Good Different

This section contains the poem: “Pop Comes Over for Dinner,” “Mom and Pop in the Kitchen,” “Burst,” “Dinner,” “When I Tell Pop Why it Happened, He Says,” “Pop Pats My Shoulder,” and “Folks Like Us.”

Pop arrives for dinner and walks into the house without knocking—a habit that does not bother Selah. He asks how she is doing, but Sue interrupts and tells him that Selah hit a classmate. Pop remains calm, which frustrates Sue. While he acknowledges that hitting is wrong, he also insists that Selah must have had a reason. When Sue mentions the possibility of expulsion, Pop criticizes Pebblecreek, saying, “If that hoity-toity school / would expel a kid like Selah […] they probably aren’t that great a school to begin with” (80). Sue attempts to change the subject, but Pop continues, stating that he will confront the school if they try to expel Selah. Sue angrily slams a bag of noodles against the counter and tells Pop that she is Selah’s parent and that he needs to stop “poking” her. Selah wonders what her father might think if he were present. Sue begins cleaning the spilled noodles, and Selah helps, while Pop agrees to drop the subject.

During dinner, Selah sits quietly and thinks about Addie, knowing she should apologize but unsure how to begin. She compares herself to her neighbors and considers whether the school bullies might be right about her. She wonders, “What if it’s not OK / to be a dragon?” (84). Later, she explains to Pop why she hit Addie, and he reassures her that the world is not built for “folks like us” (86). He encourages her to speak up for herself and explains that he has to express his thoughts or he will “boil over.” He asks whether she has written anything and suggests that she try writing about the experience. After gently patting her shoulder, he tells her they will both be all right. Selah is moved by his support and realizes that she is not alone in how she feels.

This section contains the poems: “In the Middle of the Night,” “First Day of Suspension,” “The Next Day,” “Dentist,” and “On the Car Ride Home.”

Selah is jolted awake by the neighbors having a loud bonfire. She looks out the window and sees a person walking toward the party. She realizes it’s Pop. He goes up to the neighbors, yelling and shaking his fist, though Selah can’t hear what he says. Selah is thankful that someone is standing up to the neighbors, so she gets out of bed, ready to join the cause, but her mom stops her. Instead, Sue goes out herself, stopping Pop and apologizing to the neighbors. Pop breaks away from Sue and continues to yell until he feels finished and returns home.

Though Selah hoped that her suspension might be fun, she finds herself feeling low the first day, and she is still determined to prove herself. She goes to her grandfather’s house, and he allows her to see his “treasure hoard” in his basement. He collects model trains and train pieces, bikes, and magazines. While she is there, Selah notes her similarity to her grandfather and muses, “We’re both itching / to be in our own world” (94).

The neighbors steal one of Pop’s bikes as payback for Pop’s yelling, and Sue argues that they should just ignore the neighbors’ misbehavior. Selah defends Pop’s choice to intervene, but she worries that the neighbors will not change their behavior. Sue worries that further intervention might prompt a more drastic rebuttal from them next time.

Selah goes to the dentist, which she hates because of the sensory overwhelm. When she starts crying, the dentist stops, confused, saying that the procedures should not be painful. Selah talks to her mother about it on the way home, but Sue asserts that no one likes going to the dentist and argues that everyone Selah’s age has challenges to overcome. Inwardly, Selah questions if her mom is right, remembering how Pop said, “the world’s not built / for folks like us” (100). Sue stops at an art shop to buy Selah a “treat” before returning home.

This section includes the poems: “Bad Actor,” “No More Problems,” “Coming Back after Suspension,” “Cleanup,” I Ask,” “Trash Bag,” “Going Inside,” “It Goes Without Saying,” “I Write a Thank-You Note,” and “Rules to Being a Dragon.”

On the morning of her return to school after her suspension, Selah pretends to be sick, but Sue does not believe her. She drops Selah off at school with a warning not to cause further trouble. As Selah walks into the building, she senses a clear shift in how people respond to her. Teachers avoid eye contact, Laurel leaves no encouraging notes, and several classmates—including Cleo and Ezra—bully her. Others offer insincere smiles.

At Pebblecreek, students are responsible for cleaning the school after lunch, and Selah works with Noelle to take out the trash. Outside, Noelle asks what happened between Selah and Addie. Selah explains how overwhelmed she felt when Addie braided her hair without permission. Noelle reacts with surprise to realize that Selah hit Addie over something so small, leading Selah to ask what would be considered “bad” enough to justify hitting someone. As Selah tosses the trash bag into the dumpster, it rips, scattering garbage across the ground. Noelle remains silent, and Selah assumes that Noelle wants some distance from her. They walk back inside wordlessly, and Selah worries that Noelle no longer wants to be her friend. Reminding herself that dragons are often “solitary creatures,” she decides to write about her feelings in the journal Pop gave her. After school, she notices that Addie does not show up for their usual study session, and although Selah expected this, she is still disappointed to lose the chance to talk to her.

The next day, Mr. S interrupts class to scold Selah for drawing while he is speaking, again mispronouncing her name. He threatens to take away her pencils, prompting Laurel to ask how Selah is supposed to complete her classwork without them. Mr. S simply repeats that there is to be no drawing, then moves on. Later, Selah leaves Laurel a thank-you note, but Laurel does not respond. Selah then writes about her school “survival” rules, describing how she must isolate herself, remain quiet, comply with expectations, and stay ready to protect herself. She writes, “do your best to look like // what everyone wants you to be” (116).