by Rachel Berkowitz and Naomi Scheinerman
written 12/23/98
page 5 of 6
Dinah wandered upstairs. She could hear Michael crying in his room. Silently, she opened the door and crept in. Michael was sitting at his desk, his spelling homework in front of him.
"What's the matter, Michael?" she asked.
Eyes red and swollen, Michael turned around and cried, "I can't learn these words. I can't spell. No matter what I do, I can't remember them." He grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.
"I'll help," Dinah offered, and sitting on his bed, she went through the list of words explaining why they were spelled as they were and quizzing him on each one. In 15 minutes, he had learned half the list, and was feeling more confident.
"I guess maybe I can learn these after all, Dinah, but I sure couldn't do it without your help," Michael sniffed.
"Let's work on the other half of the list tomorrow afternoon," Dinah offered. Michael smiled at her.