"You've never played dodge ball?" Jason exclaimed. "It's sort-of like tag, except it takes a lot of kids. Some kids make a circle and throw the ball at the kids in the middle. And if they hit you, you're out. You're fast, so you should be good at it."
Jason's saying that made Baartock feel really good. He had been unhappy ever since he had fallen over when the fire drill bell sounded. When he fell in the woods, there were always rocks or sharp sticks to land on and that hurt. He hadn't hurt himself, but the floor was hard. He decided that he didn't like the school bell. It always surprised him and made him jump.
When recess was over, they all went back into the classroom and Baartock finally got to use his crayons on the new worksheets. It didn't seem very long before Mrs. Jackson was at the door.
"Mrs. Stogbuchner, can I have Baartock now?" she asked.
"Baartock, would you please put away your things and go with Mrs. Jackson."
Jason helped him put his papers in the drawer of the table. But Baartock didn't put his pencil box in with them. He held on to it tightly as he and Mrs. Jackson walked out of the classroom.
"You're taking your pencil box home?" she asked.
"Show mother," was his answer.
"Just remember to bring it back tomorrow. You'll be riding the school bus tomorrow, so I want you to meet your school bus driver."
They went out to the parking lot and there were a lot of yellow school busses waiting in a line.