Contagious

At lunch everyone goes

to the field to play baseball,

and as usual, they ask me,

but I just want to sit and draw.

I sketch the red flag dragon tongue

on the mailbox, finish shading the stone.

Hey, Jordan says, walking by

and pointing at my picture.

I know that mailbox.

That’s the creature’s house!

 

 

When I hear him say it,

I feel my stomach squeeze;

I think about her eyes in the doorway

and I wonder what he means.

You see her yet? Martin asks.

She’s like some kind of creature,

she’s got bumps all over her body.

Jordan looks over. More like scales.

Don’t you remember? I think second grade?

When all of that happened.

But I don’t remember.

I heard she gets homeschooled

because she might be contagious and she never leaves the house.

 

 

Jordan looks at me and shrugs

almost like he’s sorry.