Look Both Ways: a Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds

Author:Jason Reynolds
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Published: 2019-10-08T00:00:00+00:00

2. Getting out of trouble with Ms. Wockley for pretending to be in a horse race.

“But, Ms. Wockley, we’re not pretending to be in a horse race,” Simeon pleaded. Ms. Wockley stood at the door to the school, her face a pink raisin, made raisinier whenever she was in discipline mode, which was all the time. It was pretty much her job to tell everyone what not to do.

Stop making fart noises.

Stop dancing.

Stop dancing… like that.

Stop rapping.

Stop singing.

Stop laughing.

Stop acting like children, children.

“Mr. Cross, Mr. Thompson was just on your back yelling yee-haw while circling his arm in the air as if winding an imaginary lasso.” Ms. Wockley demonstrated, and it took everything in both boys to not crack up.

“That’s just how he talks!” Simeon said.

“I’m going to say this to you for the thousandth time,” Ms. Wockley steamed. “All feet should be—and stay firmly—on the ground.”

“But what about Pia Foster? Her feet be on a skateboard.” This, from Kenzi. It wasn’t snitching because everybody knew Pia skated through school. The one time anyone had ever seen Simeon hurt was when Pia skated over his foot.

“And I’ve told her not to do that, but we’re not talking about Ms. Foster, are we? No. We’re talking about you two.” Ms. Wockley folded her arms. “I’ve given you so many warnings, and you don’t seem to take me seriously, so—”

“Wait, wait, wait. Before you write us up, I think it’s important that we at least let you know why we do it.”

Ms. Wockley sighed. She’d heard their excuse—different versions of it—time and time again, but they were always so entertaining that she was game to hear it once more.

“See, here’s the thing, Wockley Broccoli. Can I call you that?” Simeon asked.

“No.”

“Got it. Here’s the thing. Kenzi here got a big heart. But that big heart happens to be in a small body. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would hate for that heart to be broken because that body was knocked around. That would be a tragesty.”

“Travesty,” Kenzi corrected him.

“Travesty,” Simeon repeated. “And so because I love Kenzi, I protect him. I make sure he can maneuver down these busy hallways without worrying about anything. I’m basically his bodyguard.”

“Tell me something, Mr. Cross. How exactly does Mr. Thompson get from class to class during the day when he’s not with you?” Simeon knew this was a setup.

“I know where you going with this, and I don’t know because I’m not with him, Ms. Wockley. But I can only imagine how scary it must be.” Simeon put his arm around Kenzi. Kenzi turned his face into a puppy’s.

“Is that true, Mr. Thompson, that the hallways are scary for you?”

“Oh, Ms. Wockley, you got no idea. Just the other day Joey Santiago didn’t see me standing behind him and just backed me into my locker.”

“Like… backed him all the way into it. As in his whole body was in—”

“I understand what he’s saying, Mr. Cross. He has a mouth.”

“Exactly, he does have a mouth.

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