You Are Reading
Age: Middle School
Reading Level: 2.4
Chapter One
I stood in front of the brick row house and grumbled. I was alone on the sidewalk. There was no one to hear my complaining, but I did it anyway. I thought maybe grumbling would make me feel better. It didn't. I pushed my long black hair out of my eyes. I stared up at the building.
This was Grandma Lollie's place. Lollie wasn't actually my grandmother. I don't think she was anyone's grandmother, really. But everyone called her that.
Lollie lived in a quiet part of Jersey City. It was a ten minute bus ride from my house up the hill and not too long a walk from Morse High, my new school. I had just started there as a freshman in September.
The cold November wind blew hard and pushed me sideways. I regretted the holes I'd cut into my new black jeans. My mom had been pretty mad at me for cutting into the new fabric. I was beginning to agree with her.
Another gust of wind hit me. My choices were to either freeze on the sidewalk, or venture inside Grandma Lollie's building. I hadn't been inside her apartment since I was a kid.
I liked Grandma Lollie. She was always walking around the city with her red shopping cart, her little white dog, and her big smile. But I was dreading seeing her. She was sick, and I wasn't sure what to expect.
I slowly made my way up the cement steps, thinking of the conversation I'd had with my mom during dinner the night before.
We'd just finished our salad when she said, "I got a call today. Grandma Lollie's had a stroke."
She'd spooned some mac and cheese into my bowl. My mom always made mac and cheese from a box and still always managed to mess it up. It kind of glopped off the spoon into the bowl. Gross.
"That's sad," I'd replied. Truthfully, I was thinking more about the mac and cheese than Grandma Lollie. I'd tasted it. It was clumpy and gluey. Not a good combination.
"It is. She's been a pillar of the community for decades."
My mom always spoke like that. She worked for an environmental group, so she was used to talking to politicians. So she called Grandma Lollie a "pillar of the community" instead of just saying that everybody knew her.
"I got another call today, too. From your school," she'd said. I'd winced. I knew that was coming. "You failed two of your midterms," she'd said. "What happened?"
I stabbed at some macaroni with my fork. "I don't know," I'd said. Actually, I did know. I'd tried to study, I really did. But history was epically boring. I had to physically hold my eyes open while I read the textbook. Even when I did that, it seemed like the words flew right out of my head the second my eyes passed over them. I couldn't remember anything. And algebra... well, that kind of went without saying. I had no clue what I was doing in that class.
"I'll do better! Geez," I'd said. My voice was shrill and whiney. I hated it when I sounded that way, but sometimes I couldn't help it. Especially with my mom. She expected me to be just like her. School had come easily to her.
"You're in high school now. There's no time for messing around. Is your homework even done for tomorrow?" she'd asked.
She'd had me there. I'd spent the afternoon hanging out in the pizza place with my best friends, Asha and Natalie. I'd been separated from them when my mom and I moved, and I was districted to Morse High.
"I'm doing it after dinner," I'd said.
"Sofia, that's unacceptable. When I was in high school my dad made me finish all my homework before anything else. TV, friends, whatever. I had no fun until the work was completed."
I wasn't seeing what this had to do with me. "And?"
"And it's going crazy, all cooped up. She needs someone to walk it every day. That's where you come in," she'd said.
"Me?" I'd asked. I didn't really like dogs.
"Yes, you. I've arranged for you to walk the dog every day after school. Then you can stay at the apartment and finish your homework," she' said.
"Mom, that sounds so boring!" I'd cried. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Sofia, this isn't a punishment. I think you will find it rewarding to help someone in need," she'd said. She finished her bowl of macaroni.
That's what brought me to Grandma Lollie's building on this windy day. I rang the buzzer. I hoped no one would answer.