As the school bus rounded the far curve of the street we called "The Horseshoe," the boy sitting next to me near the back of the bus leaned closer and whispered in my ear– "You wanna see somethin' really amazing?" Though we were both in the third grade (different classrooms) and lived only a few blocks apart, I didn't know his name. And while I was painfully shy in the presence of people I didn't know, something in his voice, and on his face, intrigued me and drew me out of my protected space. I managed a tentative "OK."
