Phillip Malloy’s “D” grade in English prevents him from trying out for the school’s track team. He blames Miss Narwin, the freshman English teacher, for his failure so when he is transferred to her homeroom, he starts paying her back. The school rule states that students are to stand in respectful silence while the national…
Maggie Schultz’s third grade classmates are excited about learning cursive, but Maggie decides that she doesn’t want to have any part of it. The first day, her teacher compares cursive writing to a rollercoaster. While the other students are practicing loops and curves, Maggie draws rollercoasters all over her paper. At home, she studies her…
Gen Welsh rolls her eyes and throws a fit when her mother announces that the family will spend their summer vacation at Camp Frontier. Of course, Gen’s adverse reaction has no effect on her mother. All too soon, Gen finds herself handing over her iPod, make-up, clothes, and all other modern accoutrements so that she…
Andrew sits behind Nick at school. Nick has freckles covering his face, ears, and neck. Andrew wishes he had freckles so that he doesn’t have to wash his face and neck every morning. The fact that Nick was born with his freckles doesn’t help Andrew. How can he get a face and neckful of wonderful…
Did either of William Meriwether Miller’s parents ask him if he wanted to travel across the United States with his somewhat estranged father instead of playing in the All-Star baseball game? Of course not. They just assumed that he would jump at the chance to travel in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of…
