Say What You Will Read Online Free PDF

English at the end of last year might have been the first thing he said all trimester. (Before that day, the room had made him too uncomfortable—with an odd number of everything—desks, ceiling tiles, blackboards, file cabinets. Usually he sat there counting things he knew would come out even. Feet! Hands! Windowpanes!) Amy’s essay was an exception because it had been on his mind anyway. He’d been sitting there that day counting, quoting Amy, counting, quoting Amy when he realized the subject actually was Amy. He raised his hand.
    That was how he got here, readying himself for a job he was fairly sure he wouldn’t last a full day at.

CHAPTER FIVE
    A MY HAD ANOTHER REASON for pushing the idea of hiring peer helpers for this year. In June, her parents had bought her the newest edition of the best communication device she’d ever had, a Pathway2000 that was infinitely faster than anything she’d ever used before. By the end of fourth grade, Amy had mastered Minspeak and later, Unity, the code languages of speech devices that condensed the work of typing tenfold, but this new model was more flexible and faster than anything Amy had ever had before. It remembered her favorite expressions, learned the rhythm of her sentences, and anticipated responses with amazing accuracy. It also had something she’d never found in a speech output device before: an honest-to-God human-sounding voice. For years she’d never understood why these devices could include wireless capability, Bluetooth connection, 3G internet access, and still make a girl sound like Stephen Hawking. With her new Pathway, it was different. Programmable as the beautifully simple “teenaged girl,” she sounded exactly like—well, what she was. She wondered if this was what someone with a new sports car felt like: if they wanted to test-drive the power it had, to see if flashy things could really change your life.
    For the first three days of school, Amy discovered the answer was, sadly, no.
    Even with the beautiful new Pathway at her side, walking down halls with a peer helper turned out to be exhausting and awkward. With adult aides, Amy could be quiet; with a peer, she could not. She spent most of her class periods trying to think of things to say, and couldn’t believe how quickly she ran out of ideas. She ended up complimenting arbitrary pieces of clothing. She told Chloe she liked her shirt twice.
    The worst part turned out to be the one she was initially most excited about: eating in the cafeteria. After all these years of hiding away for lunch in resource rooms and teacher offices, she thought it would be so thrilling to sit in the cafeteria like everyone else. But the cafeteria was louder and more crowded than she expected. For her first lunch, she sat with Sarah at the end of a table full of girls who said hi when Sarah introduced her, then nothing more to Amy or Sarah for the rest of the meal. Mostly the girls complained about the trips their parents had forced them to take over the summer. Afterward, even Sarah felt bad. “That’s what those girls do. They complain about stuff the rest of us don’t have. I don’t know why I’m even friends with them.”
    Her first day with Sanjay, Amy spent most of lunch period with her cooler from home, waiting at a table while he bought his lunch from the cafeteria. When he finally emerged with a tray, he sat down with other people as if he’d forgotten all about her. A few minutes later, he ran over. “Amy, I’m so sorry. I’m over here. I have some people who want to meet you.”
    Her foolish heart leapt. They do? Really? She walked over, thinking they might compliment her essay from Kaleidoscope , but no. They were the second tier of the football team, even less interested in Amy than Sarah’s crowd had been.
    At least Chloe hadn’t bothered sitting with other friends. “I pretty much hate everyone at this school,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry, but I do.”
    Thursday night, Amy came home shaking