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    Danger: Long Division
    Danger: Long Division
    Danger: Long Division
    Ebook157 pages2 hours

    Danger: Long Division

    By Janet Gingold

    ()

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    About this ebook

    When her dad goes off to fight in a war on the other side of the planet, Becca does her best to live up to his expectations. But suddenly she finds herself failing math because she can't do long division. With the help of unlikely allies, she develops new skills and strategies that enable her to solve her own problems, not only in math, but also in her relationships with her family and friends.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJanet Gingold
    Release dateAug 19, 2010
    ISBN9780982805152
    Danger: Long Division
    Author

    Janet Gingold

    Janet Gingold grew up in a big old house with five brothers, three sisters and two very busy parents. While at the University of Michigan, she decided to use science to solve human problems. This led her to the practice of medicine. After 20 years of general pediatrics, she decided to look for solutions through education instead of medication. She spends most of her time teaching, reading, writing and learning new cool stuff about the way life works. She is the author of three novels for growing people: Superfoot, Finch Goes Wild and Danger: Long Division. She lives in Maryland with her husband. They have three grown children.

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      Book preview

      Danger - Janet Gingold

      DANGER: LONG DIVISION

      by

      Janet Gingold

      Danger: Long Division

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2010 by Janet Gingold

      ISBN 9780982805152

      Stories for Growing People

      Janet Gingold Books

      Upper Marlboro, Maryland

      www.janetgingold.com

      Danger: Long Division was originally published in print by the Blue Works division of Windstorm Creative in 2006.

      Copyright 2006 by Janet Gingold

      Print edition is available from Orchard House Press.

      www.orchardhousepress.com

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      www.janetgingold.com

      DEDICATION

      For my mother,

      who knew when to say,

      "I do."

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      COVER

      COPYRIGHT

      DEDICATION

      CHAPTER 1: Monday

      CHAPTER 2: Tuesday

      CHAPTER 3: Wednesday

      CHAPTER 4: Thursday

      CHAPTER 5: Friday

      CHAPTER 6: Saturday

      CHAPTER 7: Sunday

      EPILOGUE

      DISCUSSION GUIDE

      Author’s Notes

      About the Author

      Chapter 1: Monday

      Becca shoved her math book across the table with a groan. She took a new sheet of paper out of her binder and ran her hand across its cool surface. In her best cursive writing, she wrote Spelling. She found comfort in the smooth glide of the pencil as it traced the loops going up and loops going down. At least with spelling, she knew what to do.

      Every Monday, she wrote definitions for a new list of words. So, every Monday, she started by playing Pick-a-Word. With her eyes shut, she opened the dictionary and pointed.

      When Becca played Pick-a-Word with her Mom, they would make up a goofy story about the word of the day. That was before Will was born, when Mom still had time to laugh about words. This time, her finger landed on the word division.

      There’s no escaping it, she said to herself. I can think of lots of stories about division, but none of them are the least bit funny. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was locked in a dungeon and forced to do long division problems day in and day out. She couldn’t go free until she got the problems right, which was impossible because she didn’t know why they were wrong. The only one who could rescue her was her father, the King, who was leading a division of the army against forces of evil in far off lands…

      Becca found herself staring at the wallpaper. The pattern started to blur as she thought about her dad, so far away.

      Enough of that.

      She closed the dictionary with a thump and opened her spelling book to this week’s list. All fifteen words ended in –ation. First, she wrote creation. She copied the definition, reread her work and then pulled out a piece of plain paper and her colored pencils. She drew her own creation, which had wings like a bird, legs like a horse and a head like a cocker spaniel. She shaded its fur in four different colors. Then, she added grass, a cloudy blue sky and a tree full of yellow and orange leaves. Satisfied, she carefully signed her name, Becca Long, in the lower right corner and went on to the next word, "recreation." Just as she was connecting the n to the o, she heard the car door shut in the driveway. She glanced at the clock.

      Six o’clock. Uh-oh. I should’ve done my math. Mom’s going to be really mad about that test.

      As Mom burst through the door with Will in her arms, two dry yellow leaves blew in with the wind.

      Oh, Becca, what is all this mess on the table? Get rid of it and go get the groceries from the car. I need to call Dr. Hunter about Will. He’s breathing really hard again.

      Becca watched her mother shift Will to her left hip and reach for the phone. Will slumped against Mom’s chest with his eyes closed and his mouth open. Becca could see the traces of tears on his red cheeks and snot running from his nose.

      Mucus, not snot. Dad would say, try to remember that mucus is part of the body’s way to protect itself against germs, so it really is a good part of nature. But it still looks gross.

      She looked at the table. Her homework things and her beautiful creation hadn’t looked like a mess to her a few minutes ago, but it looked like a mess to Mom. Silently, Becca slid her drawing and her homework paper inside her notebook. She stacked her books, one on top of the other and slid the stack into her backpack. She scooped her pencils into their pouch. Trudging upstairs with her things, she heard her worried mother’s voice speaking to the doctor’s answering service.

      He had a runny nose yesterday and started coughing last night. The sitter said he slept longer than usual and felt warm when he woke up…No…Okay…Now he really looks like he is working hard to breathe and I can feel his chest rattle. His cough sounds awful. I need to know what to do...Okay…When will that be?…Okay…Thanks.

      Becca walked around her mother and her brother and headed toward the door.

      Now where are you going? You can’t go out now!

      Groceries? Becca asked in a small voice. You just told me to go get them.

      Oh. Yes, okay, but hurry up.

      While her mother paced back and forth with Will in her arms, Becca brought in three bags of groceries and put them away.

      I need to take his temperature. Can you find the thermometer, Becca?

      Becca looked in the bathroom cabinet downstairs and the bathroom cabinet upstairs.

      Did you find it?

      Not yet, Mom.

      Try the junk drawer.

      Dad’s Drawer for Miscellaneous Useful Pieces, Becca thought. He says you never know when something in there might come in handy. What seems useless one day might solve a problem the next.

      She found the thermometer way in the back under a package of batteries between some toothpicks and some rubber bands.

      As Mom put the thermometer under Will’s arm, Becca watched his belly move in and out with each breath. Even the skin between his ribs sucked in every time he breathed in. He was making a squeaky noise every time he breathed out.

      He’s all sweaty even though it’s chilly in here. No wonder Mom is freaked. This is way worse than last time he was sick. He’s been sick a million times, but never this bad.

      Mom, why is he—

      Not now, Becca.

      Just then the phone rang and Mom reached for it, looking desperate.

      Oh, Dr. Hunter, thanks for calling back. He looks awful. He’s breathing with his belly and he’s wheezing when he breathes out. His temperature is 101 under his arm. What can I do?…Okay…Okay… Thanks.

      She put the phone down and looked around the room in desperation.

      Fever medicine, she muttered as she searched the cabinet shelf. Becca, run up and get three diapers and a change of clothes for Will. Shirt, pants and socks.

      Becca went quickly to Will’s dresser and picked the first pants, shirt and socks she found. She grabbed three diapers and hurried downstairs.

      They don’t really match, she began.

      That’s okay, just put them in the diaper bag, said Mom.

      Will spit out the fever medicine as soon as Mom put it in his mouth. Mom just scraped it up from his chin with the spoon and put it back in his mouth. He looked like he was going to cry, but started coughing instead. Mom tried to get him to blow his nose a little, but he didn’t know how to do that yet, so she just wiped it. The skin on his upper lip was all red and raw.

      Yuck.

      Okay, let’s go, said Mom.

      She shifted Will in her arms, put the diaper bag over her shoulder and headed for the door.

      Where? said Becca.

      To the emergency room.

      What about my homework?

      Oh, Becca.

      Now, Mom looked like she was going to cry.

      How was I supposed to know he was going to be so sick?

      Becca hurried up the stairs.

      I’ll bring it with me, she called.

      She clattered back down the stairs with her backpack and raced outside, banging the door behind her. Mom buckled Will into his car seat as Becca used her house key to lock the door.

      Sit in the back next to him in case he needs something, said Mom.

      Becca climbed in next to Will and buckled her seat belt. She studied his face. His nostrils stretched open for every breath.

      He sure does need something, but not something I can give him.

      Hey, little Will, how was your day? she said with the best smile she could manage.

      Will just looked at her with his big brown eyes and then he turned away. His nose was running again. Becca found a tissue box on the floor of the car. As gently as she could, she wiped away the mucus. He started to cry.

      Don’t bother him, said Mom.

      I was just trying to help.

      Mom was usually a very good driver, with nice smooth starts and stops. Now she was starting too fast and stopping too hard and muttering whenever a light turned red. Becca was scared. She wished she had Ruffles in her backpack instead of her math book. Even more, she wished that Dad were home. She sighed.

      What am I going to do about my math? Mrs. Simmons said she would add 10 points to the grade if a parent signed the test paper. Forty eight plus ten is fifty-eight. Maybe she’ll round it up to a D.

      Mom, when we get there—

      Not now, Becca.

      Not now, not now, not then, not ever. It’s always not now. So when?

      Becca just stared silently out the window until the car jerked to a stop in the parking lot near the Emergency Room sign. Deep lines crossed Mom’s forehead as she bent over Will to unbuckle his car seat. There was a tear on her left cheek.

      Becca grabbed a bunch of tissues from the box and stuck them in the front pouch of her backpack. She picked up her pack and quietly followed her mother into the waiting area. Mom went straight to the front desk and started to tell the clerk what was wrong with Will.

      Sign in here and have a seat. Someone will be with you shortly.

      As Mom signed in, Becca counted ten names on the list before Will’s. She headed for the corner of the waiting room, the only place where there were two empty chairs side by side. The other chairs were full of miserable-looking people. Even the air in the room seemed miserable to Becca. She could hardly bear

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