SAL
Four months before Mr Merkel died, something happened that to Sal seemed like a miracle: the middle school held a book fair. Ms Wheaton took them on Monday, and the drab little library, with its tired copies of Little House on the Prairie and Harry Potter, bloomed with paperbacks on every table. A thin, business-suited lady stood beside Mrs Simmons, the flustered librarian, and said, ‘The proceeds benefit your PTA. You can shop all week.’ Two mothers tried to look helpful, and a third sat next to a cash box by the ancient set of encyclopedias. Ms Wheaton sat in a chair by the door and looked at her watch.
The sixth graders fanned out, sorting themselves into readers and nonreaders. The readers picked up books and flipped their pages. The nonreaders stood in the corners, talking and l
