Our assigned reading books get passed out to us.
“Ryder, until you take the reading test so I can assess your reading Lexile level, why don’t you and Elizabeth go to the school library so you can pick out a book to bring back to class. I will let Mrs. Heard know you are coming.”
Mrs. Pauling looks at me, “Elizabeth, as class buddy, you can show Ryder where the bathrooms and fountains are on the way.” She points to the clock hanging on the wall. “Please be back in thirty minutes, no later.”
“Yes, Ms. Pauling. Come on, Ryder.”
We get up and I take the hall pass Ms. Pauling holds out to me. Our school isn’t very big since our town is on the outskirts of Raleigh, North Carolina. We are close enough to Raleigh so the drive isn’t that long to get into the city to shop or go to museums and parks, but it’s far enough out to be considered country.
“I’m sorry that Samantha and Jacinda were so mean to you.”
Ryder shrugs, so I keep talking, pointing out stuff to him along the way to the library.
“That’s the boy’s restroom and the water fountain. At the end of the hall is the cafeteria and gymnasium. We usually go outside to play but when it rains, we play in the gym.”
Ryder continues to silently walk beside me. At the end of the hallway, I pull open a heavy glass door and gesture Ryder to enter.
“This is the library. It’s my favorite place.”
Seeing Mrs. Heard sitting at the curved librarian's desk in the middle of the large room, I wave. “Hi, Mrs. Heard!”
“Hey, sweetheart. Ms. Pauling said you were coming. It’s nice to meet you Ryder. Let me know if you need any help finding a book. We’ll get a chance to talk more during library time on Friday.”
She lets us browse the shelves by ourselves and goes back to typing on the computer at her desk.Ryder is still being quiet, looking around at the books on the shelves while watching me at the same time.
“So what do you like to read?” I ask him.
He shoves his hands inside the pockets of his jeans and shrugs his shoulders again.I decide to try a new tactic. I grab a My Little Pony picture book from the shelf and hand it to him.
“I'm sure you must like magical horses. Who doesn’t like talking rainbow unicorns?”
I try to act very serious when I say this, but the horrified look he gives me when I place the book in his hand is just too funny. It gives me the encouragement I need to continue teasing him.
“What about this one?” I say, handing himWhen the Crayons Quit. “Crayons get such a bad rap. Everybody is like ‘Oh, crayons are for babies. Colored pencils are for big boys and girls.’”
I keep shoving books at him until he gives in to my silliness and plays along.
“Nope. These books are way too mature for me. Do they haveThe Hungry Caterpillaror books about the American Girl dolls? The ones about Josephina and Felicity are my favs.”I notice Ryder’s voice is deeper than Jayson’s or Julien’s.
I look at him in shocked horror. “You know the names of American Girl dolls?”
“Yeah. Like I said, they’re my favorites.”
Well, ok then, I think. Who am I to judge? I walk over to the American Girl book section and begin to take a couple off the shelf before Ryder clutches his stomach and bends over laughing hysterically.
“I’m just messin’ with you, Elizabeth.”
I put my hands on my hips and give him a piercing look. He gazes up at me and starts laughing all over again. Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, he straightens up and grins at me.
“I have two sisters. My little sister, Brea, collects them. Our living room is covered in American Girl dolls. They’re actually very scary,” he explains with a shudder.
“Sounds like your sister and my sister will love each other then. She has these dolls with huge eyes that freak me out.”
Mrs. Heard finds us and looks like she wants to ask us why we are in the little kids’ picture book section. Instead, she hands me a paperback.
“Elizabeth, this finally checked back in and you were next on the waitlist.”
She hands meWhere the Red Fern Grows. I do an imaginary fist pump. It’s been checked out of our public library forever, so I asked Mrs. Heard to put me on the waitlist for it here at school.
