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Samuel’s eyes widened in surprise "Thirteen?’ It didn’t sound like a question, but more like a doubtful exclarade?" He said this in the salasses up on ht" I took my book out of his hands and prepared to tune hirown-up for a seventh grader?" He argued He pulled the book out of ain and read on, this time silently "I don’t even understand what e!"

"That’s why I read with a dictionaryalthough I don’t bring it to school with ain, feeling shy "In soe My teacher, Mrs Gri"

Samuel just looked at me, his face incredulous

"I’h," I continued, trying to draw hi to me at all, especially now that he kneas just a lowly seventh grader

"Yeah, Navajo is very different" So shuttered over his face, and he turned away fro our very brief exchange

It was several more bus rides before Samuel spoke to me once more I had been shut down on our last conversation, and was unwilling to try again

"I hate to read" His tone was argulared at me As usual, I was tucked into ht I looked at hi what he wanted me to say

"Okay?"

He drew a book out of his backpack and tossed it on top of the copy of Pride and Prejudice that was opened on roaned in sympathy I hadn’t tried to finish it after Sonja had relieved me from it the first time I had no desire to spend any more time with it With school work, piano lessons, and piano practice, along with all the chores that ca with two men - Jared and Jacob were up andmostly took place on the bus and at bedtime, when I faithfully looked up all my undefined words I still read a couple books a h thehts was NOT on my list of Books-To-Read and yes, I did have an actual list

"I’ve read parts of this book," I said cautiously, not understanding why he’d tossed the book into say you had," he said wryly "It’s as confusing as that book you were reading the other day"

"Why are you reading it then?" I asked, certain he must be, or he wouldn’t have it in his possession

He didn’t answer for several seconds, and I waited, wondering if he would take the book and turn away again "I alish I have Ms Whitmer, and she told me if I read that book and write a report on it, she’ll passto read that book I have to read it and have the report on her desk in teeks I could see by the page he had dog-eared that he was in trouble