“You’re going to love the fourth grade,” Uncle Shawn said, smiling as he picked her up and placed her on the chair as she frantically shook her head, knowing that this wasn’t going to end well. That was followed by a murmured, “One second,” as he picked her back up and set her down on the floor along with her bag so that he could place a small stack of dictionaries on her chair when he realized that she wouldn’t be able to see over the desk.
Once he was done, her uncle gave her that same smile that got her into this mess in the first place. Her eyes narrowed as he picked her back up and carefully placed her on the stack of dictionaries with a satisfied sigh. For a moment, Andi simply sat there, glaring at her uncle before she shifted her attention to her new desk and-
Was that a history book? Andi wondered as she reached for the large book hidden in her desk as the realization that they actually used real books in the fourth grade had her sitting up straighter. It was! Excited to see what tales awaited her, Andi flipped the book open and…frowned when she saw the cartoon picture depicting the Boston Tea Party. When she saw the large print, she grumbled in disappointment, closed the book, and sighed heavily as she sat there, resigning herself to five more months of boredom.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, Andi tried telling herself as she glanced back at the door to find Uncle Shawn standing there, shooting her a wink and a reassuring smile that was supposed to make this better. It didn’t help, but she loved her uncle and she knew that he was only trying to help her. Forcing a smile, Andi shifted her attention back to her new teacher and couldn’t help but wish that Drew was here. At least in kindergarten, she had her brother to keep her company. She honestly didn’t know how she would-
“Time for today’s math challenge! Remember, whoever can answer all five math questions correctly will get quiet time for the rest of the day,” Miss Thomas announced, immediately putting Andi on alert.
Quiet time?
She freaking loved quiet time!
“No one has been able to get all five questions right so far, but I have a good feeling about today,” Miss Thomas said with a warm smile as Andi sat there, watching her write the first math problem on the whiteboard as groans erupted throughout the room.
“300 multiplied by 500.”
“2345 divided by 82.”
“2356 multiplied by 23.”
“7389 multiplied by 84.”
“And finally, 23,432 divided by 26,” Miss Thomas finished with flourish as she moved to place the dry-erase marker down and-
“150,000, 28.597561, 54,188, 620,676, and 901.230769!” Andi rushed out as she carefully climbed off the stack of dictionaries and headed towards the back, only to stop, turn around and grab her bag before she made her way to the bookshelves that she fully planned on becoming better acquainted with.
After a quick search, Andi settled on a historical adventure that looked promising, grabbed her juice box and baggie of cookies out of her bag and settled on the beanbag. With a satisfied sigh, she took a sip from her juice box and looked up to find everyone in the classroom staring at her in disbelief. Blinking, Andi asked, “What’s wrong?” as Uncle Shawn pushed away from the wall with a heavy sigh and headed towards her.
“Why don’t we go with Plan B, huh?” Uncle Shawn asked with a sheepish smile as he reached for her and-
“Wait! What are you doing?” Andi demanded as she found herself thrown over her uncle’s shoulder and carried back towards the door. “Wait! Don’t do this! I was acclimating! Acclimating!”