Their stares make me sweaty—

so my brain is in a book.

I wander through adventures

to change the way I look.

When Mrs. Maple calls my name,

the room gets ten feet tall.

My thoughts are quick. My words all trip.

What I said—I can’t recall.

Now the classroom won’t stop moving.

The clock keeps ticking too.

Can I actually be sitting here…

and still not feel my stool?

I must have said something weird.

My mind makes such a fuss.

It’s searching for the reasons,

just trying to adjust.

For what, I really cannot say.

But I must have said it wrong.

My mind gets all curfluffled…

Just wanting to belong.

Then suddenly inside myself

I remembered what Mom said:

Breathe, my dear,

from ear to ear.

You’re safe inside your head.

So I breathe air in,

and breathe air out,

until my shoulders feel my hair.

Then the room is just

the room again

and I know I am still there.

By Mandy Parida