“Did Mrs.

Thorne ask you to?”

“She wrote a note in red pen across the top of my paper,” Matty said, pulling a folded sheet of lined paper out of his green folder.

“She said the whole sixth grade needs to hear the ending.”

“What did you put on the back page?” I asked, pouring three dollars’ worth of fresh milk into a glass.

Matty picked up the paper and pressed the center fold flat with his palm.