Part 1 (1/2)

All About Sam.

Lois Lowry.

For Jamie, who is very much like Sam.

1.

It had certainly been an exciting morning for him, but a confusing one, too. There were bright lights, which he didn't like, and he was cold, and someone was messing around with his belly b.u.t.ton, which hurt.

And he didn't know who he was yet.

”A fine healthy boy,” he heard someone say. But that told him only what he was, not who.

He squinted and wiggled and stuck his tongue out, and they all laughed. He liked the sound of the laughter, so he did it again, and they all laughed some more.

Then they put some clothes on him, which made him nice and warm, though the clothes felt odd because he had never worn clothes before.

They pa.s.sed him around from one person to another, which was a little scary because he was afraid they might drop him.

”Don't drop me,” he wanted to say. But it came out sounding like ”Waaaahhhh.” Someone said ”Shhhh” in a soft voice and patted his back gently.

”Who am I?” he wanted to ask, but that sounded like ”Waaaahhhh” again, and she simply patted his back once more.

Finally they put him down in a little bed and dimmed the lights.

He opened his eyes wide now that the lights weren't so bright, but he couldn't see much: just the sides of the little bed, and high above him the blurred faces of people.

It was all too confusing and exhausting. He sighed, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

When he woke again, he was in a different place. He was still in the little bed, but the bed had been moved; he knew because the walls were green instead of white. Now there were fewer peoplea”fewer faces looking down at him. He could see these people a little better because his eyes weren't quite so new, so he blinked to focus more clearly and stared up at them.

There was a woman, and he could tell that he liked her a lot. She had happy eyes and a nice smile, and when she bent closer and touched his cheek with her finger, it was a gentle touch filled with love. He wiggled with happiness.

Then the woman's face went away, and a man leaned down. The man seemed to have his head on upside down; there was hair on the chin, but none on the head. Maybe that was the way men were supposed to look. The man had a nice smile, too.

Finally, a girl leaned over the bed. She had hair the same color as the man's chin hair, and she wore gla.s.s over her eyes, which were interesting to look at. But she wasn't smiling. She had a suspicious look.

The girl stared at him for a long time. He stared back. Finally she reached in and touched his hand. He had his hand curled up because he hadn't yet figured out anything interesting to do with it. But when the girl touched his hand, he grabbed her finger, which was just the perfect size for grabbing. He held on tight.

”Hey,” the girl said, ”I really like him!”

Of course you do, silly, he thought. He tried to say that, but only managed to spit and make a sound like ”Phhhe. She would stand there looking down at him, and she would say, ”Are you hungry again?” in an amazed voice.