Auggie & Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

quite severe. Parents should have been told. I should have been told! Especially with Julian’s anxiety issues.”
    â€œAnxiety issues?” I yelled from my room. I ran into their bedroom. “You think I have anxiety issues?”
    â€œNo, Julian,” said Dad. “No one’s saying that.”
    â€œMom just said that!” I answered, pointing at Mom. “I just heard her say ‘anxiety issues.’ What, so you guys think I have mental problems?”
    â€œNo!” they both said.
    â€œJust because I get nightmares?”
    â€œNo!” they yelled.
    â€œIt’s not my fault he goes to my school!” I cried. “It’s not my fault his face freaks me out!”
    â€œOf course it’s not, darling,” said Mom. “No one is saying that. All I meant is that because of your history of nightmares, the school should have alerted me. Then at least I would have known better about the nightmares you’re having. I would have known what triggered them.”
    I sat down on the edge of their bed. Dad had the class picture in his hands and had obviously just been looking at it.
    â€œI hope you’re planning on burning that,” I said. And I wasn’t joking.
    â€œNo, darling,” said Mom, sitting on the other side of me. “We don’t need to burn anything. Look what I’ve done.”
    She picked up a different photo from the nightstand and handed it to me to look at. At first, I thought it was just another copy of the class picture, because it was exactly the same size as the class picture Dad had in his hands, and everything in it was exactly the same. I started to look away in disgust, but Mom pointed to a place on the photo—the place where Auggie used to be! He was nowhere in the photo.
    I couldn’t believe it! There was no trace of him!
    I looked up at Mom, who was beaming.
    â€œThe magic of Photoshop!” she said happily, clapping her hands. “Now you can look at this picture and not have to have your memory of fifth grade tarnished,” she said.
    â€œThat’s so cool!” I said. “How did you do that?”
    â€œI’ve gotten pretty good at Photoshop,” she answered. “Remember last year, how I made all the skies blue in the Hawaii pictures?”
    â€œYou would never have known it rained every day,” answered Dad, shaking his head.
    â€œLaugh if you want,” said Mom. “But now, when I look at those pictures, I don’t have to be reminded of the bad weather that almost ruined our trip. I can remember it for the beautiful vacation that it was! Which is exactly how I want you to remember your fifth-grade year at Beecher Prep. Okay, Julian? Good memories. Not ugly ones.”
    â€œThanks, Mom!” I said, hugging her tightly.
    I didn’t say it, of course, but even though she changed the skies to light blue on the photos, all I ever really remembered about our Hawaii trip was how cold and wet it was when we were there—despite the magic of Photoshop.

Mean
    Look, I didn’t start out being mean. I mean, I’m not a mean kid! Sure, sometimes I make jokes, but they’re not mean jokes. They’re just teasing jokes. People have to lighten up a little! Okay, maybe sometimes my jokes are a little mean, but I only make those jokes behind someone’s back. I never say stuff to anyone’s face that will actually hurt someone. I’m not a bully like that! I’m not a hater, dudes!
    Attention, people! Stop being so sensitive!
    Some people totally got the whole Photoshop thing, and some didn’t. Henry and Miles thought it was so cool and wanted my mom to email their moms the photo. Amos thought it was “weird.” Charlotte completely disapproved. I don’t know what Jack thought, because he had gone over to the dark side by now. It’s like he totally abandoned his peeps this year and only hangs out with Auggie now. Which bugged me, because