Chapter 1

1994

Math class bored Kip Turner. He was bored at school most of the time. He did well without trying. He didn't need to be the best. He only needed to get an eighty-percent average and his parents would let him play sports. He could manage that without too much effort.

His raised hand caused Mr. Parker to sigh. "Yes, Mr. Turner."

"Can I have a hall pass?" Parker's eyes narrowed. Kip took a bathroom break daily. "I'm done with the assignment." The teacher's shoulders dropped and he waved Kip to his desk at the front.

On the way to the bathroom his eye was caught by a bulletin board display beside the English room. When he realized it wasn't his English class on display, his heart slowed. He didn't want his crap on display for the entire school. He read an uninspired, regurgitated essay and rolled his eyes. He glanced at the title in bold, pink and blue letters, "My Future Plans."

He turned to go back to class, when another poster drew his eye. The writer had meticulous handwriting and had written far more than anyone else. He glanced at the attached picture of a child with a pile of stuffed animals on her bed. She was holding a stick and pointing at something unseen behind her. Intrigued by the story behind the picture and what someone could be planning so thoroughly, Kip began to read.

My Future Plans by Mandy Green