Thursday, October 28, 2010

Moments with Joey - The Invitation

Pin It

SCENE 1, INTERIOR. AFTERNOON, CLASSROOM. The teacher is having a book group with one student. This particular boy has been in the habit of reading far more than what the rest of his old group had decided and – after several warnings – was moved into a grouping of one. To help combat this boy’s tendency to read ahead and not follow directions, the teacher picked a book he thought the boy wouldn’t want to read, Anne of Green Gables, and told him that he can read as much as he’d like each night. After a week of meetings, the teacher realizes that his plan wasn’t working out quite as well as he’d anticipated.

As the teacher and boy meet for their daily group, the boy begins to excitedly retell what happened in the pages he’d read the night before. The teacher is a bit surprised that the boy has taken to the book so quickly; he decides to share something from his own childhood.

TEACHER: You know, when I was a kid, my sister used to watch Anne of Green Gables on the Disney Channel. I made fun of her because of it, too. But then one day I started to watch the movie and realized that Megan Follows was hot.

JOEY: [Surprised]. You were in love with Anne?

TEACHER: No, not really in love…but I guess you could say I had a little crush on the actress who played her. [Pause]. Anyhow, let’s finish talking about what happened in what you read last night.

[The boy continues to ramble on about a large chunk of the story, retelling it with remarkable accuracy].

TEACHER: Joey, just how much did you read last night?

JOEY: [Shrugging]. I don’t know, maybe four or five chapters.

TEACHER: [Surprised]. Wow, I guess you’ll have to send me an invitation when you and Anne decide to get married.

JOEY: The boy starts to laugh as he and the teacher finish up their book session for the day.

SCENE 2, EXTERIOR. NEXT MORNING, PLAYGROUND. The teacher is on duty outside before school starts. He is watching as students arrive, trudging toward the school in small groups or as individuals. The boy from his reading group approaches him, he has a sheepish grin on his face. The boy stops in front of the teacher and stands silent for a moment or two.

TEACHER: Good morning, Joey. How you doing?

JOEY: I’m doing good, Mr. Z. [pause]. I wanted to give you something…

TEACHER: It isn’t a great, big bag of money or a new car, is it?

[The boy shakes his head and laughs for a moment, and then his face takes on a more serious expression].

JOEY: No. It’s this.

[The boy holds out a sealed envelope. The teacher takes the white packet and looks at it. There is no writing of any sort as to indicate what is inside].

TEACHER: Thanks, Joey.

[The boy stands expectantly for a few moments].

JOEY: So, are you going to open it?

TEACHER: That all depends…I mean it isn’t a mushy letter you’ve written to me full of nice things about how amazing I am, is it? I mean, I’m not going to get all emotional and start crying, am I?

[The boy shakes his head with a small grin].

JOEY: I don’t think so, Mr. Z.

TEACHER: So, should I wait to open it?

JOEY: I’d really like to be here when you do open it, Mr. Z.

[The teacher smiles and opens up the envelope. Inside is a folded piece of paper; he begins to unfold it and the boy gets more and more excited as the teacher does so].


[The teacher starts laughing out loud as his eyes fall on the wedding invitation the boy’d made on his home computer. Joey grins and moves closer to his teacher].

JOEY: You said you wanted an invitation when we decided to get married, Mr. Z. I wanted you to be the first to know.

TEACHER: Thanks, Joey. I’m honored.

JOEY: I thought you would be. Sorry she decided to pick me instead of you. You’re still a good teacher, though.

[The teacher starts to laugh and pats the boy on the back].

TEACHER: I think she made a great choice…Joey of Green Gables.

JOEY: Yeah…so do I.

Fade to black.

24 comments:

mintifresh said...

Omigosh! That is the cutest story I've ever heard! That is one cool kid!

Kalei's Best Friend said...

hmmm, so u aren't going to be best man?

Rhoda said...

I love how you got him to read that book. I personally think it's a great book, but wouldn't expect that a young boy would want to read it! The invitation was a little unexpected...I thought it was going to be a note from mom asking if you'd realized what book you assigned her son! Hahaha, great. I love Joey.

Kristina P. said...

That is hilarious! What dedication! Haha!

Shawna said...

Its been a couple of years since I've watched the Green Gables movies...maybe I should dust the DVDs off and bring them over sometime so you can be reacquainted with your crush?

Anonymous said...

I had no idea that Gilbert was actually Joey!!!!

You've so ruined the end of the series for me..........

Martha H. said...

Coming from someone who devours books, I can certainly appreciate a kid that loves to read. Good for him for being open minded to different kinds of books, even ones that are considered "girl" books.

And, he sounds clever and funny. Great combo!

Susan Anderson said...

What a funny guy he is!

=)

Natasha and Jesse said...

How cute!! Joey of Green Gables has good taste. He's the new Gilbert!

For me growing up it was Gilbert all the way!

mCat said...

I love Joey. More than ever.

And I haven't even read Anne of Green Gables.....

Mama has Spoken said...

Ah Joey, I've missed your stories....

Teachinfourth said...

M - He is a kick in the pants…

K - Somebody's gotta do it I guess.

C - That kid is full of surprises.

K - I never thought he'd love that book so much. Of course, I personally think it was the one-on-one time now that I think about it.

S - I think I'd best just live with the memories.

A - And Darth Vader is really Luke's dad!

M - You have no idea…

S - He is a hoot.

N - When I stop to think about it, I think I liked the way Megan Follows played Anne. Her passion and zeal for life were intoxicating.

M - I think that reading them now is irrelevant…you already know how it ends.

B - I really need to spend the time typing them up. Life's been busy lately...

Marnie said...

I love it!!!

Just SO said...

I loved Anne! She was tough and a dreamer.

TisforTonya said...

wish my teachers would have let me read as far as I wanted to each night. Oh wait... that wasn't what you wanted right? groan...

Currently my 3rd grader has her book confiscated by the teacher when she reads too much. The 3rd grade teacher hasn't realized yet that we almost always have the same book in our personal library :)

Anonymous said...

Oh what! And I bet you're going to tell me that Santa isn't real now!!!

The Card said...

Wow...

This kid is wacky...

tammy said...

Oh that Joey is a keeper. I have one of those kids that likes to read ahead too.

Yanet @ 3 Sun Kissed Boys said...

Omgosh, that is so cute. Gotta love Joey's passion.

Mama-Face said...

My son would so much love you as his teacher. The only teachers who 'get' him are the ones who have a sense of humor. He thinks serious (all the time) teachers must hate their job.

Oh how I love Anne of Green Gables. Long before any movie.

(my w.v. is 'alonest'. Ought to be a real word).

Serene is my name, not my life! said...

I take it back. THIS post is the best thing I've read all day!

I'm jealous I didn't get an invitation!

And you know, I've read a lot of books... I mean, A LOT! But Anne of Green Gables is one that I've never actually read, just seen the movie, about 600 times.

Sweet.

Kellie said...

That's the cutest story ever! I'm your 100th follower, so does that mean I can come to the wedding, too?
(I know. I know, I have no shame.)

Teachinfourth said...

Yeah, he's most definitely a keeper…

And Kellie, you're more than welcome to attend. You just gotta love people who are forward and speak their thoughts.

Nuttley said...

Lol! Where was I for this one?! At least, I got to see it now.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...