Javon was the shortest kid in the class. He’d had to ask to get his gym locker changed so that he didn’t have to strain (拉紧) so much to reach it. But he didn’t care about his height? Either he would grow or he wouldn’t — there was nothing he could do about it, so why let it bother him?

That was Javon’s attitude about most things. He didn’t like to get all worked up about stuff, especially stuff he had no control over.

The one exception was school work. Javon had worked hard. He was one of the top kids in the class. He was still the shortest, but now he also got called one of the smartest.

For Javon, math used to be easy. He figured that since he had ten fingers, he could do most of it. However, when Mr. T started a new unit and threw letters into his math problem, Javon could not wrap his mind around using these letters. Although Mr. T explained over and over again, he still didn’t understand. Soon the day when the class had to take the chapter test arrived. The test was brutal (残酷的).

Hard as Javon tried, he hadn’t finished all of the problems: The day came when the class finally got their papers back. D. 64%. Written in red ink on the corner of Javon’s paper. The worst grade he had ever got. In the seat next to him, Tyler got a red 72% on Tyler’s paper. Javon was surprised that Tyler, who is dyslexic (阅读障碍), got a higher grade than him.

“How did you get such a grade?” asked Javon. “I get extra time on tests. Because of my —” Tyler said. “You got extra time?” Javon cried out.

At this point, Mr. T appeared at the corner. Javon walked up to him and said, “Mr. T, why Tyler could get extra time for this test? Plenty of people didn’t finish, including me. It’s unfair!”

Paragraph 1: Mr. T was astonished, and then started to explain.

Paragraph 2: “You asked for a different locker in the gym.” said Mr. T.

Hannah and I have been best friends since primary school and we spend almost every day with each other. Sometimes, other children say we are no fun because we are both very academic and like to study, but we like it that way. We learn from each other, inspire each other and both get good grades at school.

Last Monday, our math teacher Miss Smith gave us a surprise math quiz. Some of my classmates felt worried and nervous but Hanna and I were confident and gave each other an encouraging smile before we got down to doing the quiz. After the quiz while others were complaining about the “surprise” and expressing their concern about the result, I laughed loudly, “It’s so easy! I’m sure to get a good grade!” Ironically (具有讽刺意味的), on Tuesday afternoon, Miss Smith told me after class that I had the lowest grade in the class. I couldn’t believe my ears. What a shame! How could I be so stupid to fail such a simple math quiz!

Afterwards, I tried my best to hide my upset and pretended to be cheerful, but Hannah sensed something was wrong. When we went to wash our hands in the girls’ washroom, she looked into my eyes and asked, “What happened, Sarah?” With tears welling up, I admitted how badly I had one. “Hannah, please don’t tell anyone else,” I begged in a choked voice. She hugged me, saying she would keep my secret.

However, the next day morning, I noticed that some classmates were staring at me strangely and others whispering and chuckling (暗笑) as I came into the classroom. When I went to sit down, I was shocked to find a piece of paper on my desk that said, “Stupid Sarah got a D!” A flush of shame and anger overwhelming me, I felt my face was burning. I thought that Hannah must have told my classmates about my grade after promising not to. Everyone must have been laughing behind my back!

I wasn’t the most popular kid in my first year of high school, not even close. I was not interested in fashion. I preferred reading to sports, and I had difficulty talking to boys. As a result, the first year of high school had not been kind to me. I had no close friends.

The girl, Ashley, was very different from me. She was fashionable, and she was very artistic, listening to bands I had never heard of. She was quite popular. We were always in the same classes throughout school, but didn’t talk much.

During summer school, the teacher asked us to pair up(结对) on a school project. Ashley didn’t seem to like working with me at first, but she gave in. I guessed it was because none of her “cool” friends were in the class. We met at the library to work on the project. Ashley did most of the talking. We sat by each other the rest of the summer and when classes ended, we continued to hang out.

I admired Ashley; she was the kind of person I thought I wanted to be. I began to wear the clothes she wore. I quit reading and started watching the TV programs that Ashley watched. I decided to take an art class though I had really wanted to take the theatre. When we started school again, I met Ashley’s group of friends, the “cool girls”. She was the leader of the group. To fit in with the group, I followed them around, laughing at their jokes and agreeing with their opinions I actually disagreed with. But I didn’t say much.

One day, I went to join the group again. They were chatting without noticing my arrival. One girl said, “Ashley, she just follows you around, trying to be you. She copies you; she doesn’t have her own personality(个性).” Ashley replied, “I wish she could find the group she actually belonged to.” I was shocked and sad. I thought I had fit in with them.

I ran home and told my mother what had happened.

Over the next month, I went through a lot of changes.