Wonder Page #6

I started playing

this little make believe game

with the girls in the camp.

I said I lived

in a huge brownstone.

On a nice street.

With my two awesome parents.

And my awesome dog

named Daisy.

And my awesome little brother

with a facial deformity.

And, oh, my God,

everyone went crazy.

"What do you mean,

'deformity'?

"What does he look like?"

Suddenly,

everyone wanted to talk to me.

And by the end of summer,

I was the most popular girl

in camp.

When I got home,

I wanted to call Via.

But she would've asked me

about my parents

and about camp.

And then I saw Via audition

for the play.

And I remembered

how cool she is.

And how I understood

why everyone in camp

loved me more

when I pretended to be her.

She used to let Auggie

hang out with us all the time.

I was the one who bought him

his astronaut helmet.

He was so into outer space.

And I wanted him to know

that the world

was bigger than his room.

And now he's out there.

And I didn't even know.

I could've helped him.

Maybe he could've helped me.

I don't know.

But I could sure use

some help right now.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

AND LAUGHTER)

(SUMMER AND AUGGIE WHOOPING)

(LAUGHS)

That was awesome!

(CHUCKLES)

Hey, look, there's Jack Will.

Let's find another hill.

You can't just keep

avoiding him forever, Auggie.

Come on, let's go!

CROWD:
(CHANTING) 9. 8. 7.

6. 5. 4.

3. 2. 1. Happy New Year!

(ALL CHEERING)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

(GRUNTING)

Thanks for the help, Daisy.

Way to put your back into it.

MILES:
What about you?

Christmas was awesome.

We drove up into the mountains

where they had the most

amazing snow I've ever seen.

It was like powder.

Nice.

What about you, Jack?

I went up Skeleton Hill.

It was the best.

AMOS:
Skeleton Hill?

I hate that place!

I know, right? I left

my old lightning sled up there

last time I was up.

It was the crappiest

piece o' junk.

Went back the next day

and someone had taken it.

JULIAN:
Hey, maybe a homeless

guy wanted to go sledding.

MILES AND AMOS:
Yeah.

MR. BROWNE:
New precept.

Your deeds are your monuments.

Archaeologists found

these words inscribed

on the walls

of an ancient Egyptian tomb.

Can anybody tell me

what they mean?

Summer?

Oh, uh...

I think it means

that the things we do

are the things

that matter most.

MR. BROWNE:
Excellent.

Anybody else?

Hey, Summer.

Hey. You okay?

Yeah. Fine. Just...

This is gonna

sound stupid, but...

do you know why

Auggie stopped liking me?

You should ask him.

I have,

but ever since Halloween,

he just won't talk to me.

I mean... You know what?

I don't care. Sorry.

Ghostface.

Wait, wait, what?

That's all I can tell you.

Okay...

Now that we've finished

our tests,

I want you all

to start thinking about

our fifth grade

science fair projects.

Which you will need to work on

to have ready

after spring break.

Okay? Now it could be

about anything.

(VOICE FADES)

(INAUDIBLE)

MS. PETOSA:
The point

is to create something

you're excited about.

Something you're proud

to show.

Mr. Will?

Something more important

to think about?

No.

So, it'll be teams of two.

Your partner

will be your tablemate.

JULIAN:
Uh, Ms. Petosa?

I know we're supposed to be

in pairs,

but Jack, Amos and I had

this science fair project idea

that we wanted

to work on together.

MS. PETOSA:
Okay,

maybe we can switch.

Uh, no.

Sorry?

No, um, it's okay.

I'll stay with who I've got.

I'll stick with Auggie.

Hey! What did you do that for?

Dude, I don't want to switch.

Why not? Do you really wanna

be partners with that freak?

JACK:
Dear Mr. Tushman,

I'm very sorry

for punching Julian.

It was wrong of me to do that.

I know you may need

to expel me,

but I'd still rather not say

why I did what I did.

It might get Julian

in trouble, too,

and that's not fair.

Stop!

Sincerely, Jack Will.

MR. TUSHMAN:
Dear Mr. Will,

one thing I've learned

in 20 years in education

is that there are two sides

to every story.

So I think I can imagine

what started the fight.

While nothing justifies

striking another student

I know good friends

are worth defending.

So, after your

2-day suspension

your scholarship

will be waiting for you.

Just keep up the good work.

And keep being the fine boy

we all know you to be.

Sincerely, Mr. Tushman.

VIA:
What's so wrong

with me not telling you

about a stupid play?

I'm not even in it.

I'm just doing the lights.

And don't you think

we would like to see him?

Look, let's all calm down

for a second.

You know,

you've been really good

at leaving me alone

my whole life.

So why are you suddenly

so interested, huh?

Are you bored now

that Auggie's in school?

Your thesis not going well?

Nate, could you please

excuse us?

Izzy, she doesn't mean it.

Nate!

(ISABEL ARGUING INDISTINCTLY)

What are they saying

down there?

NATE:
They, my friend,

are saying a lotta things.

None of which concern us.

Let's see

your new Minecraft world.

'Cause we might

be moving to it.

So, are we going

to see the play?

Um...

I hadn't realized

what the play was

and I don't think it will be

of any interest

to a kid your age.

Yeah, uh,

you'd get totally bored.

AUGGIE:
Are you and Dad going?

Daddy'll go. And I'm gonna

stay here with you.

What?

So now you're gonna punish me

by not going?

Well, you didn't want me to go

in the first place, remember?

Well, now that

you know about it,

of course, I want you to come.

What are you talking about?

BOTH:
Nothing.

You're lying.

It's just something to do

with Via's school, honey.

You just don't want your

fancy high school friends

to know your brother's

a freak, huh?

ISABEL:
Auggie!

Auggie, that's not true.

Stop lying to me,

I'm not an idiot,

I know what's going on!

(DAISY WHIMPERING)

Daisy girl?

Auggie. Come on.

to your stupid high school

anyway. I don't care.

Auggie, not everything

in the world is about you.

(VIA SNIFFLES)

What's wrong?

(DAISY WHIMPERING)

You're gonna be fine, girlie.

Daddy's gonna meet me there.

Take care of your brother.

VIA:
Yeah.

Okay. All right.

Did Daisy really bite Mom?

Well, um, she was whimpering.

And then Mom tried to pick

her up and Daisy bit her.

Do you think

the vet can fix her?

She was in a lot of pain,

Auggie.

She's really old.

Auggie?

I want you to come

to my play. Okay?

Really?

Really.

(CRYING)

(SNIFFLES)

AUGGIE:
Every time I came home

from the hospital,

Daisy was here.

She was a real friend.

And real friends

are hard to find.

(BEEPS)

(LAUGHS)

Excuse me.

Sorry. Thank you.

This is perfect.

Here we go. Good seats.

Here. See if you can find

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