Summary

A Picture is Worth a Gazillion Words – Ally is surprised and a bit concerned when Mr. Daniels is replaced by a substitute. She becomes even more upset when the teacher gives an assignment, but reads out loud Mr. Daniels’ direction that Ally can draw instead of write. After Shay makes another nasty comment, Ally storms out; is sent to the principal’s office; and then calls her mom, asking to go home. She also leaves a note, written with Keisha’s help, telling Mr. Daniels that she will never stay after school for him again. Later, Ally’s mother tells her that she thinks Mr. Daniels didn’t mean any harm, and Ally wants to believe her, commenting in narration that to her, Mr. Daniels being deliberately mean to anybody is unlikely.

In the Game of Life – The next day, Mr. Daniels explains what...