Jumped In Read Online Free PDF Page A

kids seem bored with us now. Hardly any staring at all.
    â€œâ€˜ In a summer season when soft was the sun ’—hear all those esses , people? Yeah?” Cassidy tilts her head toward her shoulder and her frizzy hair pouf bounces from side to side. “THAT is a beautiful little device used by poets. And what do we call it? Dear scholars, I thank you for asking.” She strolls between desks, a smug smirk pasted on her face and a twinkle in her eye. “We call it … alliteration! ” She howls it as she walks past Luis and me like we’re not even there.
    It’s the same with Mrs. Nguyen and Mr. McClean and the rest of them. It never fails. The new kid in class always gets a grace period. Even if it’s just a schedule change, like Luis. The teacher will ignore the kid, let him chill for a few days before she starts tightening the screws and getting on his case with the questions and the Where’s your homework? and the rest of the crap.
    It’s all right for now. But when Luis’s grace period is over? And teachers start coming after him?
    They’re gonna notice the hooded lug sitting next to him.
    And they’re gonna come after me.
    â€œEven rap artists use alliteration,” Cassidy says. “Let’s see here.” She takes a quick sip of water from her mug and dramatically clears her throat. “And two, three, four!” she shouts, cupping a hand to her mouth, beat boxing, then knocking out a bordering-on-offensive imitation of a rapper: “Let me slip you this tip/Don’t risk it/If you rip lines and trip/keep yo’ bizness tight-lipped.”
    My.
    God.
    â€œThank you!” she barks.
    Some suck-up claps.
    â€œThank you all, my adoring fans. That assonance —repetition of vowel sounds—is brought to you by the brilliant hip-hop artist Percy, people! Wait a second: Hi p- ho p ? P ercy? P eople?” she says, popping her p ’s. “ Consonance , anyone? Goodness gracious, golly, guys—Oh, no, you di-int alliterate again! Soon this situation must call for a student to stand up and stop this silliness before someone succumbs to the insanity! Seriously.”
    Cassidy laughs at her hilarious joke as she takes a gulp from her mug. “Scholars, check out ‘The Death of the Hired Man’ on the second page of today’s handout. It’s by Robert Frost, who happens to rock my world.”
    She takes a step toward Luis and me.
    Shit! What is she doing?
    She flashes an evil grin and teases, “Let’s see here…”
    She’s coming right at us.
    I’m having an anxiety attack as she ponders whom she’ll torture.
    â€œMr. Cárdenas!”
    All eyes on the gangster!
    â€œLet’s see if you’ve been listening.”
    Grace period over. It’s the beginning of the end for me, I just know it.
    â€œLuis, what is the term we use to describe a poet’s repeated use of a sound in a line of verse?”
    â€œUh,” he grunts. Some smartass chuckles. Cassidy throws the kid a dirty look. I shrink in my seat thinking Luis doesn’t have a clue. Cluelessness means you got a lecture coming.
    â€œIt’s alliteration,” Luis says.
    Holy crap, he was listening!
    â€œYou are correct, sir!” Cassidy hollers.
    A collective “whoa” fills the room.
    â€œWell done, Mr. Cárdenas.” She’s beaming. It’s clear she’s excited that Luis might actually have a brain and her dream of being the teacher from Freedom Writers —her favorite movie—may finally come true.
    â€œCan you give us an example from the first stanza of ‘The Death of the Hired Man’?”
    It’s the effing follow-up questio n! And it’s so easy an idiot could get it right. Luis is clearly no idiot. He’s gonna know the answer, and the questions from Cassidy are gonna come flying our way fast and furious from now on.
    He tilts his head back.
    This is it.