Just Another Hero Read Free Page A

it locked up,” the teacher explained as she began what had become a daily pattern of locking and unlocking that back door a dozen times in five minutes. Get out test tubes. Lock. Unlock. Bring out nitric acid. Lock. Unlock. Carry out five beakers. Lock. Unlock. All thewhile yap, yap, yapping about measurement and chemicals and formulas. It was hard to keep up with her as she walked and talked at the same time.
    As Arielle watched the teacher yo-yo back and forth, she again noticed Osrick sitting by the storeroom. Arielle tried to make eye contact with him, but he had a habit of pulling his hood over his head so his face could not be seen.
    As she turned back around she saw Jack Krasinski on the other side of the room and instantly grinned. Kids called him Crazy Jack, and he loved it, even encouraged it. Tall and skinny and generally liked by everybody, Jack always wore bright, showy colors—like green neon shirts and red plaid pants.
    When Osrick dressed in wacky clothes, students laughed and made fun of him, but if Jack decided to wear pajamas to school, Arielle noticed, everybody thought it was really cool. She wondered why Jack could get away with it, but Osrick couldn’t.
    Jack played in the school band—cymbals and drums, instruments that made maximum noise. The louder the better. Jack had once told her the racket made the voices in his head get quiet. She had no idea what he’d been talking about.
    As Miss Pringle was bringing out the last of the test tubes, Jack raised his hand.
    â€œMiss P, I forgot to take my meds this morning. Can I go do that and pee? I’ll be right back!”
    â€œJack, you know you’re supposed to take care of those things before class,” she said, but she grudgingly handedhim the hall pass. Lots of kids took meds at school for one condition or another, but everything had to be distributed by the school nurse. Anyone caught medicating themselves could get suspended from school.
    Jack, his long legs protruding from the purple gym shorts he’d worn that day even though the temperature was in the thirties, jumped up and left the room.
    Miss Pringle continued with the lesson, trying to explain the chemical equations necessary to work the lab problems. She really wasn’t a bad teacher, Arielle thought—just a little strange. She shifted in her seat and tried to get comfortable. It would be a long fifty minutes.
    Just as Miss Pringle was telling them how to measure the liquids in the test tubes, the fire alarm rang out shrilly. Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-clong!
    â€œGrab your personal effects, students, and line up quickly!” Miss Pringle ordered. She looked really annoyed with the interruption.
    â€œShould we take our books or leave them to burn up in the fire?” asked Roscoe.
    â€œLeave your books and papers; you know this is just a drill, Mr. Robinson,” Miss Pringle replied as she gathered up her materials. “Now, no more talking. Let’s go, class. Down the steps and out the side door. You know the procedures.”
    Students started pulling on coats, grabbing purses, and heading to the door. The alarm kept ringing, piercing the air.
    As Arielle reached for her purse, she heard November tell Jericho, “Good chance to check with the babysitter.This is the first time I’ve left the baby all day, and I’m a little worried.”
    â€œAw, man, it’s freezin’ out there!” Cleveland complained. “Who’d be dumb enough to plan a fire drill in February?” Six feet tall and weighing well over two hundred fifty pounds, the linebacker was unlikely to freeze, Arielle thought, but he was known to complain good-naturedly over just about everything.
    â€œI got my coat,” Luis said as he zipped his down jacket over his slim frame. “A man’s gotta be prepared!” Luis, who ran track, had been offered both academic and athletic scholarships to several schools. His entire family