“Miss Foster!” Mr. Sweeney’s nasal voice interrupted Sophie’s loud music as he yanked her headphones from the cord. “Have you decided you’re too clever to pay any attention to what I’m saying?”
Sophie struggled to open her eyes. She tried not to make a face as the fluorescent lights reflected off the museum’s blue walls, intensifying the headache she was hiding. “No, Mr. Sweeney,” she mumbled, lowering her head to avoid her classmates’ stares. She let her long hair fall around her shoulders and wished she could hide behind it. This was exactly the kind of attention she tried to avoid at all costs. That’s why she wore dark clothes and always stayed at the back, hidden behind the taller kids. It was the only way a twelve-year-old could survive in this class.
“Then perhaps you’d like to explain why you’re listening to music on your iPod instead of paying attention?” Mr. Sweeney held up the headphones as if they were evidence of a crime. And to him, they probably were. He had dragged the entire class to the Balboa Park Museum of Natural History, assuming the students would be excited about an educational field trip. He didn’t seem to realize that no one was particularly thrilled, unless the giant dinosaurs came to life and started devouring people. Sophie pulled at an eyelash—something she did when she was nervous—and stared at her shoes. There was no way she could explain to Mr. Sweeney that she needed the music to drown out the noise. He couldn’t even hear the noise.
