The more Maddy attended school, the more she disliked it. The class learned to read, which Maddy was not very good at and found frustrating, and learned numbers, which were easier but still not fun to learn about. The other students, Grace included, seemed to enjoy school.

"Frankie, what is this word?" said Grace, pointing to a word in her storybook.

Frankie leaned over the page. "It says, 'thoughtful'."

"Why's there a G in it?" said Grace, looking at Frankie with curious eyes.

"The G is silent. You can't hear it in the word."

"Then why is it there, if it doesn't even make a sound?"

"Not all letters always make sounds. We can't exclude letters just because they seem unneeded."

Maddy frowned, staring at the page in her book. She wasn't reading it, just pretending to. She thought about herself as a letter. She certainly seemed unneeded, but perhaps she did have a purpose in attending school with the other children. Maybe...

Frankie was suddenly behind her, and Maddy jumped. She gulped nervously.

"What are you reading, Maddy?" said Frankie in his usual friendly tone.

"Um... Little Red Riding Hood."

"And what is it about?"

"Uh..." Maddy stared at the page a few moments. "It's... about... Oh, I don't know. I can't read it."

Frankie sat down in the seat beside Maddy. "It's about a girl who is delivering cookies to her grandmother when she is stopped by a wolf in the woods. The wolf seems suspicious, and he in fact wants to eat the girl's grandmother. The girl hurries on her way, but the wolf takes a shortcut and gets to the grandmother's house first."

Maddy was listening intently, curious as to what might happen next, and was surprised when Frankie stopped talking.

"Well, what happened?" she asked.

"I won't spoil the ending. Read it yourself and find out," said Frankie.

Maddy got upset again. "But I can't read."

"Sure you can. You're just not trying, Maddy."

"I'm hopeless," said Maddy.

"No, I don't think you are. Perhaps you just learn differently."

Maddy looked back at her book and turned the pages until she got to the part where the wolf was in the grandmother's house. "The pictures make this easier to follow along with."

"Yes, they do," said Frankie. He gave Maddy a comforting smile. "You'll catch up with the other students someday. Someday soon, maybe even."

Maddy frowned, not sure whether to believe him.

Maddy fell further and further behind her class. The other students were reading nearly fluently, and Maddy continued to review her letters. She felt that she was working harder than any of the others, but was getting nowhere. Why was it so much harder for her?

When the other students rode a fire truck at the disaster awareness assembly, Maddy sat on the side of the road crying and covering her ears due to the loud noise. When the students played with animals, Maddy cried because she was afraid of the dogs. When the students went to the beach, Maddy built an impressive sandcastle while the other students played in the water. When the students rode a canoe, Maddy covered her eyes because she was afraid water might splash into them. When the students played dress-up, most girls wore sparkly dresses and high heels while Maddy spent the entire time trying to tie her shoes. When the students used computers, most tried to type stories, while Maddy examined the computer trying to figure out how it worked.

At the end of year one in StoryLand, the students crammed in front of the class lists, hoping that they had class with their friends. Maddy heard some students cheering and others whining about what class they were in, and she became slightly nervous.

"C'mon, Maddy! Don't you want to know if we're in the same class?" said Grace enthusiastically. She grabbed Maddy's wrist and yanked her into the crowd of children. Maddy felt her stomach churn, and she had a terrible feeling that something bad may happen.

The two reached the front of the group, and both frantically searched for their names. Grace found hers quite quickly.

"Yes, I'm in Frankie's class again!" she said, pumping her fist in the air. "Do you see your name, Maddy?"

"No..." said Maddy. "I... I don't think I'm on here..."

"Of course you are!" said Grace. "They have to assign you to a class!"

"But I don't think I'm on here, Grace..." said Maddy, terribly apprehensive.

"Hm... I don't see you either..." said Grace. "That's weird... Must be a mistake. Ask Frankie. He's over there." Grace pointed toward him.

Maddy nodded weakly, and she felt her knees shaking. She stumbled over to her former teacher and stood in front of him.

"Oh, Maddy," said Frankie. "Um, look... I need to talk to you for a sec. Privately."

Maddy felt much worse upon hearing that. She silently followed Frankie into the nearby building where the students played learning games, and into Frankie's office, where she sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair. She waited patiently for Frankie to speak.

"Well... you see... Maddy..." said Frankie, "you're... in a different class."

"But I wasn't in any of the classes on the board," said Maddy. "Aren't those all of the classes?"

"No," said Frankie. "There's one we always leave out." He scratched the back of his neck, unsure how to tell the poor girl about her placement. "You're in the... special needs class."

"Special needs?" said Maddy. "What kinds of special needs? Is it because I can't read?"

"Only partly," said Frankie. "From the start you've been different, and I'm sure you've noticed it yourself. So the school board has decided that you need to be in a class where you will get more individual help and attention. It seems you can't be taught the same as the others."

"I'm not smart, then," said Maddy.

"No, no," said Frankie. "You're actually quite intelligent, I believe. Just... different. I think this placement is for the best. You might feel more comfortable in the special needs class."

"But what if I don't?" said Maddy.

"Then you can speak to me about it, and we'll decide what to do then," said Frankie. "But don't worry about it. I think it's the right choice, for now."

Maddy stared sadly down at her sneakers. "Okay."