Climbing the Rainbow Chapter One You'll Start in First The day I entered the classroom for the very first time, I was floating on a cloud of happiness. I walked to school with Ed, Caroline, and Frank, as I had done many times. Always before, after the teacher came out and rang the bell, I would watch everyone else file into the building. Then I would go home. This time, I looked down to make sure my shoelaces were tied, smoothed my new blue calico dress, took a deep breath, and walked eagerly up the steps and through the open door. "Good morning, Mr. McLaughlin," I said, pronouncing the words very carefully. "My name is Dora Cookson, and I'm going to be in your class this year." "Good morning, Dora," he replied warmly. "Please find a seat." I looked around, but the room was so full of children I could see no empty spaces. A tall, dark-haired girl smiled at me from the back of the room and pointed to the seat beside her. "I'm Cora Beth Tracy," she whispered as I sat down. Already I could tell that she was going to be my friend. "Boys and girls," Mr. McLaughlin announced, "I want you arranged in alphabetical order by grade. The fourth grade students will sit in the back row, the third grade next, then second. First graders belong here." He indicated the front seats with a sideways sweep of his hand. "Now, everyone please stand at the side of the room and move as quickly as you can to the proper place when I call your name." What was my proper place, I wondered uneasily as Cora Beth moved away from me to the fourth grade row. Before long, I was the only one left standing. "You must be Dora Cookson," the teacher said, looking at his list. "Which grade are you in?" "I'm not sure," I said. "Not sure?" he asked in a puzzled voice. "Every other girl knows what grade she's in." "I've never been to school before," I told him. "Surely you're old enough," he said kindly. "Have you been ill?" "Not exactly," I told him. It made me uneasy that all the children in the room were listening. I was afraid I might stutter, so I walked over to the teacher, stood on my tiptoes, and whispered in his ear. "I couldn't talk." Mr. McLaughlin could tell that I was embarrassed. He leaned down and spoke very quietly. "You seem to be talking fine right now," he said. "I had an operation." "An operation, yes ... " "My tongue had to be cut loose where it was tied down." "I see," he said. "And when was that?" "Nearly a year ago," I told him. "The day before we left Utah to come to New Mexico." "And after that, you learned to talk?" I nodded. "You learned very well." "I can read, too," I told him. "But you've never been to school?" "No." "Then you'd better start in first grade," he said, "and we'll see how it goes." As I took my seat in the front row with all the little kids, I heard plenty of snickering. "Isn't she older than Ed?" one boy whispered. "I think she's ten," another replied. "Must be pretty dumb," a third added. I am not dumb , I thought, turning to see who said that. It was a big boy with messy, mousey hair sitting in the fourth grade row right next to Cora Beth. I'll show him , I decided, that I am NOT stupid . Catching my eye, Cora Beth smiled. She waved her hand a tiny bit as if she were saying, Have courage . She tilted her head slightly and looked toward the window. "I'll see you at recess," she mouthed, and I smiled, happy to have something to look forward to. If I had a new friend, it wouldn't matter so much that Lucy Williamson was in the room next door or that Jenny Lenstrom went to a different school. Lucy and Jenny were my church friends. I saw them every week when we went to Clovis for Sunday School. I found out right away that a lot of things go on at once in a classroom with four grades. While one group repeated memorized poetry, another one worked out arithmetic problems. Second graders copied spelling words from the blackboard, and we first graders practiced printing our ABC's. After a while, each class activity changed. It was hard for me to concentrate on first grade things because I wanted to pay attention to everything else. I'd overhear a snatch of something the teacher was talking about to another grade and I couldn't quit listening. My hungry mind was starved. The classroom seemed like a feast of knowledge, laid out on a table, inviting me to gobble it up. Before I knew it, we were dismissed for recess and I stood outside with Cora Beth. "Don't pay any attention to Toby Tully," she said, jerking her elbow at the boy who'd called me dumb. "That big bully is always looking for someone smaller to pick on." "I wish I could sit by you," I said. "Me, too," she agreed. "How come Mr. McLaughlin put you in first grade?" "It's a long story," I said. "Tell me," Cora Beth replied, pointing to a bench where we could sit down. "This is my first day in school," I began. "How come?" "I wasn't allowed to go," I said. "Why not?" "I couldn't talk." "Not at all?" Cora Beth asked. "A few mumbly sounds," I said, "but no words. Everyone thought I was stupid." "How awful." "Yes, it was." "So what happened? You talk fine now." "I had a bad earache," I explained, "and had to go to the doctor ... " "And?" "He discovered my tongue was stuck down to the floor of my mouth. It couldn't move up or down like it is supposed to. 'Tongue-tied,' he called it." Climbing the Rainbow . Copyright © by Joy Hulme. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Climbing the Rainbow by Joy N. Hulme All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
