The Birth of Super Crip Read Online Free PDF

mom was responsible for giving Mr. Nicklaus’
his nickname, “Li’l Nicky.” Last year, she had called him directly
to ask why Red couldn’t use the computer in the resource room more
often as he was struggling to keep up with his computer programming
course. When she repeated Red’s claim that the teacher often
monopolized the computer doing work for his graduate degree, she
was promptly hung up on. While she regretted blurting out that
“Li’l Nicky is just impossible to talk to” in front of her son, the
moniker stuck.
     
    “Wish the idiot would graduate and move on already,”
Pete said.
     
    “Tell me about it.”
     
    “Why’d you have to talk to Alley? Because you luv her?”
     
    “Oh, it’s so funny every time,” Red said, slapping
his knee to accentuate his sarcasm. “We’re both having trouble with
the same subroutine, so we were just trying to figure it out
together for a minute at the end of class.”
     
    “And you luv her,” Pete continued to tease as
the final bell rang.
     
    Seeing Mr. Donohue walk into the room, Red only
offered a fake look of amusement as he turned to face the front of
the class. He flipped through a couple pages of his copybook to a
blank one as Mr. Donohue was already writing on the board.
     
    “Let’s see how we’re doing so far,” the teacher said,
writing the last of four equations.
     
    Going to work, Red started with the second equation
because he knew how to do it right away. He saw Mr. Donohue begin
to roam across the front row of desks. Red worked as fast as he
could while trying to write clearly. There was no doubt in his mind
that Mr. Donohue would stop at his desk. He could already feel
himself getting nervous. All of his teachers knew Red needed extra
time on tests and in-class assignments because he couldn’t write as
fast as other students, but somehow Mr. Donohue always made a point
of questioning why he wasn’t done work that his classmates had
completed. Mr. Donohue reached him as he was finishing the second
problem.
     
    “Let’s see,” the teacher said. Red moved his hands
and Mr. Donohue spun the copy book toward himself to examine Red’s
work. He slowly ran his finger down the solution Red had just
completed. “Where’s the first one?”
     
    “I started with the second one,” Red said,
nervousness beginning to make his speech more difficult to
understand than usual. “I knew how to do it right away.”
     
    “What about number three?”
     
    Red felt a touch of perspiration on his forehead. “I
didn’t get to that one yet,” he said, struggling to get each word
out.
     
    “Number four?” Mr. Donohue asked, turning the page of
the copybook as if the other equations might be on the next
page.
     
    Red felt like he was sweating through his shirt. “I
didn’t get to it yet,” he managed to respond, even as his head
swirled so much he wondered if this was what it meant to feel
faint. He saw spots in front of his eyes.
     
    Mr. Donohue exhaled loudly as he quickly flipped
through one more page, then walked away.
     
    Red looked down at his copybook and closed his eyes,
hoping they would clear. Pete poked him from behind, no doubt to
offer support by mocking Mr. Donohue, but Red just shook his
head.
     
    Finally, he felt the swirling in his head start to
calm. A deep breath came to him. Red looked at Mr. Donohue as he
returned to the blackboard and started walking the class through
the first equation. He’s such a prick, Red thought. Does he think
I’m stupid? I don’t know he does this crap on purpose?
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Waiting for the sixth period bell, Red was happy to
have made it to his final class of the day. He’d be in the resource
room for seventh period, which he typically used to catch up on his
computer programming course except on Fridays, when he had gym
class.
     
    At lunch, he and Pete had joked about Mr. Donohue,
but that had only kept fresh in his mind how much he hated the guy.
And Andre had