Cowboy Colt Read Free Page A

fingers, expecting him to start using sign language so I’ll know what my teacher is asking me. It’s what we do for each other. We sign.
    But Colt’s not paying attention to me. He’s staring out the window himself.
    â€œEllie?” Miss Hernandez says again.
    I clear my throat. Colt doesn’t even turn around.
    â€œI think you better stay in for recess. I can explain the assignment for you then.”
    â€œYes, Miss Hernandez.” My teacher doesn’t act mad like other teachers would. I feel bad that I wasn’t paying attention. But if Colt had helped me like usual, everything would have been okay.
    Thanks a lot, Colt.

3

    Fight
    Halfway through recess time, when the rest of the class is outside, Miss Hernandez lets me take a bathroom break. On the way back to my classroom, I pass Ethan’s room.
    I stop outside his open door. I can’t help spying on him. Ethan’s teacher, Mrs. Edwards, has the big classroom map pulled down. She’s talking about the states next to Missouri. But it doesn’t look like the second graders care. Most of the kids are whispering to each other. Some are laughing or trying not to.
    Except Ethan. Ethan’s chair is the only one in the back row. His tutor, Mr. Hatt, is standing next to him, signing. Ethan glances from Mr. Hatt’s fingers to the map and back again. My deaf brother seems to be the only one who is listening.
    I walk back to my classroom and whisper to God, “Please give my brother a good friend. Ethan would make anybody a great best friend.”
    Thinking about best friends makes me think of Colt. And that gets me angry all over again. He had to know our teacher was asking me to name the president from Missouri. I knew the answer too: Harry S. Truman. All Colt had to do was sign the question. After all, didn’t I get him out of trouble with the flying invitations?
    All morning I try to catch Colt’s attention. But he won’t look at me. At lunch he sits at a table with Dylan and Brooks and Nick. He doesn’t even come over and say hi to Rashawn, Cassie, and me.
    â€œGive it up, Ellie,” Larissa says. She and Ashley plop down across from me.
    â€œGive what up?” I ask.
    â€œColt. I see you looking over at his table.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo,” she says, plucking a fry from Cassie’s plate, “Colt might have been your buddy when you were younger. That doesn’t mean he still is. People change.”
    â€œYou don’t know what you’re talking about, Larissa,” I say. But inside, I wonder if she’s right.
    * * *
    After school I wait outside for Colt. We almost always walk home together. Even when he’s meeting the guys on the ball field after school, Colt and I usually walk that far together. Then I go on home.
    I wait until the school yard empties. No Colt. He must have run out of the building before I even made it to the hall.
    I need to talk to him. I can’t stand feeling like this. Maybe I did something that made him mad at me. I try to think what it could be.
    Then I get an idea. What if Colt is jealous about Dream? What if he’s upset because I got a horse and he still doesn’t have one? For years we’ve both wanted a horse. We talked about having our own horses and going on long rides together. Now I have one. And he doesn’t.
    Why didn’t I think of this before?
    I’m almost to the ball field when I spot Colt. He’s sitting alone on the curb across from the field.
    â€œColt!” I take off running. This is my chance. Colt can act funny when other guys are around. I get that. He doesn’t want them to tease him about me being his girlfriend or anything. We’re definitely not that. But we are friends.
    Colt doesn’t look at me until I sit down on the curb next to him. When he finally turns my way, his sour frown makes me feel like my nose has turned into a giant snail.
    â€œWe need to talk,” I