WEEK 2
Say Something
Mr. Benz was checking attendance when the
principal came to the door with a new student. I
looked up from my seat near the back and saw a
kid step into the classroom. “Class, this is Eli Tate,”
Mrs. Scalia said, and then pointed toward the
empty desk next to me.
I nodded and gave the kid a smile. Last year I had
been a new student, and I still remembered that
feeling of walking into a new classroom for the first
time, with everybody watching me, trying to size
me up and make some judgment. Was I cool? A
brain? An athlete? A loser? 1
Within a month I had adjusted pretty well. One
important reason for this was Kent, a kid who
became my best friend until he moved away over
the summer. Kent had introduced himself right
away and made sure I had somebody to sit with at
lunch that long first day.
At ten our class was herded into the gym, but since
the P.E. teacher was out, Mr. Benz said to run laps.
On my third lap I noticed the new kid, Eli, standing
against the wall. In front of him was Tad Scott. As
I got nearer, I heard Tad say, “So you lie? I mean
your name is e–LIE, right?” 2
I ran past them. Maybe Tad would knock it off.
Or maybe Eli would tell him to stop being a jerk.
Nobody likes getting on the wrong side of Tad.
He always finds a way to make you pay if you
do. On my next lap I saw that Tad was still at it.
Eli wasn’t backing down, but he wasn’t saying
anything either. Okay, I said to myself, if Tad’s still
bothering him when I come back around, I’ll definitely
say something.
As I came back around, Tad was still giving Eli a
hard time. I stopped and said, “It’s Eli, right? I’m
Darius. You want to shoot some hoops? I’m tired of
running.” Eli shrugged and said sure so we headed
off to grab a ball. “You want to come too, Tad?”
I asked, turning back. But Tad had already lost
interest and was heading over to bother some girls.
3
Yellow Dog Productions/Digital Vision/Getty Images
1 Think Aloud Will Eli and
2 Think Aloud Will the narrator
the narrator be friends?
I predict that they will
be friends because the
narrator was new once.
After I read, I can confirm
my prediction.
do anything when he hears Tad
teasing Eli? I predict that the
narrator will do something to
stop Tad because Kent helped
him when he was a new
student.
3 Think Aloud My predictions
were correct. Darius, the
narrator, is helping the new
kid by getting him away from
Tad. I predict that they will
probably become friends
because Darius’s friend Kent
moved away.
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
T77