“Psst! Levi!”
This, of course, was not part of the story Ms. Padilla was reading to the class. Levi sat perfectly still, refusing to acknowledge the most unsubtle whisper in the history of unsubtle whispers.
“Psst! Levi! Over here!”
Levi clenched his teeth. Don’t turn around, he told himself.
“PSST! Levi! I know you can hear me!”
“Shhh!” said Lydia Schnell. “Be quiet!”
“You be quiet!” snapped Kat.
Ms. Padilla cleared her throat. “Problem, Miss Bombard?” Kat’s face reddened. “Levi won’t answer me!”
“Maybe Levi knows it’s rude to talk when your teacher is reading a story,” said Ms. Padilla.
“But he . . . But I . . . I . . .” Kat’s flustered voice trailed off. She slumped back into her seat. “This story stinks,” she mumbled.
Ms. Padilla closed the book and explained that what she’d just read was based on a Maasai folktale, and that many folktales used animal characters to illustrate life lessons, and— Class dismissed.
