"When we get married, we'll do it to our
husbands, too," Rea said, laughing.
We all sat at the same table and ate lunch
together. I looked for Bernie, but he wasn't in the
cafeteria. Later, when I saw him in the hallway, I
asked him where he had been. He looked embarrassed
and very nervous because I had stopped him to talk.
His eyes shifted from side to side, and then he looked
down at the floor when he replied.
"I eat lunch in the bio lab. Mr. Friedman lets
me. I get work done and sometimes help him set up
his equipment for his classes. He lets me run some of
my own experiments from time to time, usually after
school," he added, and looked up. "How do you like
your first day so far?"
"It's okay. I really like my English teacher and
our math teacher," I said. Bernie was in my math
class.
He nodded.
"Mr. Albert is the best one to have for
geometry. We're lucky. I gotta go to gym," he said,
moving away. "I'm always late for gym."
I watched him walk quickly down the hallway,
and then I went to the library for my study period. I
didn't see him again until the end of the school day
when I stepped onto the bus. Helga was up front with
Alicia. She smiled at me.
"Bernie's in the back," she said.
"You're not funny," I told her, but she laughed
anyway.