Just Another Hero Read Free Page B

always showed up for his meets. Arielle wondered wistfully what that must be like. Her family sure wasn’t like that.
    â€œSo you gonna let your main squeeze freeze?” Rosa asked Luis, her voice sounding pitiful. “I left my coat in my locker.” She rubbed the arm of his jacket.
    â€œGirl, it’s a good thing you look so good!” Luis said with a laugh. “Here, my sweet señorita Gonzales, take the coat—my gloves, too. I’ll let you warm me up—later.”
    Rosa took the coat, and they hurried out the door with the others.
    Osrick darted out ahead of most of the students. He was no fool. Fire drills were a great chance for teachers to be looking elsewhere while a kid like Osrick got punched or kicked down the stairs. Jack got back from the bathroom just in time to leave again.
    Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-clong!
    â€œWhy do they have to make that alarm so loud and so ugly?” Roscoe asked.
    â€œTo make sure people in gym and music and choir classes all can hear it,” Miss Pringle told him.
    â€œPeople in China can hear that thing!” Jericho said, shaking his head, tugging Olivia by the hand out the door.
    Arielle was one of the last ones to leave the room. It was just another false alarm, so what was the hurry?
    When nearly everyone had moved into the hallway, Kofi tapped the teacher on the shoulder. He was at least six inches taller than she was. She turned, jerking away from his touch. “What is your problem, Mr. Freeman?” she asked, annoyance in her voice. “They time us on how quickly we clear the building, you know.”
    â€œYou forgot Eric, Miss Pringle,” Kofi reminded her.
    The teacher gasped. “Oh my Lord! How could I?” She rushed back into the room, where Eric Bell, sitting quietly, his hands on the controls of his electric wheelchair, sat waiting. He looked embarrassed.
    â€œFire drill procedure 101,” Eric said with a sad smile. “Elevators are shut down. Crippled kid has to be carried.”
    â€œI was informed of the procedures,” Miss Pringle tried to explain, “but I’d never really thought about exactly how we’d accomplish it. Aren’t there supposed to be two male teachers assigned to do this?” She looked around helplessly.
    Who’s she waiting for—Superman to come flying around the corner? Arielle thought.
    â€œI guess they forgot. I hate this, you know,” Eric said through clenched teeth.
    Kofi ran out into the hall and returned with Jericho and Cleveland, both football players. “We got this, Miss P.”
    â€œYou can leave me up here, you know. No one will ever find out. Like you said, it’s just a drill,” Eric said.
    â€œOh, no, I couldn’t do that!” replied Miss Pringle. “I’d lose my job. The law says everybody must leave. Plus, I’d never forgive myself if it were a real fire and you got hurt. On top of that, you’re the only kid in my class who hasn’t yet mastered the periodic chart dance, so we’ve got work to do!”
    â€œI got an A on the chart test, you know,” Eric replied, laughing.
    â€œWithout my dance? Unheard of!”
    Looking at Eric grinning at the teacher, it dawned on Arielle that he probably preferred being teased like a real person rather than treated like a special case. She’d never thought about that before.
    Jericho and Cleveland made a chair of their arms while Kofi pivoted Eric up from his wheelchair, his legs swinging limply.
    â€œOkay, let’s get this dude to a dance hall! Honeys are waiting below!” Jericho shouted, trying to lighten the mood. Together he and Cleveland carried Eric out the door and down the steps. Arielle walked behind them, while Miss Pringle locked the classroom door.

KOFI
CHAPTER 3
    THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3
    WHEN THEY REACHED THE GROUND FLOOR, Kofi darted into a classroom and grabbed a straight-back chair. Once outside, the