Decoded

Decoded — page 5 — I think my alarm clock died or something Grady muttered He reached into his left shoe and found a wadded-up sock inside jammed into the toe When he went barefoot sometimes he would take off his shoes and put his socks in there so he wouldn’t lose them But he couldn’t recall doing that recently He tossed the sock aside and put on his shoes All right Grady said standing up I have to blast out of here He grabbed his MP3 player and plugged in his earbuds Before he hit play he looked around the entryway feeling as if he’d forgotten something Over his mom’s shoulder Grady looked into the kitchen There on the counter was his brown lunch bag Oh man Grady gasped darting into the kitchen quickly He snatched up his lunch and 8

Decoded — page 6 — tossed it into his backpack Glancing at the microwave’s digital clock he realized it was 9 06 a m Late Grady looked around still amazed that he’d slept so long It kind of bugged him that his younger sister Becky hadn’t bothered to wait for him or even wake him up What time did Becky leave Grady asked zipping his backpack closed She left earlier than usual his mom said Said she didn’t want to be late Besides it’s not her fault you couldn’t get out of bed Okay okay Grady said slinging his pack on It felt heavier than usual but he wondered if it was just because he was still half asleep You need to get moving 9

Decoded — page 7 — Right Grady said and headed for the door See you Mom As he passed by she stopped him But it’s never too late to hug your mom she said with a smile Yeah okay Grady said and couldn’t resist smiling back He gave his mom a quick hug and launched himself out the door Grady raced down the street thankful that Wheatley Middle and Elementary School was only a few blocks away He fumbled in his pocket for his MP3 player and found the play button A couple of good songs would get him pumped and ready to race to the school’s front doors 10

Decoded — page 8 — Immediately he could hear a twangy guitar fill his ears A second later some cowboy-sounding guy with an accent started singing about his tractor and his dog Country music As Grady crossed the street he pushed the double arrow button advancing to the next song More twang A couple of cowboys singing about America What is going on Grady groaned skipping to the next song and the next Every single track was a country song None of them were songs he had on his playlist at all He stopped pulled his player from his pocket and looked at the display The Lasso Ladies Hobie McGurt The Ranch Hand Three All country artists He double-checked to see if he’d grabbed the wrong MP3 player but it was definitely his 11

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