He quickly glanced at Carla
to see if she knew he was lying,
then looked away.
“What happened?”
Carla asked.
“Oh, you know,
he wouldn’t stop bothering me.
I kept telling him to get lost,
but he kept hanging around.
I never liked him.
No one does.
Then he said to me,
‘Give me a dollar
or I’ll spit on you!’
Well, no one threatens me
and gets away with it!
I don’t take that from nobody.
So he tried to hit me,
but I ducked,
then punched his face in.
I didn’t want to do it,
but I had no choice.”
That was the short version.
Jeff had told that same story
to his eight new friends,
but he usually made it
much longer.
“So I don’t think
I need to see
a counselor anymore,”
he said,
“since I have eight friends.”
“Okay, Jeff,
if that’s how you feel,”
said Carla.
“They might think
I’m weird or something,”
he explained.
“Well,
we can’t have them
thinking that.”
“Does that mean
I can go?”
Carla nodded.
“But anytime
you want to talk again,
please feel free
to come and see me.”
She smiled.
“Even if you just feel
like getting out of class
for a while.”
He left,
glad to be out of there.
Page 72
On his way
back to class,
he walked past
the girls’ bathroom.
He stopped,
shook his head,
and chuckled to himself.
It seemed like
it was such
a long time ago
when he accidentally
went in there.
I used to be
such a jerk,
he thought.
He smiled
a strange smile.
He stretched his mouth
so wide,
it was hard to tell
whether it was a smile
or a frown.
Page 73
Colleen walked
into Carla’s office.
“I just came to tell you
I can’t talk to you,”
she said.
“Your parents
didn’t sign the form?”
“No, and they won’t either!
You know what they said?
They said
it was a waste of money
for the school
to hire you.
They said you should
get married and have
your own children
before you start telling
other parents how they
should raise theirs.”
Carla shrugged.
“They said
if I have any problems
I should talk to them.
But when I try
to talk to them,
they don’t listen.”
She sighed.
“Anyway,
it doesn’t matter.
Jeff has lots of
other friends now
besides Bradley.”
“Eight,” said Carla
with a smile.
“So now I can invite Jeff
to my birthday party
without having to
invite Bradley.
I can invite one
of Jeff’s other friends.
Andy’s nice.
I couldn’t invite Bradley
even if I wanted to,
because Melinda
is my best friend,
except for Lori,
and she gave Bradley
a black eye.”
Colleen quickly covered
her mouth with her hand,
then slowly took it away.
“That was
supposed to be
a secret,”
she said.
“Melinda doesn’t want
anybody to know.”
“I never repeat anything
anyone tells me,”
Carla assured her.
Page 74
“Good,”
said Colleen.
“Melinda would kill me.”
“Have you asked Jeff
to your party yet?”
“No, not yet,
but I will.
I know he likes me
because he always
says hello to me
when I say hello
to him.
But then
I always get so scared.
I never know
what to say next.
I wish you
could help me.
Why did my parents
say such bad things
about you?
They don’t even
know you.”
“Your parents
are just trying to do
what’s best for you,”
said Carla.
“A lot of people
think counselors
don’t belong in schools.”
She shrugged.
“I guess they’re afraid
I might fill your head
with all kinds of
crazy ideas.”