"Bud."
"Is that all your name? Just Bud?"
The class tittered again and Bud's mortification mounted as he choked out,
"Bud Sloan."
Mr. Harris consulted his class roll. "It says here you're Allan Sloan."
"I don't care what it says!" Bud shouted again. "My name's Bud!"
All at once he found himself sitting on the floor. Lights danced in his head. He blinked owlishly, and as if from a great distance, he heard Mr. Harris say,
"Get up, Allan. Your seat is the third one in the first row. Take it."
Bud walked to his seat and the class was subdued. Bud sat in sullen silence for the rest of the morning. When noon came, he ate a lonely lunch and when the dismissal gong sounded at the end of the day he was the first to rise.
"You're to stay after school, Allan," Mr. Harris said.