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felt very light-headed. She wiped her eyes, took a long breath, and slowly exhaled.
    Then, off she went to look at Mr. Bone’s fish.

Ten
Fish
    The rainbow fish gently swam about, easily and unconcerned. The angelfish glided past it. Watching them eased Angeline’s mind at once. She didn’t look at either Gary or Miss Turbone. She didn’t think about what had just happened in Mrs. Hardlick’s room, or even worse, what was going to happen. The angelfish drifted to a stop and faced Angeline head-on while it methodically breathed through its gills.
    “It’s watching you, too,” said Gary, “just like you’re watching it.”
    Angeline breathed with her lungs as she stared at the fish.
    “I don’t think it can see her,” said MissTurbone. “I think it just sees itself reflected in the glass.”
    Gary and Miss Turbone watched Angeline watch the fish. They knew something was wrong. When she came in, she went right to the fish tanks without even saying hello.
    “Tell her about the aquarium, Mr. Bone,” said Gary.
    “Yes,” Miss Turbone began, “well, they have—”
    Gary interrupted her. “It’s this gigantic building with nothing but fish tanks, full of fish from all over the world. Some of the tanks are as big as houses with sharks and dolphins and whales.”
    “No whales,” said Miss Turbone.
    “No whales,” said Gary, “but sharks and dolphins, right Mr. Bone?”
    Miss Turbone nodded.
    “Mr. Bone says that some people think that dolphins are smarter than people,” Gary added.
    “They are,” said Angeline, with her eyes still fixed on the fish.
    Miss Turbone laughed, not because she thought what Angeline had said was funny, but because she was startled by the matter-of-fact way she had said it.
    It was one of the things Angeline knew beforeshe was born. Not all dolphins are smarter than all people, but some are smarter than some people—people like Mrs. Hardlick. “A duck is smarter than Mrs. Hardlick,” thought Angeline.
    “Tell her about the field trip,” said Gary.
    “Well—” began Miss Turbone.
    “Mr. Bone is going to take our class on a field trip to the aquarium and she said you can come, too.”
    For the first time Angeline turned away from the fish tank. “Let’s go,” she said. “Right now! Can we? Right after recess?”
    “No,” said Miss Turbone, “you know that. You have to plan ahead. And of course you’ll have to check with your teacher to see if you can go with us.”
    Angeline looked back at the fish tank. Mrs. Hardlick would never let her go. She didn’t even want to think about Mrs. Hardlick. She concentrated on the fish. As she watched the rainbow fish peacefully swim around, she pretended she was in the middle of the ocean.
    “Can we go to the ocean too?” she asked.
    “Maybe,” said Miss Turbone. “First the aquarium.”
    “Did you ask your father how come he’s nevertaken you to the beach?” Gary asked.
    “He just won’t,” said Angeline. “I don’t know why, but he won’t. He won’t even take me on his garbage truck.”
    Miss Turbone turned her head around and looked peculiarly at Angeline. She wondered what the ocean had to do with a garbage truck.
    “You know why you never get hungry at the beach?” Gary asked.
    “Why?” asked Angeline.
    “Because of all the
sand-which-is
there!”
    Angeline laughed. She thought it was the funniest joke she’d ever heard. But then her laughter suddenly stopped as she heard the bell ring.

Eleven
Mrs. Hardlick’s Triumph
    Angeline was scared as she walked back to Mrs. Hardlick’s room. She considered going home, but she figured that that would only make matters worse. Mrs. Hardlick would call her father, and, most of all, Angeline didn’t want to disappoint him. She knew that he had such high expectations of her.
    She tried to think of some explanation to give to Mrs. Hardlick, but was unable to come up with one. The truth was that she didn’t even know herself why she’d done what she’d done.