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The Lady with the Purple Eye
School Edition
François Bloemhof
Human & Rousseau
— Chapter 1 —
Pre-reading
| 1. | Look at the title. What do you think is going to happen in this novel? |
| During reading | |
| 2. | Make a list of the characters and jot down what you find out about them. |
First sight
When the bell rang to announce the end of the school day, Chris grabbed his schoolbag to make a quick getaway.
“See you tomorrow!” Bert called.
“Cheers!”
Chris could hardly believe he’d only met Bert that morning; it felt like they had been friends for ever. It helped to make him feel less awkward around here.
His mom and dad had both come to fetch him and his sister, Marley. His dad would only start at his new job tomorrow.
Marley was already in the car when he got there.
Chris joined his family and his mother planted a kiss on his cheek. “So how does it feel to be in grade nine?”
“Not much different from grade eight,” he said, and wiped his cheek when he thought she wasn’t looking. He didn’t want his new friends to get the impression he was a mommy’s boy.
They had to wait a while. The parking area was crammed with cars.
“Chris, your bag is pressing into my side!” Marley complained, the way sisters generally do.
“Sorry, Your Highness,” he said, and pulled his bag to the other side.
Their mother turned around in her seat. She ran her hand over his red-brown hair and then over Marley’s. “My beautiful children,” she said lovingly.
Chris cringed with embarrassment, as he’d just seen Bert in the passenger seat of a car passing by. Bert waved at him and smiled – much too broadly.
Chris’s mood darkened. “Can we just go now, please? It’s not so busy anymore.”
His dad had all the time in the world. “Just now,” he muttered. First he had to make a call on his cellphone. Something to do with his new job, it sounded like.
Then Marley said, “Hey, look there!”
A boy approached. He was looking at the ground and he seemed shy.
The reason was clear: his head was shaved and shiny.
“Flip!” Chris cried out. “What happened to him?”
Their mother shook her head. “Poor thing …”
The boy was looking unhappier by the minute. He was obviously aware that everyone was staring at him.
“I didn’t see him at assembly or on the school grounds today,” Chris said.
“Perhaps he was hiding,” his mother remarked.
Chris burst out laughing. The boy didn’t only look unhappy, but also really funny! When you think of a bald person, you think of an old man, not a boy this age. Chris guessed that the boy was about a year younger than him.
He looked at the smooth skin and thought it must feel just like a beach ball, which was enough to set him off again.
“Stop laughing,” his mother rebuked. “Shame on you!”
When the boy walked past their car, he looked up and saw Chris. Then he turned red, all the way up to his ears – but his scalp remained pink.
Chris’s laughter died in his throat. Now he felt guilty.
“You shouldn’t have laughed,” Marley lectured him.
“Maybe he is seriously ill and had to undergo chemotherapy,” his mother added. “It makes your hair fall out, you know. Shame.”
Feeling bad enough by now, Chris hastily changed the subject. “How is the unpacking going? Is everything in place yet?”
“It’s still a bit of a mess,” their dad answered. “In fact, I’ll be glad to go to the office tomorrow. It’s bound to be much tidier there!” He smiled and winked at his wife.
They’d only moved here a few days ago. It wasn’t all that far from where they lived before – barely half an hour’s drive – but of course Chris and Marley had to go to a new school.
“I miss my friends!” Marley groaned.
“Not as much as that guy misses his hair?” Chris felt like giggling again.
His dad started the engine, since most of the cars had left and it was safe to go.
Only it wasn’t. A big silver car came tearing past them to go through the gate first.
Chris’s dad jammed his foot down on the brakes and the whole world seemed to lurch. Marley was thrown against her brother and her elbow stuck into his belly.
“Hey, watch it!”
“Sorry! I couldn’t help it.”
Chris glanced up. It didn’t look like the woman driving the big silver car had been startled. She just looked angry.
She wiggled her finger at Chris’s dad as if she were scolding a child – as if she wasn’t the one who’d almost caused an accident.
“Can you believe it?” Their mom shook her head. “Some people!” she complained.
The woman had bright-yellow hair that puffed around her head like a cloud. Her glasses were dark and Chris couldn’t see her eyes … but when they drove up to her, she turned her head and he knew she was glaring at them.
Then she was gone, with a roar of the engine.
“Is that one of your teachers?” their dad asked.
“I didn’t see her in assembly this morning,” Chris answered.
But he hadn’t noticed the boy with the shaved head either. Perhaps he wasn’t as observant as he liked to believe.
“It’s the library teacher,” Marley reported solemnly. “Miss Badman.”
“Miss Badman!” Chris exclaimed. “Where did she get a surname like that? Badman!”
But there was no laughter left in him. He’d had too much of a fright.
Post reading
| 1. | What do the words “make a quick getaway” suggest about the way Chris feels about school? |
| 2. | How long have Chris and Bert known each other? |
| 3. | Who is Marley? |
| 4. | Explain why Chris calls his sister “Your Highness”. |
| 5. | Chris’s Mother calls him and his sister her “beautiful children” and runs her hand through their hair. What kind of mother does this suggest that she is? (Choose the correct letter.) |
| A. | strict |
| B. | affectionate |
| C. | reserved |
| D. | abrasive |
| 6. | Explain what is meant by: “Chris’s mood darkened.” on page 2. |
| 7. | Reread page 2: The narrator says, “The boy was looking unhappier by the minute.” Suggest two reasons why the boy was unhappy. |
| 8. | Explain why Chris’s mother scolds him for laughing. |
| 9. | Name the illness most associated with “chemotherapy”. |
| 10. | What do you think Miss Badman is likely to do in this story? |
— Chapter 2 —
Pre-reading
| 1. | Has anyone ever made you feel uneasy, but you did not know why? What happened? |
| During reading | |
| 2. | How does Marley show her uneasiness? |
Miss Badman
The