Story 11
Todd has a surprise for Kyle on his birthday.
Secret Sounds
Kyle Cortez had been in a wheelchair since he was a little kid. His family’s one-story house worked well for him. He learned to get around on his own when he was very young. He and Todd Bome became friends in first grade and were still friends. Kyle rolled out of his bedroom and said, “I see Todd’s car out front. Where is he?”
His mother looked at the floor and said, “Maybe that is just a car like Todd’s.”
Kyle looked at the floor and said, “Is there something on the floor, Mom?”
Mrs. Cortez looked up and said, “No, I was just looking there. Do you have all your homework done, Kyle?”
Kyle said, “Yes, I do. All I had to do was a page of math. So, I’ve got the rest of the night off. I think I’ll go in the computer room and listen to my music.”
“No!” his mother said quickly, “Don’t do that!”
“Why not?” Kyle asked. “You are sure acting goofy tonight.”
She said, “I thought maybe you and I could watch a movie in the family room. What do you think?” She smiled at him as she waited for an answer.
“Sure! That sounds like fun. What movie do you want to watch?” Kyle asked while he rolled his chair over to the couch and moved himself onto the couch.
His mother sat down on the couch and said, “Let’s watch that mystery movie you taped the other night.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said.
His mom asked, “What is the movie about?”
He answered, “It’s about a man who disappeared while he was out fishing. His family keeps looking for him after the police give up. I think it is a pretty good movie. It has good actors and is based on a true story.”
Kyle grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He found the show and pushed play. Then he said, “What’s that noise?”
“What noise? I didn’t hear anything,” his mother said.
“I’m not sure,” Kyle said. “I don’t hear it now. But, I thought I heard something in the computer room.”
“It’s probably just the house creaking,” Mrs. Cortez said.
“You might be right,” Kyle said. “The house creaks a lot.”
The movie started with a man fishing on a lovely day. Just as he was reeling in his first fish, Kyle heard a big noise. “What was that?” he asked.
His mother said, “I think it was the noise of him catching the fish.”
Kyle said. “That did not sound like a fishing noise to me. I thought this was a better movie than that.”
His mother said, “Oh well.”
Just then, the door to the computer room opened. Todd walked out and said, “Hi, Kyle.”
Kyle asked, “What are you doing here?” Then Kyle looked at his mom. “You knew he was in there, didn’t you? You really did hear those noises, didn’t you? And you knew that was his car out there. What is going on here?”
“Happy birthday a couple days early, Kyle!” Todd laughed as he swept his hands and arms toward the computer room.
Kyle put the movie on hold, got back in his chair, and rolled over to the computer room. “Oh, my gosh!” he said. “New shelves! Just what I needed. Thanks, Todd.”
Todd said, “You are welcome! They are for your music CDs.”
Kyle picked up a piece of paper and moved it end-to-end across a shelf. “It is about 99 inches wide,” he said. “That will hold a lot of CDs.”
Todd said, “I could have made it about 50 inches wide and 6 feet high. But, I made it wider and only 3 feet high.” Todd pulled an “L” sticker off. “This ‘L’ was here because this board was to go on the left if the shelf was high. I thought low and wide made more sense for you.”
“I think you are right about that,” Kyle said. “I can reach the whole thing.” Kyle pulled two more stickers off—an “R” and a “T.” He handed the stickers to Todd to throw away and said again, “Thanks, Todd!”
“You are welcome,” Todd said as he hit at a spider.
“That is the third spider I have killed in here tonight.” Mrs. Cortez said, “I’ll have to do something about that. I don’t want Kyle getting spider bites when he is in here.” Then she added, “You sure did a nice job.”
Todd pointed to the tools he used and said, “I put that towel on the counter so that I wouldn’t scratch it. This kitchen counter works really well for a computer desk, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does work well,” Kyle said. “My dad and I built it last year. I wanted it to be marble, but my dad thought that cost too much. So, we agreed on this low-cost dark counter with marble-looking lines. Now we have these great shelves to go with it.”
What do you think?
- Do you think Todd could have surprised Kyle so easily if Kyle could walk? Explain.
- How do you think Mrs. Cortez felt about lying to her son?
What would you do?
- Say you were getting a new shelf in your bedroom. Would you ask for a 3-foot high or 6-foot high shelf? Explain.
Life Skills in This Story:
- Showing self control
- Making assumptions
- Knowing personal choices
- Using non-traditional measuring devices
- Making decisions
- Avoiding bug, bee, snake, mosquito, and spider bites
- Compromising
- Reading abbreviations
- Protecting a kitchen counter
- Using eye contact
- Giving an opinion on a movie
- Summarizing movies and TV shows
- Approximate measurements
- Being part of a team
- Planning a surprise
