24/03/2024
Meet Max. He's a y5 pupil in primary school.
This morning, Max had to come a different way to school because they were digging up the road.
Because the road was closed, by the time they'd gone round the diversion, Max was late for school.
Max hates being late. He hates to walk into class when all the other children are milling about. So he waits in the cloakroom until they've all gone in. Mrs White said it's ok for him to do that.
When Max steps into class, Mrs White isn't there.
There's a stranger standing at the front with the Head teacher. Mrs White has gone on a course today and they have a substitute teacher Mrs Grey. But Max doesn't know this because he came in late. He sits down when the Head teacher tells him to, and wonders when Mrs White will be in.
Mrs Grey announces that the class spelling test will be first. Max has been trying really hard with his spellings. He has practised them at home. Mrs Grey starts to read them out, but they're not in the right order. Max can feel a knot in his stomach and writes out the spelling test he has learnt in the right order. Two out of ten and told he will have to try harder. He didn't even get a smiley face and Max likes stickers.
At break time, Max goes out into the playground. He's got an apple for snack, but as he is eating it, a girl playing chase bumps into him and it drops on the floor. One of the boys shouts "football" and kicks it across the playground... It ends up in a puddle and Max goes to get it and gets his feet wet. He hates being wet, so he goes back into class and takes his shoes and socks off.
Mrs Grey almost trips over Max, who is sitting right in the doorway of the classroom. She tells Max to either put his wet things back on or to put his pumps on. He tells Mrs Grey that it is not P.E yet it's literacy next.
Mrs Grey glares at Max and suggests that perhaps Max would prefer to sit outside the Head's office. Max is quite relieved about this; it's nice and quiet in the corridor. He puts his pumps on but they don't feel right without socks, and all he can think about is how scratchy they are on his feet.
On the way out of the classroom, he sees the girl that bumped into him in the playgro
