TMF Paul Zindel When trouble came to me. it didn't involve anybody I thought it would. It involved the nice. normal. smart boy by the name of John Quinn. Life does that to us a lot. Just when we think something awful's going to happen one way. it throws you a curve and the something awful happens another way. This happened on the first Friday. during gym period. when we were allowed to play games in the school yard. A boy by the name of Richard Cahill. who lived near an old linoleum factory. asked me if I'd like to play paddle ball with him. and said. "Yes." Some of the kids played softball. some played warball, and there were a few other games where you could sign out equipment and do what you wanted. What didn't know was that you were allowed to sign out the paddles for only fifteen minutes per period so more kids could get a chance to use them. I just didn't happen to know that little rule, and Richard Cahill didn't think to tell me about it. Richard was getting a drink rom the water fountain when John Quinn came up to me and told me I had to give him my paddle. No." I said, being a little paranoid about being the new kid and thinking everyone was going to try to take advantage of me "Look, you have to give it to me." John Quinn insisted. That was when I did something berserk. I was so wound up and frightened that didn't hink, and I struck out at him with my right fist. I had forgotten was holding the paddle, and it smacked into his face. giving him an instant black eye. John was shocked. I was shocked Richard Cahill came running back and he was shocked What's going on here?" Mr. Tre the gym teacher, growled He hit me with the paddle," John moaned, holding his eye. He was red as a beet, as Little Frankfurter. Conehead. Moose, and lots of the others gathered around tried to tako the paddle away from me!h t corrplained His time was up. John said Mr Trellis sel me wise to the rules as he took John over to a supply locker and pulled out a first-aid kit m sorry, I said. over and over again Then the bell rang. and all John Quinn whispered to me was that he was going to get even He didn't say it like a nasty rotten kid. Just more like an American boy who knew he'd have regain his dignity about having to walk around school with a black Before the end of school. Jennifer came running up lo me in the halls and told me John Quinn had announced to everyone he was going to exact revenge on me after school on Monday. That was the note of disaster my first week at school ended on, and was terrified because I didn't know how lo nghi 1 had never even been in a fight. What had happened was a an accident. It really When Nonno Frankie amved on Saturday morning. he found me apple tree alone. Mom had told him it was O.K. to walk around the whole yard now as long as he didn t do any diggings or ions other than weed pulling on her side 1 was expecting him to noluce nght off the bat tha was white with fear, but instead he stood looking at thc carvings Jennifor and l had made in the trunk thought he was just intensely curious about what e free ESCA PAUL & JENNIFER! meant of course, the twins. being uch copycats, had already added their names so the full carving the bark now read. ESCAPE PAUL & JENNIFER & NICKY & JOEY!" And the letters circled halfway around the tree. ou're killing it." Nonno Frankie said sadly. "What? 1 lumped down to his side The tree will die you cut any more thought he was kidding. because all we had done was carve m the outer pieces of bark We hadn't carved deep into the tree. noi into the heart of the tree. The tree was too important to us, It was the most crucial place to me and Jennifer. and the last thing nt to do was hurt it The heart of a tree isn't deep inside of it. Its heart and blood are on the outside, just under the bark, Nonno Frankie explained. That's the living purt of a tree. you carve in a circle all around the ink, its like slitting its throat. The waler and juices and life of the tree can't move up from rootst- i knew about the living layer of a tree, the it would kill the whole tree. just but I didn't know exposing never thought about it. or figured trees patched themselves up. Now it can feed itself from only half its Lrunk, Nonno Frankie cxplained. You must not out any more "I won't I promised. Then I felt worse than only was l ever Not scheduled to get beat up by John Quinn aner school on Monday: was also a near tree Nonno Frankie finally looked closely at me Your first week at school wasn't all Juicy meatballs?" he asked. That was all he had to sa and spilled out each nnd every hor- lying detail. Nonno Frankie let me babble on and as if he understood exactly how I fell and wasn't going to call me stupid or demented or a big yellow coward, when 1 didn't have another word left in me, I just shut up and stared down at the ground Stab nail at ill Italian bats!" Nonno Frankie finally said. What?" He repeated the weird sentence and asked me what was special about it guessed reads the same ba