Counting by 7s

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I was taken to see an educational consultant that autumn and the woman did an evaluation. She sent my parents a letter. I read it. It said I was “highly gifted.” Are people “lowly gifted”? Or “medium gifted”? Or just “gifted”? It’s possible that all labels are curses. Unless they are on cleaning products.

Cheddar is under the speckles of colored light from the broken glass on the rooftop. It makes his face all wobbly. Or maybe it’s just what he looks like through tears.

💔