Reading Comprehension-6a

Week 16-Day 1

On the Outs

Shakira could feel the difference from the first minute she stepped into the classroom on Monday morning.  Eva and Willa didn't smile at her, and the other kids didn't even look at her.  Why did I ever want to be Eva's friend? she asked herself.  Shakira hadn't even had that much fun being part of their group, although at the time she had thought popularity was more important than having fun.  She had abandoned her old friends and her favorite activities, and now she had no one.  After a while, though, Shakira had become invisible to Eva's group.  Shakira should have known that they would discard her the way they had so many other people.

Shakira took her seat, her cheeks burning.  I didn't do anything wrong! she told herself, but it didn't make her feel any better.  Then she noticed Mattie, who sat to her right, motioning to her with a kind smile.  Mattie and Shakira had been friends back in fourth grade, but Mattie had never gotten into Eva and Willa's group, and she didn't care.  She just played her guitar, ran track, and did what she wanted to do without worrying about what anyone else thought.  

"Do you want to sit with me at lunchtime?" Mattie whispered.  Shakira nodded gratefully, knowing that she had never been invisible to Mattie.