Slug Days

by Sara Leach

  Irma tilted her head and looked at me. She nodded.

  “I can’t do this math anymore. Well, I can. But Mrs. Patel doesn’t like my way. Would you like to squeeze my eraser?” I was trying very hard to be kind and welcoming. Mom says friends share things with each other.

  “Thank you.” Irma took my eraser and rubbed out her math question.

  My mouth dropped open. She wasn’t supposed to erase with my extra-special strawberry-scented eraser that rolled perfectly under my hand. I reached out to snatch my eraser back. But then Irma smiled at me.

  I dropped my hand back on my desk. “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter 16

  We had gym at the end of the day. Gym is my slug-slimiest subject. Especially when we play dodgeball.

  “We’ll be playing dodgeball today,” Mrs. Patel said. She split us into two groups. Irma and I were on the same team.

  I showed her how to line up with a toe on the black line. “When Mrs. Patel blows the whistle, everyone runs and tries to get a ball from the center line. Then you throw it at people, but not their heads. If you get hit, you’re out.”

  Irma nodded and smiled. She sure was a friendly girl.

  The whistle blew. I charged for the center line and reached the ball just before Dan. I wrapped my hands around it from one side, and he wrapped his hands around it from the other. We played tug o’ war for a few seconds.

  “You’re never going to win,” he said. “You’re a loser!”

  I flipped my lid. I forgot all about my plan. I forgot about what Mom said about deep breathing. I stomped on Dan’s foot hard, and he let go of the ball. “So there, Dan! I am NOT a loser!”

  I threw the ball as hard as I could at him. It smacked him right on the shoulder, even though he tried to jump away.

  “I got you!” I shouted.

  Dan didn’t sit down. He just grabbed my ball and ran toward me.

  “I got you! I got you! You need to sit down!” I screeched so loud, Alyssa and Abdel covered their ears. I bet the man in the moon heard me. Dan didn’t sit down. Then Noah threw the ball at me and hit me on the hip, and I had to sit down. Soon our whole team was sitting.

  Mrs. Patel blew the whistle. “Team two wins this round,” she called.

  I jumped up and started yelling. “Dan cheated! Dan cheated!”

  Mrs. Patel blew the whistle again. “Lauren, calm down, please.”

  “But he cheated!” It wasn’t fair. AND I HATE LOSING! I ran for the bathroom and hid in the stall.

  Chapter 17

  Mrs. Patel followed me into the bathroom. “No sticker for you today. You know that, right, Lauren?”

  I plugged my ears to block out Mrs. Patel, but I still heard her sigh and clomp out the door. The bell rang. If I missed the bus, Dad could come and get me. So what if he had to wake the baby and waste his valuable time?

  Somebody came into the bathroom. I unplugged my ears and heard sniffling. I poked my head under the stall and saw Irma. “Why are you sad?”

  Irma wiped her face with her hands. “I am scared. Of the bus. I have nobody to sit on me.”

  “Nobody to sit on you? Why would you want that?”

  “I want a friend.”

  “You mean you want somebody to sit with you? On the bus?”

  Irma nodded.

  “I’ll sit with you.”

  Irma fiddled with her shoelaces. I ducked back into my stall and curled myself into a ball. A worm squiggled in my tummy while I waited.

  She poked her head under the door. “Yes. I would like that.”

  The slug slime started to dry up, and I slid out of the cubicle. I wanted to hug her. But she might think I had lice, and twitch away.

  Irma wrapped her arms around me. She felt like hot chocolate on a winter day.

  “We better go quickly,” I said. “We don’t want to miss the bus.” I grabbed her hand, and we flew down the hall like butterflies.

  Author’s Note

  Like millions of children around the world, Lauren has ASD, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is an umbrella term that has included Asperger’s since 2013. She experiences the world differently than other people—she has trouble reading facial expressions and tone of voice and understanding jokes.

  These differences can make life challenging for people living with ASD, and for the people around them. However, it is these very differences that make them unique.

  I’ve been a teacher for twenty years, and during that time I’ve been lucky enough to work with several students with ASD. They’ve taught me understanding and patience, and have helped me to see the world in a new way.

  Thanks to: Gail Winskill, Ann Featherstone, and the team at Pajama Press for seeing a new and better way to tell this story; kc Dyer and the Surrey International Writer’s Festival for your recognition of an early version of the manuscript; Stella Harvey, Rebecca Wood Barrett, Libby McKeever, Mary MacDonald, Sue Oakey-Baker, Katherine Fawcett, Nancy Routley, Lisa Richardson, and Pam Barnsley for your honesty, advice, and laughter; Norm, Johanne, Duane, Ben, and Julia for your love and support.

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Sara Leach hails from Whistler, BC, where she loves to ski, hike, and bike. Her middle grade novel Count Me In won the Red Cedar Book Award for 2012/13. In addition to being a children’s author, she is also an elementary school teacher-librarian. Sara has had the privilege of teaching several amazing students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and her experience working with them inspired Slug Days.

  Rebecca Bender is a well-loved author-illustrator of children’s books as well as an art director and designer. Her books include Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, Giraffe Meets Bird, Peach Girl (illustration), Not Friends and How Do You Feel? Her awards and honors include the OLA Blue Spruce Award, a Cooperative Children’s Book Center best-of-the-year choice, and a Toronto Public Library best-of-the-year selection. Rebecca graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design at the top of her class, earning the Medal for Illustration. Rebecca lives in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband and two children.