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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781491824948 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 10/22/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 24 |
| File size: | 4 MB |
| Age Range: | 3 Months to 18 Years |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Where Memories Never Sleep
By J. S. Riamliw, Rebecca Prato
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2013 J. S. RiamliwAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4918-2493-1
CHAPTER 1
"I'm sorry, Ryker. We don't deserve each other." Tayton teases Ryker when they find that their small pieces of paper do not contain the same number.
Ryker teases back. "Who cares? I can work with anybody."
Turning away from Tayton, Ryker keeps showing his paper to other classmates. Unfortunately, nobody has the same number as his. This means he will not have a partner with whom to work on a writing project.
As Ryker wonders what to do, a teacher, Mrs. Daffodils, announces to the class: "Okay, everyone, if you know your partner, please get back to your seat. You and your partner can talk about your project after class."
Without hesitation, Ryker walks to Mrs. Daffodils and shows her the number that he has. "Oh, let me figure it out," Mrs. Daffodils says. "Well, it's Peem. Your partner is Peem. He is absent today."
Peem gets up early as on every other school day, but he does not come out of his room this morning. He sits still on a chair and keeps looking at a world map on the bedroom wall. His miserable eyes focus on Thailand, the country in which he grew up and that he left two months ago.
"Are you feeling better, honey?" Peem's mom asks upon entering her son's room.
"Actually, I'm not sick, Mom. I'm fine. I just don't want to go to school today," Peem says in a soft voice.
"Did I hear you correctly?" Mom does not believe what she has heard. "You used to be a very good boy and you liked school, didn't you?"
"But not here, Mom," Peem tells his mother. "I don't like the school here."
"Why? Did something happen?" Mom asks.
"I often don't understand the lessons, and I often don't understand what the teacher or my classmates say. I feel terrible," Peem answers.
"Did you tell this to the teacher?" Mom asks.
"No," Peem replies.
Mom then consoles Peem. "That might be it. But you will be fine, honey. You might need more time to adjust to this new environment. I'll talk to Mrs. Daffodils about it."
At home before dinner, Ryker is doing his homework in the living room. He can't help thinking about his writing-project partner, Peem. He does not know much about him. What he knows is that Peem moved with his parents and joined Ryker's third-grade class in Pittsburgh two months ago. Peem is quiet and does not actively participate in the classroom.
Ryker doesn't want to wait until he can meet with Peem. He starts thinking about the project ahead. "Mom, which place in our community should I survey and write about?" he asks his mother.
Ryker's mom stops reading a book and says, "You can work that out for yourself, honey, or you can use the Internet to search for the information. You have learned how to use it, haven't you?"
"Yes. Be smart, Ryker," says his six-year-old sister, Ella, who is coloring her artwork in front of the TV.
"Well, I am," Ryker responds.
"Good. When you decide on the place, can Rocky and I go survey it with you?" Ella asks as she stretches out a hand to pat Rocky, the six-month-old Labrador dog sitting next to her.
"No. This is a school project, and I already have a partner to work with on it," Ryker answers.
The next day, Peem comes to school. He meets Mrs. Daffodils on the way to his first-period class. "Can you stop by my office for a few minutes?" Mrs. Daffodils asks. Peem nods his head and follows her.
Feeling like a real loser, he sits quietly in Mrs. Daffodils's office. "Your mother told me about your problem. And I think I understand your situation. If I had to live in a place where nobody speaks the same language as I do, I would have a hard time as well," Mrs. Daffodils says in a soft, sympathetic voice.
Then she shows Peem a photo of her previous class and says, "You know, each year we have students like you who were not born here in the States. Some of them don't know English. But they do not give up, and they finally get through their difficult time at school. I'm sure you can do it too. Just don't be shy to let me know when you don't understand any lesson. You'll never be left behind. I'll help you move on."
Feeling good with Mrs. Daffodils's words, Peem thanks her and leaves the room with a cheerful heart.
At the end of the first-period class, Ryker comes to talk to Peem about their writing project. Both agree to meet under a tree after school to start work on it.
At the meeting, the two boys sit face-to-face at a table. Ryker gives Peem a paper that contains the instructions for the writing project--survey and write about a place in your community. Because there are some unfamiliar words, Peem cannot understand it completely. Noticing this reaction, Ryker says, "Feel free to ask me about any words that you don't understand." Peem nods his head.
The two boys keep talking about the project for a while and get along well with each other. Finally, they agree to survey the Strip District this Saturday.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Where Memories Never Sleep by J. S. Riamliw, Rebecca Prato. Copyright © 2013 J. S. Riamliw. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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