Page 6 of Five Alarm Love
Just then, another class exited the back door, with about ten students running toward the playground.Tuli squinted in the fall sunlight.Actually, those kids didn’t all run.Some of them rolled in wheelchairs or used crutches.They were the special kids, and they always had extra teachers and aides helping them.
One skinny boy staggered as he stepped from cement onto the turf.Everyone knew Gordy Wright, Lou’s older brother.Tuli didn’t know what sort of problem he had, but he wasn’t able to talk.Sometimes he pointed at a picture board to show what he wanted.That was kind of cool.Gordy always smiled and waved at people too.
Gordy paused and scanned the playground, his face lighting up in a lopsided smile when he appeared to spot Lou.He walked in his halting gait, arms spread for balance, hands flapping, in Lou’s direction.
When he reached Lou, he rested his arms over her shoulders and let out a high-pitched, barking laugh that turned heads.Tuli smiled.Gordy wasn’t much for words, but he sure was a happy guy.Lou patted his back as he leaned against her shoulder.
Zelda pointed toward the swings.“Gordy, go back over there with your friends.”
Lou froze, and her eyes narrowed.But she didn’t let go of him.
“Gordy can play house and be one of the kids,” Lou offered.
That might have been the most Tuli had heard her say since school started last month.
“No.He’s older than us, so he can’t be one of the kids,” Zelda said, closing her eyes dramatically as she made her logical proclamation.“He should go somewhere else.We’re busy here.”
Other girls echoed the complaint, scowling at Lou and her brother.
Even from here, Tuli spied the downturn of Gordy’s mouth and his watery eyes.Hey, Tuli understood all about not being included.Lou’s small, tight smile seemed to freeze in place, and her face turned red.But she kept a hand on Gordy’s arm as he turned to leave.
Tuli looked from the two teams in front of him, then studied the clump of girls.Dang it.He had been looking forward to kickball all day.
“Go on.Shoo,” Zelda’s voice rose as she waggled her fingers.
Tuli’s hands rolled into fists.“Hang on, guys.Let me go get Gordy and Lou.”
Frustrated groans from his kickball teammates rumbled around him, but Tuli ignored them as he walked over to the gaggle of girls and Gordy.“Anyone wanna play kickball?”
Gordy smiled and waved, then gave a whoop and stuck two fingers in his mouth.
Lou patted her brother’s arm, a faint smile on her face.“I don’t think Gordy can play with his hip surgery.”
“He can’t do sports at all.He can’t catch or walk right,” one of Zelda’s friends sneered.
“Yeah.”Zelda crossed her arms and hiked up her nose to the sky.“If you’re not gonna play family, then you two need to get out of the house.”
Tuli glared.He didn’t like mean kids.He knew how much it stunk to be left out.He knew how it felt to be different from other people.It wasn’t Gordy’s fault.The kid had medical problems and just wanted to hang out with his sister and her friends.
The kickball teams took to the field, the kids hollering at Tuli to join them.He took a half step toward the field.Then he stopped.Dang.When he looked back, Lou was murmuring to Gordy.They stood together but separate from the girls, who had all turned their backs and ignored them.
Tuli wasn’t the smartest kid in school, but he knew when people were getting treated badly.Project the image of the person you want people to see.Loudly, Tuli said, “Forget playing house.That’s dumb second-grader stuff.We’re going on an adventure today.Lou, you wanna go with me?”
“With Gordy?”
“Yup.It’s going to be awesome.”
One of Zelda’s followers stomped a foot.“I want to go on an adventure.”
Another classmate nodded while Zelda hissed and pulled the girl back to her side.
Tuli grinned.“Sorry, secret club only.”He squirmed in front of the snooty expressions.
It was hard standing there while his classmates judged him.But he didn’t need Grandma’s reminder to do the right thing.
He knew.“Yeah.We’re gonna have the best adventure today.Way better than… this dumb house stuff.”He copied Zelda’s stuck-up expression and waggled his own fingers in the direction of the jungle gym-fake house setup.“Cool kids only.”
Gordy laughed out loud, drawing a smile from Lou in response.
