Read Wishing for Someday Soon for Free Online Page B

theaters?”
    “Well, there’s a McDonald’s about fifteen miles up the road, off the main highway. Movies, on the other hand, are another story. It has to be a real blockbuster for us to make the long drive to the city. Usually, we'll all hang out at my house or my buddy Clint’s. We both have big TVs so it’s all cool.”
    “Hmmm,” I said a bit skeptically.
    “Trust me, you can come hang with us sometime and see,” he said as he stopped in front of a door at the opposite end of the long hallway. “Ta-da, this is us,” he said, enthusiastically opening the door.
    Max held the door wide open so I could step into the brightly, lit, room. All sound suddenly evaporated as every eye in the room pivoted toward us. I forced myself to keep from staring uncomfortably at the floor, trying not to look too embarrassingly flush as I felt everyone studying me like a lab rat. Being new was an old hat for me.
    “Making your own hours, Maxwell?” the teacher asked good-naturedly, breaking the silence.
    Max laughed, “Nah, not this time. Mrs. Johnson asked me if I would take Katelyn here and her brother to their classes,” Max said coolly, obviously sharing a good rapport with the teacher.
    “Katelyn is it? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our crazy class,” he said, spreading his hands out to indicate the students who were sitting behind their desks throughout the room.
    “Um, thanks,” I said, responding to his laid back demeanor. He reached out to shake my hand, and I couldn’t help returning his welcoming smile. He instantly eased my tension, which was a rarity for me on the first day of school. Perhaps it was the kind laugh lines in the corners of his eyes or the plentiful amount of grey hairs lining his head, beard and mustache, but something about him instantly engaged me.
    “How about you share a desk with—" he paused as he scanned the room. "Rebecca, just until we can get you one of your own from the storage room. Rebecca, raise your hand so Katelyn can join you,” he said, pointing out a tall girl in the back of the room. “Clint, do me a favor and grab Katelyn my desk chair for now.”
    “Sure thing, Mr. Graves,” a curly, blond haired kid answered, shooting a cocky grin my way as he passed.
    None of this was new territory for me. The way we moved, Kevin and I usually attended at least three schools a year. I was used to being gawked at on my arrival, but I was beginning to realize this time would be way different since the school was so small.
    “Here you go,” he said, setting my chair down next to the pretty girl the teacher had indicated.
    “Hi, I’m Rebecca,” the girl next to me said, introducing herself.
    “Katelyn,” I said, shooting her a shy smile.
    “That’s Alicia and Shirley,” she said, pointing to the two girls who were sitting at the desk on each side of us.
    “Hi,” I said, scoping them out. Their designer clothes and handbags clued me in that they obviously had money, and were probably part of the popular crowd here.
    “Alright girls, introductions for the rest of the class will have to wait until later. We have a date with Ms. Higgins,” Mr. Graves said, mysteriously holding up a book I had never seen before.
    Confused, I looked around to see if the rest of the class had their own copies, assuming the book he held was part of our course reading.
    “Katelyn, I just started this book earlier this week, but you should be able to catch up with the storyline easily enough,” Mr. Graves said, sitting down on a tall stool at the front of the room.
    Before I could begin to catalog my astonishment, he began to read from the book he held in his hand. Looking around, I saw all the students watching him with rapt attention. It had been years since I had seen a teacher read out loud to the class, and I was instantly captivated at the idea. Sitting back in my temporary seat, I let myself forget everything but the words that were being read aloud to us. His voice was